News From Christian Service Mission: Samford Local Poverty Class

Barbara Cartledge's class from Samford with Tracy at landmark church, Bethel Baptist

For the seventh year, the Jan-term Business and Local Poverty class of the Brock School of Business at Samford University collaborated with Christian Service Mission this past week. This annual collaborative learning experience is led by Barbara H. Cartledge, Assistant Dean of Academic Programs with the Brock School of Business. Barbara developed a new course Business and Local Poverty which allows students to engage and discover initiatives within metro Birmingham that seek to alleviate and mitigate the oppression of poverty. The course grew out of Brock School of Business social entrepreneurship focus.

Students enroll in this class to gain insights on the state of poverty within the various Birmingham communities and how businesses/missions are seeking to partner in community development within these impoverished locales. Students learn through the lens of various texts including A Framework for Understanding Poverty (Payne), Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life (Lupton), and When Helping Hurts (Corbett & Fikkert); plus, interactions with the respective community missions/organizations that Tracy Hipps directs and organizes, including a deep look into the wholistic community development, responsible care ministry model of the Christian Service Mission. The students visited with Dr. Michael Wesley of Greater Shiloh Baptist Church in West End Dr. Thomas Beavers of New Rising Star Church in East Lake, and heard about the struggles of the 1960’s at Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville. While there, students helped with a house painting project for the church’s community development efforts.

Barbara told us, “In the course of a full week of visits and dialogues with local community missions and community leaders, the students move from being an observer to an engaged and interactive “pupil” of active community development. Tracy Hipps engineers and coordinates these enlightening interactions and pours into the lives of the students in the class from his 30 years of ministry to the poor.” Barbara also shared a quote from one of the current students: “Nearly all of the ministries and organizations that we visited are deeply committed to partnerships. These partnerships allow them to share their strengths and rely on each other to fill in the gaps where they are weaker. They can do this because their focus is not on themselves.”

Just this week, Barbara received this message from one of her students that she wanted to share with us as well: “I just had to text you and share something I just found out. I am going to be a director at a camp I have been working at the past three summers. This year, we are teaming up with a ministry for a week and leading a camp in the inner-city, and not only leading it, but coming alongside the ministry and equipping them with the tools needed to eventually run their own camp one day. I got the call today that I will be directing this camp. I just had to share this with you because you keep saying how everyone is in this class for a reason. I sure believe it! It's so amazing how the Lord has been equipping me with the tools and knowledge in this class for camp this summer! I'm astounded! God is so awesome and works in such cool ways!”

Samford University is a key CSM partner in many aspects, and every year we look forward to connecting through this life-changing educational experience for all of us. Big appreciation from CSM to Barbara Cartledge for her commitment to excellence and to exposing students to the truth surrounding poverty in our city.