Introduction to Community Development

As a Christian organization specializing in evangelism and discipleship, YMP3 believes that being a disciple of Jesus includes following his example of caring for people, communities, nations, and the rest of creation in a holistic manner.  From the time of its inception until now, YMP3 has been actively involved in a variety of Community Development (CD) initiatives that desire to do just that.

We are Christians who fight poverty

Poverty is more than a simple state of “lack” or “absence” (e.g. lack of money, food, knowledge, skills, connections, etc.).  If it weren’t, then it would have been solved a long time ago by the trillions of dollars of global aid poured out each year.  Poverty not only is multi-faceted…it is holistic, meaning that the spiritual, physical, social, economic, and other aspects are all interconnected and influence one another…weaving a web that entraps minds, people, communities, nations, and all of creation.  While many CD programs tend to overlook this crucial aspect, YMP3’s CD programs strive to be holistic, people-centered, and sustainable.

The following are 11 guiding principles for YMP3’s CD programs:

1. Start where the people are.
2. Build relationships; then introduce new ideas, showing how they meet identified needs.
3. Engage the local church, enabling them to take an active role in development.
4. Keep projects simple.
5. Involve as many community people as possible in all activities from the start.
6. Train individuals close to their home communities.
7. Train in locally acceptable ways (e.g. methods, facilities).
8. Train trainers who can train others.
9. Involve local leadership.
10. Cooperate with governments.
11. Encourage interdependent relationships vs. dependent or totally independent relationships.

To learn more about current CD programs, please select one of the programs shown below or explore the Community Development portion of the “Our Work” menu.