If we are convinced that loving your neighbor and your neighborhood is a nonnegotiable part, of what it means to be the church, how do we get there? How do we mobilize the church for place-based engagement?
We get to share with you the expertise and wisdom of two leaders, Michelle Ferrigno Warren and Hyepin Im, who are giving their careers to these very questions. Day in and day out they are working with congregations and leaders on how to leave the comfortable confines of the sanctuary for the adventure of the neighborhood.
Listen in as one of our Lead Consultants, David Park, talks with these incredible leaders about the work of mobilizing congregations for place-based impact.
Michelle Ferrigno Warren, President & CEO of Virago Strategies
Michelle Ferrigno Warren is the President & CEO of Virago Strategies, a consulting group which provides strategic engagement and project management support for churches and nonprofits stepping more deeply into the work of advocacy. She has been working in Christian community development for 30 years utilizing her skills as an educator, worship leader, non-profit manager, public policy specialist & faith-rooted organizer & activist. She is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and a Senior Fellow with The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute. She is a fierce advocate for justice and has shared much of her journey toward civic engagement and activism in her books, The Power of Proximity, Moving Beyond Awareness to Action, IVP 2017 and Join the Resistance, Step Into the Good Work of Kingdom Justice IVP, October 2022.
Hyepin Im, President and Founder of Korean Churches for Community Development
Hyepin Im is a U.S. Presidential Appointee on the Board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. She is the President and Founder of Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD), a national nonprofit, empowering churches and nonprofits to leverage their resources by building capacity, leadership, and partnerships in economic development and serving as a bridge between the Asian American community and the greater community. She has a B.S. from U.C. Berkeley, M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, and M.Div., summa cum laude, from Wesley Theological Seminary.
David Park, Lead Trainer and Consultant
David Park is a Lead Trainer and Consultant with The Lupton Center. David comes to FCS with over a decade of experience as a local church pastor in a community development setting where he collaborated with and advised many nonprofit organizations to impact local communities. David also brings a variety of experience to this work as an entrepreneur, creative, and affordable housing advocate and investor. As a member of FCS’s Training and Consulting Team, David brings a unique blend of strategic thinking, facilitating, and compassion to the work of community building. He loves being a part of a diverse team that practices and seeks to grow personal and collective wholeness.
- For more information about the work of the Lupton Center, please visit our website: https://www.luptoncenter.org/
- For more information about the work of Focused Community Strategies, please visit our website: https://fcsministries.org/
Special thanks to our podcast editor, Tim Rhodes, for making this episode possible. If you are interested in working with Tim, you can contact him via email at tim@whistlingblue.com, or through his website, whistlingblue.com. If you have questions, feedback, or wish to contact us, please email Rose Silva at rose@fcsministries.org
