Tools to download

Tools for community development

What is community development?
Written by the Community Development Foundation in the UK, this web page explains what community development is.

Community Capacity Building (PDF format)
A key aim of our work, “capacity building” aims to increase the ability of a local community to respond to its own needs, using the strengths that are still present.

Neighbourhood renewal: Growing Victoria together (PDF format)
Explains the main way that the Victorian state government seeks to strengthen communities.

Three models of community work - there is more than one way of working with the community and this gives a simple summary of three common methods.

Getting to know your neighbours (PDF) is a simple practical list of activities people can do to build local connections.

How-to Guides - Community Resource Kit. A New Zealand / Aotearoa Resources for setting up and running community organisations and projects.

Tools for theological reflection

Church Related Community Work. A longer discussion about how and why one denomination became involved in what it calls Church Related Community Work. Other good material is in the Church Related Community Work section at www.urc.org.uk.

Becoming involved in community work brings changes for congregations. Helping church leaders lead differently is a workshop by the Christian Community Development Association in the USA to help leaders think through the change process.

Sticking with Theology: what makes church based work distinctive? describes the common ground congregations have with other local organisations, and the added value they bring to the community.

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