Agent of Thriving, Translational Research & Community Economic Development

David E. Kresta, PhD, is an Ormond Center Agent of Thriving. In this role, he helps lead the Center’s translational research efforts at the intersection of community and congregational thriving. He firmly believes that God has placed local churches, as community ecosystem participants, in specific communities to work towards the vision of love and justice found throughout Scriptures. With an engineer’s eye towards systems thinking, David applies his experience in high-tech business development, community research, and economic development to help churches become active “agents of thriving.”

David is author of Jesus on Main Street, a work that is “at the cutting edge of the of an emerging challenge for the church in the United States.” He has taught community and economic development as an adjunct professor at Portland State University’s Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning, Multnomah University and Seminary, and Wesley Theological Seminary.  His doctoral research focused on the role that churches play in neighborhood change, exploring connections between church location, attendee demographics, and church programs with community phenomena such as gentrification, poverty, and segregation.