Understanding the Importance of Community Practice for Christian Social Workers

Abstract

The start of the early Christian church is recounted in the book of Acts. In Acts 2 (NKJV) shares that after the outpouring of the Spirit of God, over 3,000 believers gather themselves together, where they “held everything in common, shared their resources, and that each person’s needs were met (Acts 2:42, The Message).
 The following article takes a bird’s eye view that assists us, as social workers, in understanding the importance of community practice. Community calls us to a sense of belonging and inclusion with a group of people. Community also calls us to consider again our shared values and resources. This article grounds us in the Biblical narrative, moves to our social work skills and knowledge base, and then concludes with thoughts that encourage us to address the “wicked problems” by being disruptive forces in the planned change process which is at the heart of community practice.