CHURCH & NEIGHBORHOOD PARTNERSHIPS
Helping churches become deeply rooted partners in the flourishing of their neighborhoods.
BLK South accompanies churches serving historic African American neighborhoods across the South as they listen to residents, discern their role, develop community-informed strategies, and implement projects that contribute to long-term neighborhood flourishing.
Our work is grounded in the historic witness of the Black Church, Asset-Based Community Development, and the belief that faithful community development begins with presence, relationship, and accountability to the people who already call a place home.
We can support churches with:
• Neighborhood listening and asset mapping
• Community development strategy
• Resident-led planning and facilitation
• Partnership and coalition development
• Program and project design
• Funding strategy and grant readiness
• Implementation support
• Leadership formation and neighborhood chaplaincy
THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHAPLAIN
A place-rooted vocation of presence, accompaniment, and community care.
Neighborhood Chaplains are trusted, consistent leaders who cultivate the spiritual, social, cultural, and civic well-being of historic African American neighborhoods. They listen to residents, nurture relationships, connect people with resources, preserve community memory, and help neighbors and churches translate shared concerns and hopes into collective action.
Rather than waiting for residents to enter a church building, Neighborhood Chaplains practice a ministry of presence within the everyday life of a neighborhood. They walk alongside residents, recognize the gifts and leadership already present, and help congregations become more deeply rooted, relational, and accountable partners in the flourishing of their communities.
BLK South is developing a comprehensive Neighborhood Chaplaincy formation model that brings together spiritual formation, pastoral care, community organizing, Asset-Based Community Development, mutual aid, trauma-informed care, cultural history, land theology, and place-based community development.
This model is being shaped through BLK South’s on-the-ground work alongside a local congregation and residents in Durham’s historic Hayti District, as well as through ongoing collaboration with churches and institutional partners beyond Durham.
We are actively working toward establishing a formal certificate program in partnership with an accredited academic institution. Our vision is to create a rigorous, accessible training pathway that equips church and community leaders to serve historic African American neighborhoods with theological depth, practical skill, cultural humility, and a long-term commitment to place.