BUILD, Breakthrough Urban Institute of Leadership Development: A transformative learning program fostering cross-cultural understanding and urban ministry effectiveness

The Breakthrough Urban Institute of Leadership Development, developed primarily for the staff, volunteers, and donors associated with Breakthrough Urban Ministries in Chicago, seeks to engage diverse groups of people in learning communities, which raise awareness about issues of race, class, and social injustice through dialogue and reflection, thereby building what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described as 'beloved community.'1

The BUILD program meets the need for a learning program that goes beyond presenting models of urban ministry to actually engaging learners in discussions that challenge them to think and feel as they listen to the life stories of those who have lived in the urban culture so that they will move along the continuum of transformation toward cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding.

Two stories, my own and that of a friend and colleague, Cynthia Milsap, are used to illustrate how the sharing of our life stories within learning communities provides a framework for engaging in dialogue about shared and diverging experiences and reflecting upon how our experiences have shaped our worldviews. 1 Charles Marsh, The Beloved Community: How Faith Shapes Social Justice, from the Civil Rights
Movement to Today, (New York: Basic Books, 2004) 1.

The BUILD program rests upon clear biblical and theological foundations. The persons of the Trinity are presented as a model of beloved community. Biblical references to the barriers and bridges to beloved community are discussed with an emphasis upon the overarching theme of God's redemptive and reconciliatory work in the world and of Jesus as the supreme model of beloved community bridge builder.
The pedagogical foundations upon which the BUILD program has been formed include the ideas presented by Paulo Friere, Jack Mezirow and Patricia Cranton. An overview of their writings and other relevant literature is discussed.

Finally, a detailed description of the BUILD program is provided: how it was designed, how it has evolved, its present curriculum, its challenges and successes, and the vision for the future of the program.