CCDA Podcast

CCDA
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Non-Profit
  • Updated Biweekly

Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) is a network of Christians committed to seeing people and communities experience God’s shalom. This podcast features teaching from our annual conference, interviews, and training courses.

  1. 1d ago

    Civic Engagement in Richmond

    Lawson Wijesooriya is joined by Dr. Danny Avula, the mayor of the city of Richmond, to discuss Christian Community Development in their city. They reflect on their history with CCD, how they are listening to the community, and how Dr. Perkins' legacy has shaped their lives, families, and vocations. Join us in Richmond this October 7-10 for the CCDA Conference! Visit ccda.org/conference to learn more. Each August, we focus on civic engagement as a CCDA Family. Learn more about engaging with your local government at ccda.org/civic. Dr. Danny Avula took office as the 81st Mayor of the City of Richmond on January 1, 2025. Before his election to public office, Danny served the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts for 12 years, including 6 years as its Director. There, he championed efforts to increase access to care for the most vulnerable residents of our community, prioritized the voices of those with lived experience, lifted up the intersection of housing and health, and addressed the root causes that shape health outcomes-especially poverty and race. Born in Hyderabad, India, he immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1979. A father of five, Danny and his wife, Mary Kay, have lived in Richmond's East End for over 20 years. Mary Kay is a teacher with Richmond Public Schools. Click here to learn more about Danny. Lawson Wijesooriya is the Chief of Staff for Richmond’s 81st Mayor, Dr. Danny Avula. Before leading his successful bid for mayor as campaign manager, Wijesooriya spent 15 years leading local non-profits—with a focus on strategy and community development—to serve some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. She graduated from the University of Virginia as a Phi Beta Kappa Jefferson Scholar and is a mother of two. Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    Civic Engagement in Richmond

  2. Jul 14

    What is The Clearing?

    Sylvia Kamande is joined by Lisa Sharon Harper to discuss The Clearing. They reflect on this time of economic difficulty for many Black and Brown women, the toll that takes on their health and relationships, and the importance of moving forward in community. They also share about the preconference event The Clearing, happening on October 7, 2026, in Richmond, where women of color are invited to connect, learn, and grow together. Click here to learn more about The Clearing and register for the CCDA Conference at ccda.org/conference. Lisa Sharon Harper is the founder and president of Freedom Road, a groundbreaking consulting and communications group. Lisa is a theologian whose writing, speaking, activism, and training have sparked and fed the fires of re-formation in the church from Ferguson and Charlottesville to South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and Ireland. Having earned an MFA in playwriting from the University of Southern California and an MA in Human Rights from Columbia University, Lisa’s play An’ Push da Wind Down won the 1996 Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival Michael Kanin Award for Best Student Play and Best Production. Lisa’s book, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family And The World--And How To Repair It All was named 2022 “Book of the Year” by Word and Way. The Very Good Gospel was named 2016 “Book of the Year” by Englewood Review of Books. Lisa is host of the Freedom Road Podcast, cohost of The FOUR Podcast, and author of her Substack column, “The Truth Is…”  The Huffington Post identified Lisa as one of 50 Women Religious Leaders to Celebrate on International Women’s Day. Lisa is currently earning her PhD in womanist ethics at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and serving as Affiliate Faculty at St. Stephen’s University in Canada. Learn more at lisasharonharper.com. Sylvia Kamande serves as Director of Family Ministry at Because Justice Matters, in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighbourhood. Originally from Kenya, she has spent more than 15 years in full-time ministry serving alongside diverse communities across Africa, Latin America, and the United States. She is a co-church planter with El Camino Covenant Church and co-leads the Women of Color Network within the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA). Sylvia is passionate about equipping leaders, cultivating belonging, and creating healing-centered spaces where children, families, and communities can experience restoration and abundant life in Jesus. Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    What is The Clearing?

  3. Jun 23

    Stories of Migration with World Relief

    Daniel Yang is joined by Liliana Reza to discuss their work at World Relief, share stories of migration, and reflect on walking alongside immigrants, refugees, and displaced people. Learn more about World Relief and their work around the globe at worldrelief.org. And check out the Faithful Witness Campaign at faithfulwitness.us for ways that you can get involved in your community. Daniel Yang serves as the National Director of Churches of Welcome for World Relief. Prior to that, he was the director of the Church Multiplication Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. Daniel has been a pastor, church planter, engineer, and technology consultant. He has planted churches in Detroit, Dallas, Toronto, and Chicago, either as the lead planter or through recruiting, training, assessing, and mentoring church planters. Daniel is a sought-after conference speaker, missional strategist, consultant, and co-author of Inalienable: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church (InterVarsity, May 2022) and Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders (Zondervan, October 2024). Liliana Reza is the Director of Border Engagement at World Relief, where she advocates alongside refugees, immigrants, and displaced communities. An ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, she holds an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Nazarene Theological Seminary. Based in the San Diego-Tijuana region, Liliana is passionate about building bridges through faith, justice and community — often found exploring the borderlands or training for her next marathon. Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    Stories of Migration with World Relief

  4. Jun 9

    CCD at Work in Virginia

    Meghan Jackson is joined by Charles Cheek, Eddie Howard, and Meghann Cotter to share about the CCD work that is being done in Hampton Roads, Charlottesville, and Fredericksburg. They also share about their Go & Sees they’re hosting in October and how they’re beholding God with and in their communities. Don’t miss the CCDA Conference in Richmond, Virginia, this October. Get into town early and experience one of the full-day Go & Sees happening on October 7th! Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    CCD at Work in Virginia

  5. May 29

    CCDA Podcast Trailer

    Welcome to the CCDA Podcast. CCDA is a network of Christians committed to seeing people and communities experience God's shalom. On this podcast, we don’t have formal interviews or “expert takes;” instead, we have honest, grounded conversations to help you feel less alone in the work and imagine faithful next steps in your own community. You will hear conversations with practitioners, leaders, scholars, and neighbors who are living out Christian Community Development in real, contextual ways. Our guests draw from lived experience, sharing how faith and CCD are shaping how they are showing up in their context. We hope you are encouraged and inspired by these conversations. Subscribe today.

  6. May 26

    Why Should We Care for Creation?

    Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt is joined by Amy Kuhl to discuss ecological discipleship and creation care. They share how they are caring for the environment with their communities, how creation care integrates with Christian Community Development, and practical ways for people to engage in caring for their environments. Learn more about the Ecological Discipleship Network at ccda.org/ecological and don’t miss the CCDA Conference in Richmond, Virginia, to connect with other like-minded people. Stephanie Ann is deeply committed to the intersection of justice, faith, healing, ecology, and personal and communal transformation. With a background in community development and violence prevention—including a decade of working with incarcerated women—she brings compassion and expertise to her work as a licensed clinician specializing in trauma recovery and holistic well-being. Stephanie is the cofounder and executive director of Kinship Plot, a community organization that envisions vibrant communities where people experience resonant relationships through stable housing, shared land stewardship, and creative, hospitable life together. She is also an ordained minister in the Presbytery of the Central Carolinas. Amy moved to Seattle in October 2022 to manage World Relief’s Resiliency Programs, following her passion to support refugees and displaced people as they rebuild their lives and communities after crisis. She graduated from the University of Michigan with an M.A. in Liberal Studies focusing on gender and globalization, environmental studies, documentary film, and creative advocacy. Prior to her current role, Amy worked overseas in humanitarian aid for nearly a decade supporting displaced people across the world as they moved forward after war and disaster. Over her career she has lived, worked, and studied in 12 countries across five continents. A native of Michigan, Amy loves playing piano and soccer and enjoys being outside any chance she gets—especially if it involves windsurfing, skiing, paddleboarding, rock-climbing or gardening! Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    Why Should We Care for Creation?

  7. May 11

    A Life Well Lived: Founders Remember Dr. John M.Perkins

    In this special episode, we are taking time to remember the life and legacy of Dr. John M. Perkins, one of the founders of the Christian Community Development movement. Throughout this episode, you’ll hear from other founding leaders and friends who walked closely with him. These friends include Dr. Mary Nelson, Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Dr. Dolphus Weary, Dr. Wayne Gordon, and Dr. Kathy Dudley. They reflect on his life, his friendship, and how his legacy continues today. Dr. Perkins showed us what it looks like to follow Christ in community. And as we listen, we are invited to consider what it means for us now, how we carry that witness forward together. Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    A Life Well Lived: Founders Remember Dr. John M.Perkins

  8. Apr 28

    Historias de testimonio fiel (Stories of Faithful Witness)

    A Rosa Mani Thomas se le unen Adriana De La Rosa, Clara D. Compean y Chris Ophus para reflexionar sobre sus experiencias como Micah Catalysts y compartir acerca de la Campaña del Testimonio Fiel. Comparten cómo están viendo a Dios obrar en sus comunidades, la belleza que perciben en sus contextos locales y aquello que les infunde esperanza en esta temporada. Esta conversación se desarrolla íntegramente en español, como un ejercicio de escucha y solidaridad. Las Escrituras nos recuerdan que seguir a Cristo implica acercarse, escuchar y dejarse moldear por aquellas voces que, de otro modo, podríamos pasar por alto. Hemos tomado esta decisión de manera intencional, pues el lenguaje determina la forma en que se narran las historias y qué voces ocupan el centro de atención. Muchas personas en nuestras comunidades se ven obligadas a traducirse a sí mismas constantemente para poder ser comprendidas. Hoy, decidimos bajar el ritmo y escuchar de una manera diferente. Les invitamos a quedarse y acompañarnos, aun si la experiencia les resulta poco familiar. Asimismo, para aquellos a quienes les resulte de utilidad, ponemos a su disposición una transcripción en inglés aquí, para que puedan seguir la conversación. Obtenga más información sobre la Campaña Faithful Witness de CCDA, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, World Relief, y Undivided en faithfulwitness.us. -- Rosa Mani Thomas is joined by Adriana De La Rosa, Clara D. Compean, and Chris Ophus to reflect on their experiences as Micah Catalysts and share about the Faithful Witness Campaign. They share how they are seeing God move in their communities, the beauty they are seeing in their local contexts, and what is giving them hope in this season. This conversation is entirely in Spanish, as a practice of listening and solidarity. Scripture reminds us that to follow Christ is to draw near, to listen, and to be formed by the voices we might otherwise overlook. We chose this intentionally because language shapes how stories are told and whose voices are centered. Many in our communities are constantly translating themselves to be understood. Today, we’re slowing down and listening in a different way. We invite you to stay, even if it feels unfamiliar. And for those who would benefit, an English transcript is available here so you can follow along. Learn more about the Faithful Witness Campaign by CCDA, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, World Relief, and Undivided at faithfulwitness.us. Learn more about CCDA and how you can get involved at ccda.org. Connect with CCDA on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Follow CCDA on YouTube.

    Historias de testimonio fiel (Stories of Faithful Witness)
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About

Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) is a network of Christians committed to seeing people and communities experience God’s shalom. This podcast features teaching from our annual conference, interviews, and training courses.

Information

  • Creator
    CCDA
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    66
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 CCDA
  • Show Website
    CCDA Podcast