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Salt and Light: The Vision of CCDC
2026-9-29 | Pastor Stacey Littlefield
This past Sunday, as we continued our sermon series on the Gospel of Matthew, we looked at Jesus' words about the identity of God's people, beginning with his first followers. In Matthew 5:13–16, he tells them emphatically (and I can almost see him pointing at them with glee):
"You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world."
That is, “You have an important role to play in God's grand design!” We can be salt and light in many ways, big and small, day-in and day-out, moment-by-moment.
At the end of Sunday's sermon, I invited everyone in person and online to partner with the work of our Covenant Community Development Corporation (CCDC), and I shared the next step in our vision. Today I want to extend that same invitation to you.
In the fall of 2007, our congregation began looking for ways to serve the children, families, faculty, and staff of Miller Elementary School. Our first steps were modest. We found volunteers who could give one hour a week to help with students at lunch and recess.
We started small.
Nearly 20 years later, that ministry has grown in ways we never could have pictured in 2007. We partnered with Bauer Community
Center, served meals there, launched an after-school program, and supported Miller's teachers and staff in many ways. God kept showing us new ways to serve, and we followed one step at a time: Vacation Bible School, Back-to-School Carnivals, and backpacks packed with food for children to take home on weekends.
We started small, but we didn't stay there.
In Water from a Deep Well, his informative and inspiring history of Christian spirituality, Gerald Sittser walks through 2,000 years of church history. He looks at the practices and disciplines of the various Christian traditions and at how they show us God today: "how we can know him intimately, and what we can become in and through him" (p. 24).
Near the end of the book, Sittser looks at the risks taken by saints, leaders, missionaries, martyrs, and ordinary people throughout history. He celebrates the resilient Church of Jesus Christ and reminds us that every one of us can play a part in God's mission. We can all take risks, and over time those risks add up. He writes:
"Give God an inch, and he takes a mile, though we hardly ever notice because we are actually walking that mile, one step at a time. We take one small risk; years later we look back and marvel at what has happened as a result." (p.279)
That is where we, the CCDC Board of Directors, find ourselves now, after more than 19 years in the Miller-Bauer neighborhood. As we got to know the children and families there, we learned about the challenge of housing insecurity and began looking for ways to help.
So in 2021, we bought two houses from Habitat for Humanity and began offering subsidized rental homes for families in need.
I encourage you to watch a short video from Marcus, Karen, and their children, one of the families living in our houses, as they
share how this experience has changed their lives.
We're also investing in people beyond housing. Ronda Ooms, CCDC's executive director, and Julie Sommers are now leading the third session of Getting Ahead, a 16-week learning community that helps people in unstable economic situations build resources and move toward self-sufficiency.
CCDC is entering a new phase of vision and mission. As a board, we are growing in our understanding of the causes of poverty, and we are learning more about the strengths the families we work with bring to the table. We are getting better at what we do and how we do it, and we believe exciting things are on the horizon.
Most recently, we purchased a lot not far from our original houses, demolished the old house on the property, and began making plans to build a new four-bedroom home that will expand our ministry in the neighborhood.
Our vision is to build relationships with families in need, create opportunities with and for them, and inspire growth in them and in the generations to come. If that vision stirs something in you, here are two ways you can help.
1. Stay Connected
Will you take one step, one small risk, and sign up today to stay informed about what's happening with CCDC?
2. Give Toward the New Home
We also invite you to support CCDC financially. CCDC is part of our mission at The Grove, and the church supports this work too. So if you choose to give to CCDC, we ask that you give over and above your regular giving to The Grove.
The total cost of the land and the house is $261,000. So far, we've raised $87,500, about one-third of the goal. We still need $173,500 to finish the job.
One-time gifts are deeply appreciated, but monthly gifts help the most. As always, please give as you are able.
Be Salt and Light
Please pray about how you, too, can be salt and light in our community through CCDC. If you'd like to learn more, reach out to Ronda Ooms or me.
We started small, and we marvel at what God has done over the past two decades.
Imagine what God might do with the steps we take today.