Jesus on Main Street
Sharing good news through community economic development
Overview
Walk with Jesus down Main Street and learn how to bring healing, resilience, and equity to your local economy.
God loves just economies, but sadly the invisible hand of the market has chiseled huge cracks in our communities. Fortunately, Jesus announced freedom for the poor and oppressed, and by taking on his mantle we have a role to play in helping establish just economies here and now! Jesus on Main Street provides church leaders and church planters with a broad overview of Community Economic Development (CED), with practical steps to lead your church in following Jesus into those cracks.
How you’ll be equipped
You'll be equipped with the CED "toolkit" including microbusinesses, makerspaces, business incubators, worker cooperatives, workforce development, commercial district revitalization, locality development, anchor institutions, and accountable development. A robust assessment and planning guide specifically for churches will help you create a collaborative CED strategy rooted in God's love for people and justice. For churches looking to bring healing to their local economies, CED builds capacity for long-term equitable economic growth, catalyzing a movement of business creation, employment, and job creation that does not leave anybody behind. This is the promise and challenge of CED as we follow Jesus down Main Street and explore what good news for local economies looks like.
Interested in purchasing the book? You can learn more and purchase here.
Meet the author
David Kresta
Fellow at Ormond Center
David E. Kresta, PhD, MBA, is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at Portland State University where he teaches graduate level courses in community and economic development. He is also a Fellow at the Ormond Center, Duke Divinity School.
Want to dive deeper?
Be sure to check out David’s new YouTube channel where he’ll be releasing a series of short videos covering the content of the book!
Endorsements
“Jesus on Main Street is an incredible synthesis of all the new-wave marketplace strategies that have been and are now becoming the front place of mission in the US and beyond.”
— Hugh Halter, author of Bivo: A Modern-Day Guide for Bi-Vocational Saints
“A timely resource to the Body of Christ and community leaders. Any pastor, church leader, and/or community leader looking for ways to substantially empower his or her people economically must have this book. An easy read with practical, holistic principles and insights for community economic development.”
—J. Hilary Gbotoe Jr., Presiding Bishop, Kingdom Harvest Ministries
“Kresta has written a blueprint for community economic development (CED), which is unlike books about traditional economic development (TED). He lays out the problems and the solutions for churches seeking to become a development resource. This is a must-read for anyone considering how to reimagine serving their communities.”
— Rochelle Andrews, Associate Director, Center for Public Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary
“David Kresta’s work is at the cutting edge of an emerging challenge for the church in the United States. ‘How to be “present” in helping human flourishing occur in neighborhoods and communities!’ Networks are being built and explorers are mapping fresh trails of being the church in the twenty-first century. David provides helpful framings, language, and resources as we navigate what it means to follow Jesus on Main Street and on every street of our communities.”
— Steve Moore, CEO/Executive Director, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust
“David Kresta has written a book I am relying on as a guide in my work for its focus on how people of faith can be involved in community economic development and reengage with the economy and their local communities in response to God’s call to care for their neighbors. I have needed a book like this; it helps me tell the story of what I am doing, both to economic-development folks and to fellow Christians—and it helps to create new bridges of possibility.”
—Kevin Jones, cofounder of SOCAP
“Timely, well-researched, and eminently practical, David Kresta’s Jesus on Mainstreet offers churches a field manual for reimagining what local mission can be and do. Heed Kresta’s advice and discover how you and your congregation can answer the call to be agents of a just, durable, and prosperous thriving in your community. Drawing from the field of community economic development, these pages are full of paradigm-shifting insights for how Christians can love their neighbors by improving their lives and their livelihoods.”