By Barbara J. Elliott
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Foreword: Ambassador Daniel R. Coats, former U.S. Senator. Faith-based organizations and their crucial role in America. The limitations of government and the call for individuals in the private sector to care for people in need. Faith, character, and the soul of the nation.
Introduction – Barbara J. Elliott. Street saints doing inspiring work finding broken human beings and loving them into wholeness. The breadth and depth of their remarkable work renewing individuals and communities. A brief overview of this book’s tour through America’s cities. Why the author entered the world of street saints.
Section I: The People
Close-up Personal Portraits of Street Saints
Chapter 1: American Street Saints in Action
Kirbyjon Caldwell: Windsor Village and the Power Center
Wall Street broker turned pastor sparks urban transformation that inspired George W. Bush (Houston, TX)
Freddie and Ninfa Garcia: Victory Fellowship of Texas
Former addicts help 13,000 leave drugs in Hispanic communities (San Antonio, TX)
Cordelia Taylor: Family House
Creating a haven of peace for the elderly poor, reclaiming a city block from drug traffickers (Milwaukee, WI)
Eugene Rivers: Ten Point Coalition
Turning gang members to God in the inner city (Boston, MA)
Chapter 2: John Perkins: From Raw Violence to Reconciliation
The journey from his brother’s murder onto the streets of Mississippi, through beatings in jail, to become a reconciler of races. Restoring impoverished communities through relocation and leadership with love. A legacy in:
Voice of Calvary (Mendenhall, MS)
Harambee Christian Family Center (Pasadena, CA)
John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation (Jackson, MS)
Christian Community Development Association
Chapter 3: Brian King: A Gangster Disciple
A Chicago gang member who joined when he was eleven, started heroin when he was twelve, dealt drugs, didn’t expect to live, and had an encounter with God. He works now with kids as lost as he was, and their parents.
Section II: – The Programs
What Works and Why, as Street Saints Change Lives
Chapter 4: Rescuing America’s At-Risk Kids
Overview
Casa de Esperanza – healing severely abused and abandoned children through love (Houston, TX)
Kids Hope USA –pairing one church with one school, one adult with one child (Spring Lake, MI, replicated in 217 partnerships nationally)
Urban Ventures – Transforming at-risk youth and their entire neighborhood (Minneapolis, MN)
Cornerstone Schools – raising the bar for academic performance in the inner city (Detroit, MI)
The Oaks Academy – wraparound renewal with classic education (Indianapolis, IN)
Research on Faith and At-Risk Youth – Byron Johnson et al.
Chapter 5: Transforming Offenders and Victims
Overview
InnerChange Freedom Initiative- faith-saturated prison program changing the hearts of criminals (TX, MN, IA, KS)
Bridges to Life- face-to-face reconciliation between victims and perpetrators of crime, healing both (7 prisons in TX)
No More Victims- reaching out to angry youth left behind (Houston, TX)
Amachi --mentoring children of prisoners by mobilizing the churches (Philadelphia, PA, replicating nationally)
Craine House—innovative approach keeps women prisoners and their babies together (Indianapolis, IN)
Chapter 6: Faith, Health, and Holistic Change
Holistic Ministry – Welfare to Work efforts providing more than a job
Homeless Shelters transitioning the whole person into a changed life
Interfaith Housing Coalition (Dallas, TX)
Open Door Mission- (Houston, TX)
Star of Hope Transitional Living Center (Houston, TX)
Wheeler Mission Ministries (Indianapolis, IN)
Faith and Drug Addiction: Teen Challenge’s success in breaking the cycle of drug addiction through faith intervention
Faith and Health – the record of scientific research documenting the effects of faith on healing-- Harold Koenig et al.
Chapter 7: Social Entrepreneurs
Overview – where business savvy meets ministry
Pura Vida – “Coffee with a Cause” supporting street children through raising and marketing coffee (Seattle, WA and Costa Rica)
Resources- turning immigrants into entrepreneurs (Brooklyn, NY)
Step 13 – putting recovering addicts and alcoholics to work (Denver, CO)
Jobs Partnership –mentoring into stability in the workplace (Raleigh, NC, now replicated in 27 cities)
Brookwood Community—micro-enterprises for the severely handicapped (Brookshire, TX)
Section III – The Cities
A Vision as Big as the City – Street Saint Strategies
Chapter 8: The Nehemiah Strategy
Nehemiah as paradigm for city renewal
Today’s Nehemiah’s:
Robert Woodson – National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise – fostering renewal at the grassroots level through neighborhood leaders (Washington, D.C.)
Luis Cortes – Nueva Esperanza – giving Latinos hope, homes, jobs, and education (Philadelphia, PA)
Chapter 9: Pittsburgh: As Famous for God as Steel
Reid Carpenter and John Stahl-Wert as Nehemiah’s in Pittsburgh
Coalition for Leadership, Education and Advocacy for Recovery
Pittsburgh Youth Network
Pittsburgh Community Storehouse
East Liberty Family Health Care Center
City as Parish – equipping the church as a body
Leadership Foundations of America
Chapter 10:
Savvy Saturation: Memphis Leadership Foundation
Larry Lloyd and Howard Eddings as Nehemiah’s in Memphis
Urban Youth Initiative
Memphis Athletic Ministries
Christ Community Health Services
Neighborhood Housing Opportunities
Economic Opportunities- transition into work
Mediation and Restitution/Reconciliation Services
Urban Plunge – another side of the city
Oasis of Hope – suburban-urban bridge
Streets – equipping at-risk kids
For the Kingdom Camp and Retreat Center
Multinational Ministries- serving immigrants and refugees
Hope Christian Community Foundation
Questions to Ask Before You Give to a Faith-Based Organization
Chapter 11:
One by One Leadership: Fresno
Equipping and Connecting
H. Spees and Kurt Madden as Nehemiah’s in Fresno
Overview
Genesis of a Movement
Care Fresno – Apartment Intervention
Relocating in troubled neighborhoods
Jefferson Area Neighborhood Association
Welfare-to-Work
At-Risk Ministries
City Builders Roundtable
City as Parish
Pastors Clusters
Communities Organizing Resources for Advanced Learning
Family Leadership Connection
How One by One Works City-wide
Lessons Learned
A Conversation with H. Spees
Section IV – The Big Picture
Faith at Work in America’s History
The Beliefs that Motivate Street Saints Today
Chapter 12: The Roots of American Compassion
The Truth about Church and State
Faith and the Founders
A City on a Hill
The Fruits of Faith
Compact and Covenant
Conclusive Christian Convictions
What Alexis de Tocqueville Saw
Fostering America’s Soul
The Contemporary Conflict Zone
Americans are “Bowling Alone”
Mall as Modern Temple
Seeking Secular Salvation
Ambiguous Embrace of Government Funding
What’s Needed is a Change of Heart
Conclusion: A Kingdom Vision
Mobilizing the Faithful
The “Wounded Healer” – Henri Nouwen
The “Kingdom at Hand”- Dallas Willard
From the UN to the Inner City – Barbara Skinner
Why the Seepage after Sunday?
Lacking Discipleship
The Crucial Intersection
Faith is the Root, Love is the Fruit – Peter Kreeft
Illustrations of Compassion from the Tao – C.S. Lewis
Social Justice Tradition--caring for the poor – Richard Foster
Evangelical Tradition--changing the heart
Contemplative Tradition leads to Faith in Action
Mother Teresa-- “A Pencil in God’s Hands”
Dark Night of the Soul
The Heart of a Street Saint
What to Expect if You Go
Bibliography
Appendix with contact information for these Faith-Based Organizations
Index
Copyright Barbara J. Elliott 2004
