Faith Rooted Community Organising
Faith-Rooted Community Organising (FRCO) is about living our Christian faith by coming together to work for change.
Rooted in our faith and Methodist heritage, FRCO is a series of practises that draw people together to listen deeply, build meaningful relationships, and act collectively for justice and transformation in our churches and communities.
How does Faith-Rooted Community Organising Work?
Community Organising is a way of working with others that developed in and from grassroots communities. Community Organisers work alongside others, encouraging people to use their gifts and skills and developing local leaders, in order to work towards justice-centred change.
Much like community engagement and development, FRCO tries to make the world a better place, but with a distinctive focus on:
- listening deeply to one another
- building connections to discover shared hopes and concerns
- recognising and using our power and resources for good
- acting collectively to bring about change l living our faith in public life with courage and compassion.
We will use FRCO to help us:
- develop existing churches
- establish new Christian communities – New Places for New People
- gain the skills needed to be a Justice-Seeking Church
What difference will Faith-Rooted Community Organising make?
At its heart, FRCO helps us to name the challenges of ‘the world as it is’ and work together towards ‘the world as God intended it to be’.
FRCO is rooted in the same theological principles as the Justice-Seeking Church.
- Being with not for: We do things with others, not for or to.
- Humility in community: We can’t do everything, so will discern what is ours to do.
- Self-awareness: We will recognise the power imbalances in our world, communities and churches. We will use and share the resources and power we do have.
- Justice and hope: We will name and challenge injustice in ways that demonstrate our hope that God will and can bring justice, healing and transformation.
- Prayer: All that we do is rooted in prayer – for justice and flourishing in our communities and for ourselves, that God will guide and sustain us.
To find out more about FRCO and how to use these practises in your Church or Circuit, contact our Mission Officer: Faith Rooted Community Organising Lead, Lianne Silvester.