Within the ecosystem of a city, what is the function of congregations? Are they just there to serve the needs of the members or should they play a role in contributing to the health and vitality of the city, or, at least, the neighborhood the church inhabits? The Leadership Foundation is a growing global network of faith-based leaders and organizations from over 40 member cities. Leadership Foundations believes that if we can change our cities, we can change the world. And this change starts with relationships.
So how do they go about inviting their members from Dallas to Delhi into place-based impact? We are excited to have Lee Kricher from Pittsburgh, Oliver Rishmond from Chattanooga, and Dave Hillis from National speak about the work of churches in impacting their cities.
Listen in as one of our Lead Consultants, David Park, discusses the methods the Leadership Foundation is using to help churches engage in place-based work.
David Park, Lead Trainer and Consultant at FCS
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.
Lee Kricher, President of the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation
Dr. Lee Kricher is the President of the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, providing vision and oversight of the mission of PLF which brings leaders together for the good of our city. Lee is also the Founder of Future Forward Churches, and author of For a New Generation and Seamless Pastoral Transition, books about the dramatic transformation of the church he pastored from an aging, dying church into a growing, multi-generational church. Lee previously served as Vice President of Leadership Development for Development Dimensions International and Regional Vice President for Linkage, Inc. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Geneva College, a Master’s degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh and a Doctor of Ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
Oliver Richmond, President of Kingdom Partners, Chattanooga
Oliver Richmond is the President of Kingdom Partners, Chattanooga. He holds a B.S. in Business Management from Ferris State University, and Certificates of Theology from The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) of Atlanta, GA. Oliver serves as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Deacon Board of Grace Pointe Church of Chattanooga. He has 20 years of experience providing training and educational workshops to minority communities, corporations, and churches. Oliver has extensive experience helping churches and nonprofits achieve community outreach. He is the husband of Minister Pamela Richmond and father of their four children. Prior to coming to Kingdom Partners, Oliver served as Interim Executive Director with Front Porch Alliance.
Dave Hillis, Fetzer Project Consultant and Senior Fellow, Leadership Foundations
Dave Hillis served as President of Leadership Foundations for over 13 years. Leadership Foundations exists to develop, strengthen, and sustain local leadership foundations (LLFs) for the socio-spiritual renewal of their city. LF is currently working with over 65 cities from one of three membership categories: developing, established, strategic partners; representing 25,000 partnerships; 12,000 volunteers; and 800,000 people served. Dave is now the Senior Innovation Fellow at the Leadership Foundations Colangelo Carpenter Innovation Center.
- 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
