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Holy Ground Task Force

Holy Ground is an organizing tool to engage people of faith in relationships with the community surrounding the congregation. When congregations declare Holy Ground they make a public declaration on their faith and values that they will organize to create a healthy community.

Holy Ground is an important tool to organizations and congregations because it gives them the opportunity to turn faith to action. The term, “Holy Ground” stems from Exodus 3:5 which exclaims, “Take of the sandals of your feet because the place where you stand is Holy Ground.” After this, God calls Moses to public action by returning to a place of oppression to liberate Gods people. Holy Ground thus emerges as a transformational force that engages people in the work for human dignity and community renewal by giving the congregation an awesome platform to go public.

Congregations should vision Holy Ground as an opportunity to do the following:

• Create leadership opportunities for people in congregations and the Neighborhood
• Convene neighborhood stakeholders in the self-interest of creating community
• Work with stakeholders in the community to examine issues in the target area
• Raise the role of the congregation in the consciousness of the neighborhood and community
• Repair the breach in relationships between law enforcement and community leader
•  Create sustainable neighborhoods free of crime, drugs, gang activity and dilapidated buildings
• Build relationships of self-interest between congregations and neighborhood residents
• Build the base of the larger organization to address issues that further impact our city.

Although Holy Ground is a not an issue in and of itself, it is a tactic to resolve issues. Although each congregation claims their own boundaries and works to address issues that are important in their community, the power comes in the collective action of congregations who make a public declaration. This simply means that thirty congregations who declare Holy Ground and are clear about their approach to their campaign have much more power than three.

As Holy Ground is coordinated from the center of the organization strategically, congregations must breathe life into the congregation and neighborhood by acting with a tactical focus in the interest of creating community!