Love Your Neighborhood Article
What is a Love Your Neighborhood Initiative?
Everybody knows “that side of town” or “that neighborhood,” the place you roll up your car windows and lock your doors when you drive through. We’re taught that these areas are hopeless, that they should be avoided.
However, a Love Your Neighborhood (LYN) Initiative begins with the belief that people living in challenging areas have inherent dignity and value, deserve access to a quality of life on par with others, and that the residents are the solution to create a flourishing neighborhood.
These are not places to be avoided, but Arenas of Mission to be invested in!
Neighborhood revitalization draws out the best of what it means to be a good neighbor and active member of a community. Imagine a city where every neighborhood is known for positive energy and strong relationships. Every neighborhood was a place that anyone would choose to live, work, worship, and play.
If you look around your city, this vision may seem unattainable, but we believe it is an ambitious vision worth pursuing because of the very real people who live in these neighborhoods. They are people with names, talents, hopes, and dreams. When they are connected and resourced, they have the power and ability to live an abundant life, changing the entire landscape of their neighborhood.
What a wonderful vision! However, we cannot ignore the reality that revitalizing a neighborhood is challenging. It is a process that takes years of focused investment to see transformational change. Fortunately, there are methods and best practices in action throughout our country…and even in neighborhoods close to us. We can learn, implement, and adjust continually to make the biggest impact and be responsible stewards of the resources entrusted to us.
In addition to these attested practices, Love Your Neighborhood sets the ministry and mission of Jesus as the foundation and comprehensive lens through which our approach is carried into the world. We follow Jesus into the greatest command, and love our neighborhoods because they are full of neighbors.
The Central Practices of a LYN Initiative
The central practices of a LYN initiative made simple are: Listen, Align, Act, Measure, Repeat.
Listen
This crucial first step recognizes that residents are the experts of their neighborhood. Based on their collective time, talent, and resources, most wants and needs can be identified by them – when given the opportunity to be heard.
Align
After listening, different priorities emerge. Alignment comes when all voices within a community are combined, latent resources within the community are activated, and then partner organizations and leaders are brought in to fill gaps. This fundamental step brings unity and focus to neighborhood efforts.
Act
Listening and talking are meaningless unless vision becomes reality. Action must happen – both to build the confidence of neighbors in under-resourced areas and to bring credibility to the claim that change is within reach. Tangible action sparks hope!
Measure
Failing is criticized too harshly. Failing is acceptable – as long as you measure, adjust, and try again! Measuring is essential to neighborhood revitalization. It tells us if our investments of time, talent, and resources are making the difference we hoped to make.