COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
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The Dordt Difference Communities flourish when people have opportunities to identify their gifts, develop them, and put them to use in God’s kingdom. That’s the starting point for the community development major at Dordt College. Community development is usually associated with helping people in need, and many Christians want to help those who are hungry or suffering. But even though alleviating hunger and providing housing are urgent needs, they are best addressed by considering the big picture. Otherwise helping has the potential to be more hurtful than helpful. “Development programs must be carefully thought out so that they don’t create dependency, remove markets, eliminate jobs, damage the social structure of a community, or undermine the natural resources on which they depend,” says Dr. Robert De Haan, professor of environmental studies. “Community development is for people who like complex challenges,” says Dr. Jeff Ploegstra. “Communities are deep, multifaceted, dynamic systems with unique physical, economic, political, and social environments.” Dordt’s program will help you understand these complex issues and give you the specific knowledge and skills you’ll need to begin working as soon as you graduate.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Community development efforts can be domestic or international, rural or urban. Small towns and large metropolitan cities in both the United States and around the globe have needs that can best be solved by a holistic understanding of how communities work. Idealist.org and Developmentaid.org list hundreds of careers in community development. Following are a few examples: community development director • church developer/evangelist • educator for adult learning programs • rural/urban agriculture coordinator • economic development director • community health administrator • community planner • public works coordinator • park manager