Building Black Families Curriculum

FROM HOPELESSNESS TO HOPE – HELP CANAAN LAND CHURCH INTERNATIONAL CREATE A CHRIST-CENTERED CURRICULUM TO SHARE GOD’S VISION FOR BUILDING THE BLACK FAMILY

THE ISSUE

Unprecedented fatherlessness, unsupported single parent families...overwhelming debt... massive unemployment & underemployment, wealth inequities...drug addictions...health & educational disparities... over-criminalization & incarceration rates...family instability...disproportionate high school dropout rates...rampant domestic violence... reoccurring criminal activities & incarceration - these are all symptoms of brokenness. The African-American family is besieged on all sides, fighting what seems to be an unending battle for stability, progress and generational mobility. The consequence of this chronic state of brokenness is…HOPELESSNESS

National statistics are telling us that the African American family is facing a crisis across several fronts:

Ø  The poverty rate for African-Americans increased to 28.1% in 2012.


Ø  Black families headed by single mothers with children under 18 had a poverty rate of 47.5%.

Ø  African-American women head up 29% of all Black households, more than double the rate for ‘all women’ (13%).

Ø  The number of unmarried Black women who gave birth is 67% almost double the number of all other woman (36%)

Ø  Approximately 6% of African-American men of working age (18-64 years old) are in state or federal prison, or in a municipal jail. Compare this to 2% of all men of working age.


The historical legacy of inequality and discrimination and the present-day manifestations of injustice and disparity result in an African-American community struggling to establish an authentic, healthy identity and permanently step out of the pit of broken dreams, relationships, and lives.

The African-American family is overburdened, overwhelmed, under supported, underachieving – SCARRED. 

So many men, women and children are frustrated, angry, confused, and full of despair. The cries of the community grow louder and louder with each passing moment, asking:

"Where is our help? Who has the answers to our problems? How can things change for us? Is there hope for our families?"


THE SOLUTION

Never disregarding the parallel legacy of the Black community overcoming, persisting and striving in spite of the odds, it is time to confront the diabolically deliberate attack whose goal is the total annihilation of the Black family with the truth – that it is only by putting our hope in God that there can be hope for the healing and restoration of the African-American family.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” (New American Standard Bible)

This is not the time for apathy – it is time for those who know and believe in the restorative power of the love of God to STAND, SPEAK, and ACT.


 ABOUT THE PROJECT


Canaan Land Church International has decided that it will not be a silent observer, passively watching our community battle for survival. Canaan Land Church aims to move the Body of Christ, God’s Church, to the heart of this crisis.

How?

By developing the first-ever Bible-based small group/church curriculum that focuses on revealing God's plan of restoring hope specifically for the African American family. Through sharing and teaching God’s vision for all families, Canaan Land intends to play a vital role in the healing of the African-American family.

The model Jesus used for transformation and discipleship was through a small group, twelve disciples. Those disciples’ live were transformed within small group community. Canaan Land Church, like many churches across the world, has witnessed real-life sustained transformation within the context of authentic small group interaction. Moreover, the African-American family needs the support of others around them that naturally flows from small group community. 

Though there are many excellent Christ-centered curriculums that share important truths and life lessons to the broader church community, there is a dearth of published small group video and book curriculums that have been produced by African-American churches with an emphasis on the needs and issues of the African-American family. To date, no publisher or church has created a Christ-centered small group video and book study tailored to the specific needs and present struggles of the African-American family.

Canaan Land has joined up with Brett Eastman and Life Together to produce this timely curriculum. Life Together has produced many of the top small group curriculums, in the nation including The Purpose-Driven Life with Pastor Rick Warren, and Destiny by Dr. Tony Evans. Additionally they’ve created small group curriculum for other church leaders such as Max Lucado, Craig Groshel, Bill Hybles, and Francis Chan to name a few.

This curriculum can be taught in bible study, small groups, Sunday school, or as a church-wide spiritual growth campaign by any church across the country.

Possible curriculum topics will include:

Ø  Forming a healthy individual & collective identity

Ø  Equipping fatherless men to be fathers

Ø  Finding misplaced hope

Ø  Breaking destructive generational patterns 

Ø  Reconciling broken families

Ø  Redirecting misguided aspirations

Ø  Creating generational wealth

Ø  Building unified families & communities   

 Through real-life stories of struggle and success, the sharing of Biblical principles that address the needs of African-American families, and small group discussion on how to apply the word of God in day-to-day living, we are convinced that this project can guide individuals, families and our community from hopelessness to hope. But we can’t do this without your help.

 WHAT WE NEED TO RAISE FOR OUR PROJECT:

$  Minimum goal - $9,000

o   4-week single curriculum with a full production video

o   Black & White curriculum book

o   This is where awareness and change begin

 
$  We can do even more if we reach this goal - $16,500

o   Two 6-week curriculums with a full production video

o   Color curriculum books for each curriculum

o   This is where sustainable transformation begins in our families

 
$ What can be accomplished if we reach this goal - $25,000

o   Three 6-week curriculums with a full production video

o   Color curriculum books for each curriculum

o   This is where sustainable transformation begins in our communities

Canaan believes that families and communities will be transformed by this project. With your help, this can become a reality.