History:

CTM was originally incorporated as MUD Inc., in Philadelphia, PA in 1999 as an outgrowth of an initiative by the Pew Charitable Trusts known as The Philadelphia Project for Youth Ministry, which was originally managed by Kingdomworks and EAPE.  We trained and equipped youth workers in urban churches throughout the greater Philadelphia and Camden area.  After two years of intense training, MUD Inc went underground only to resurface again with a new face and name in July, 2005.   During our underground phase, MUD Inc morphed into the Center for Transforming Mission while being nurtured and developed at the Bakke Graduate University from 2002-2005 under the leadership of Ray Bakke and Brad Smith.  In July of 2005 MUD Inc became the Center for Transforming Mission – a case study in transformation.  

What began as a training initiative focused on developing incarnatinal leaders in Philadelphia has now become a training organization that serves leaders in cities throughout the U.S. and internationally. 

Opportunity:

CTM recognizes the most powerful and renewable resource in high-risk communities resides within the communities themselves – the web of people, relationships and institutions that sustain the life of the community. The critical need is to recognize, network and train indigenous leaders to activate these resources in a way that is sustainable.

Unfortunately, the leaders who are closest to the needs are often overlooked and overwhelmed. They do not receive the encouragement or training they deserve. As a result, high-risk communities are vulnerable to well-meaning but unsustainable solutions that are artificially imposed from the outside. Solutions that are not owned and led by the communities themselves suffer along with the people. They fail to experience transformation from the inside out.

Therefore, CTM is committed to offering affordable and accessible training that inspires and equips indigenous leaders to be agents of transformation in the context of chronic poverty and violence.

Mission:

Our mission is to develop communities of grassroots leaders to serve high-risk youth and families in hard places.

Vision:

Our vision is to see 10,000 high risk youth and families in the next three years encounter the liberating Word of Jesus through at least 1,000 leaders who are equipped to teach and preach Good News among those whose lives are marked by poverty and violence. We share the vision of the prophet Zechariah that “One day the city shall be full of children playing in its streets.”

Three Year Goals:

10,000 high-risk youth and families are served by trained leaders and experience the transforming power of the Good News of Jesus.

• 1,000 grassroots leaders enrolled in three year training.
• 25 Associate Trainers certified to teach CTM intensives
• 50 Masters of Theology students in partnership with Bakke Graduate University.
• 15 sustainable partnerships with organizations serving grassroots leaders.

Values:

Our core values are founded upon and formed by the Incarnational Mission of Jesus Christ.  The following values clarify the Incarnational Mission of Jesus. 

• Whole Gospel: We affirm the full expression of the Gospel’s saving power for all of creation – spiritual and material, sacred and secular.


• Whole Church: We affirm the Body of Christ in all its diverse expressions – denominationally, socio-economically, geographically and theologically.


• Whole Person:  We affirm ministry strategies that address the whole person, body, mind, and soul.
• Whole World: We affirm the radical inclusiveness of the Gospel that crosses all socio-economic, ethnic, cultural and people groups.
  

Resources For Leaders

Training

Street Psalms Intensives: The core of our training is the intensive series offered twice a year for three years. Each leader has the option of pursuing this training for certificate or masters degree through Bakke Graduate University.

o Other resources Include: Vision Trips, Internships, City Mapping

Sustaining

Roundtables: After each Intensive, cohorts of leaders gather weekly/monthly to apply the intensive training to their context.

o Other resources Include: Website - www.GeographyOfGrace.com

Conference, Chaplain Community

Modeling

Strategic Initiatives: CTM develops strategic initiatives that model creative programs for the communities that we serve. For example, we launched the Gang Chaplaincy Initiative in Guatemala and the Street Kids Initiative in Nairobi.

o Other resources include: Consultations

Leadership Outcomes

The following outcomes are keys to transformation that stand the test of time. They are the sub-structure of the Center’s work with leaders. As it relates to the development of transformational leaders, they are the measuring stick of success. Of all the good and important leadership principles that are needed to serve others, in the words of St. Paul, “These three remain…”

Faith – Faithful leaders are committed to the long-haul. They recognize that transformation takes time. Faithful leaders are not primarily concerned about right doctrine, or even the certainty of their own success, but rather the willingness to risk their lives on the reality of Gods love for this world. Because we have faith, rather than mere certainty, our mission is inherently modest and humble and therefore sustainable.

Hope – Hopeful leaders are committed to real and radical change, even if it is only realized in glimpses. They are prophetic and relentlessly practical because they see this world in light of God’s redeeming love. Because we have hope, we creatively translate ideas into concrete actions that make a difference and these actions are signposts of God’s Kingdom at work among us.

Love - Loving leaders are committed to the welfare of others. They are free to place the interests of others above their own. Because we have love, we can serve others and steward power on behalf of the powerless. We are free to love both friends as well as enemies because we have learned to see all people in light of God’s transforming grace.

The youth and families served by leaders trained through CTM will be:

Embraced by Local Churches: Local congregations serve high-risk youth and families with an incarnational, holistic mission that addresses the most difficult and pressing concerns of their “local parish.”

Liberated by Good News: The liberating work of the Gospel radically transforms lives.

Empowered To Be Agents of Change: High-risk youth and families seek the shalom of their respective communities as ambassadors of peace and justice.