Involve your congregation
LEAD believes and acts with the understanding that people of faith are required to do justice, but often lack an effective vehicle to do so. We seek to stand in this gap and invite you to join us.
We are a Congregation Based Community Organization
LEAD is a direct action, multi-issued group that brings congregations face-to- face with decision makers. Using the power of our numbers, we come together in the public eye to make demands and get commitments on issues that our members have identified. All of the issues are rooted in the long-term goal of building power to achieve a greater degree of justice in our community. Specifically, we act out of our religious values of mutual respect, dignity, and human worth.
We are a network of congregations and thus called a congregation based community organization. Unlike neighborhood associations that are composed of individuals, our member groups are congregations who cross denominational, racial and economic lines to form our broad-based, diverse organization.
Instead of being led by one or two charismatic leaders, our organization has a democratic decision-making process. Congregations are represented at each decision-making level of the organization. Each congregation also has a leadership team with members who are accountable to and representative of their congregations. In addition, our organization has a paid, full time organizing staff. Finally our organization is always politically non-partisan. It does not support candidates for political office. In order to maintain our independence and ensure longevity, the funding for this work does not come from the government, United Way, or a few wealthy individuals. Our most important source of funding is dues from our members and their congregations. In addition, we are supported with grants.
Our organization is one of 20 different congregation based community organizations in 7 states that compose the Direct Action and Research Training (DART) Network, (see thedartcenter.org). The leaders and organizers in the DART network work with and support each other in their mutual goal of building power in order to achieve a greater degree of justice in their communities.
LEAD is a direct action, multi-issued group that brings congregations face-to- face with decision makers. Using the power of our numbers, we come together in the public eye to make demands and get commitments on issues that our members have identified. All of the issues are rooted in the long-term goal of building power to achieve a greater degree of justice in our community. Specifically, we act out of our religious values of mutual respect, dignity, and human worth.
We are a network of congregations and thus called a congregation based community organization. Unlike neighborhood associations that are composed of individuals, our member groups are congregations who cross denominational, racial and economic lines to form our broad-based, diverse organization.
Instead of being led by one or two charismatic leaders, our organization has a democratic decision-making process. Congregations are represented at each decision-making level of the organization. Each congregation also has a leadership team with members who are accountable to and representative of their congregations. In addition, our organization has a paid, full time organizing staff. Finally our organization is always politically non-partisan. It does not support candidates for political office. In order to maintain our independence and ensure longevity, the funding for this work does not come from the government, United Way, or a few wealthy individuals. Our most important source of funding is dues from our members and their congregations. In addition, we are supported with grants.
Our organization is one of 20 different congregation based community organizations in 7 states that compose the Direct Action and Research Training (DART) Network, (see thedartcenter.org). The leaders and organizers in the DART network work with and support each other in their mutual goal of building power in order to achieve a greater degree of justice in their communities.
To begin, we encourage you to learn more about LEAD through the resources provided in these pages as well as the Resource page itself. Next, we invite you to contact us directly at any time to discuss how we may work together in our shared pursuit of justice. - See more here.
See the list of current member congregations here.
