Replicating the model...

It has long been our dream for God to use the model proven effective within the Desire neighborhood to launch similar ministry efforts within other inner-city communities. Toward this goal, Desire Street Ministries trains and inspires future urban ministers through classes and internships.

Hurricane Katrina was devastating but it also provided a great opportunity to increase awareness of poverty in this country. Through exposure in the media and churches, Americans as a whole have gained a broader awareness of the bleak problems facing the inner cities. Christians in particular have become more familiar with Desire Street Ministries and our hopes to replicate our ministry model in other pockets of poverty.

As we look toward the future, we anticipate that ministry replication will be a significant ministry activity. We continue to sense a calling from God to expand our work into other underserved neighborhoods. We are focusing our efforts on forming strategic partnerships that will allow us to successfully train and equip others to launch ministries similar to Desire Street. We will accomplish this through initiatives focused on training and sending.

Training

DSM launched the Urban Institute to train, equip and inspire leaders to live out the Gospel in both word and deed in impoverished communities. The unique feature of the Urban Institute is its focus on incarnational ministry and indigenous leadership. To accomplish this, the Urban Institute brings together some of the most experienced and well-seasoned Christian community development practitioners and Christian theology professors to serve as instructors.

The Urban Institute provides:

• Internships for college students
• Instruction in the theological principles of urban ministry for local pastors
• Ongoing training opportunities for DSM staff

It is designed for both incarnational (those from outside Desire) and indigenous next generation leaders (those native to Desire).  By day, interns experience hands-on urban ministry. In the evenings, they learn about God's heart for the poor in classroom training sessions.

Sending

Desire Street Ministries is "sending" leaders by supporting efforts to establish urban ministries in other underserved areas. For example, Desire Street Ministries is providing strategic support and input to Common Ground Montgomery, a new urban ministry in Montgomery, Alabama, modeled after Desire Street Ministries. Common Ground Montgomery's founder, Bryan Kelly, previously participated in urban ministry training through the Urban Institute. Learn more about Common Ground Mongomery.

Desire Street Ministries is also working to replicate its model by establishing the St. Roch Community Church in the Eighth Ward of New Orleans. The work seeks to revitalize the St. Roch and St. Claude communities through spiritual and community development. This church has the goal of reaching the residents in these two neighborhoods, an area adjacent to the Desire community and near downtown New Orleans where many residents have returned or relocated. The core group is a growing, multi-cultural congregation that preaches the Gospel in word and deed, intentionally reaches and disciples youth, and seeks to address the community's needs. To read more about the St. Roch Community Church, click here. Or visit the St. Roch church website.