Local businesses often serve as an important part of the community life of a neighborhood. They serve as gathering places, provide funding for community projects, instill community pride, and allow for opportunities to talk with neighbors that you may not necessarily see on a daily basis. If you examine any healthy and thriving community, you will notice that local businesses play a prominent role in those communities. Unfortunately, one of the issues that plagues communities like South Atlanta is the void of local businesses.
One Saturday morning, my family and I were sitting in Community Grounds Café talking with another family that just moved to South Atlanta and helped to start Firetongue Recording Studio (the newest member of the CED family). As we were talking, neighbors of ours from the last street we lived on came walking down the sidewalk to check out the studio. They wanted their daughter to take guitar lessons and had seen signs posted in the neighborhood. We had not seen this family since we had moved over a year before and it was great to see them again. Not only that, the family that started the studio was living on their street and they had not yet met. A relationship was born and another one nourished on that Saturday morning thanks to the presence of the three CED businesses in South Atlanta.
As I thought about this encounter, I was reminded about the story of the young women who wanted to be healed by Jesus so badly that she went up and touched His robe (Matthew 9:18-26). When she touched His robe, He felt power leave from His body and asked who touched His robe. The women responded and Jesus said that it was her faith that healed her. This encounter with Jesus was possible because Jesus intentionally choose to put himself in the places where he would encounter people who needed him.
Businesses don’t relocate or open up in South Atlanta for one main reason: money. For most of the business world, that is the bottom line. While we try to run our businesses at CED to be sustainable, we also have a kingdom agenda, and that is to strengthen communities by helping to build relationships. We are hoping that the residents of South Atlanta can tap into something while they are at our stores that will empower them along life’s journey. On this Saturday morning, I believe that this happened, and it was repeated again during the Art Show and Karaoke Night, events that brought all different elements of the community together in a healthy and positive way. Slowly but surely, we are establishing a presence in the community where people can come to be healed. Not but a physical Jesus, but by the power of a community that loves Christ and is seeking his Kingdom.
Thank you so much for you support, and I look forward to seeing you this Christmas season at the Marketplace!