About DWELL in Atlanta
“It is good for thee to dwell deep” John WoolmanPracticing intentional Christian community,
Developing a disciplined contemplative life,
Serving the city of Atlanta.
Have you ever considered doing something radical in your Christian life? Do you desire a faith adventure…one where you will live outside of your comfort zone and be challenged to put into action the words in scripture? Do you want to be bold in your love of Jesus Christ? Then consider a year or more with Dwell Atlanta.
The Dwell Atlanta program invites individuals to live in intentional Christian community, develop a disciplined contemplative life, and serve the city of Atlanta.
Participants in Dwell Atlanta (Dwellers):
- Live together in intentional Christian communities made up of 4-6 people. In recent years our Dwellers have ranged in age from 21-35, but we are open to accepting applications from anyone who is 21 years of age or older.
- Share a common budget for groceries and work together to share meals throughout the week.
- Build deep, long-term relationships with other committed Christians. People who participate in the program come from many different backgrounds and have different interests. The Dwell program allows these diverse people to come together with a common vision, building relationships that might not otherwise have blossomed. Many dwellers have reflected that were it not for their intentional living, they probably would not have met one another and become friends. Dwell Atlanta seeks to provide space to break down walls and build relationships around our common love of Jesus Christ.
- Set aside one night each week when the whole community joins together to have a meal and pray, study, worship, and read scripture together. For many Dwellers this is the most important time of the week. Without this time, living together would be less joyous.
- Make time each month to join together to serve Atlanta. These opportunities focus on the needs of the neighborhood where the house is located. Service projects might include helping seniors make repairs on their houses, providing dinner to folks who are staying at the downtown shelter, helping clean up the local park with other neighbors, and many more opportunities.
- Who are not already employed or in school, will be placed by DOOR in a ministry internship with a local non-profit for 32 hours a week. Contact the Atlanta City Director to find out more about our ministry placements.
- Take 2 retreats together during the year. These times of reflection are led by DOOR staff and help participants to put their experiences in perspective.
- Are required to be actively engaged in a local church of their choosing throughout their participation.
The Dwell Atlanta house(s) share the vision of the 12 Marks of Monasticism that other intentional Christian communities around the United States also practice.
Ways to Enter the Dwell Program in Atlanta
The Dwell Atlanta program invites individuals to live in intentional Christian community, develop a disciplined contemplative life and serve the city of Atlanta. There are two ways to enter into the Dwell program.
1. If you are from Atlanta or are moving to Atlanta and currently are a student or have a job, you can still participate in the dwell program. Many of our dwellers are “locals” who desire to live in community and grow as Christians through spiritual disciplines and service. Each tentmaker Dweller will pay $400/month. This fee includes room, all utilities, wireless internet and all program fees and books. Every Dweller participates in the weekly community night, once a month service project, sharing common grocery money, and 2 retreats during the year.
2. If you are interested in coming to Atlanta for at least a year, you also can participate in the dwell program. We will place you in a ministry internship for the year. You will work 32 hours a week at your placement. Some placements include working with the homeless, working with multi-cultural youth, learning and participating in Christian advocacy work with the Georgia State Legislature, working with those with HIV/AIDS, and working with homeless children. Every Dweller participates in the weekly community night, once a month service project, sharing common grocery money and 2 retreats during the year. Each dweller placed in a ministry internship must raise $6500 for the year. We have some scholarship help available, so please don’t let fundraising concerns prevent you from applying if you feel God is calling you to this program. You will also receive a modest living stipend, transportation stipend equal to a monthly public transit card, grocery money and health insurance. Room, including all utilities, wireless internet and program fees and books is all included as well.
Application Info
To apply, complete this application and return by mail or email.
Candidates who need a ministry placement will be interviewed by both the City Director and the placement director. All Dwellers will move into the house at the beginning of September and commit to be in the program for at least a year. The Atlanta City Director will walk with each community house to provide pastoral support, teaching and encouragement along the way.
Goals
Developing a disciplined contemplative life, and
Serving the city of Atlanta.
Practicing intentional Christian community:
Dwell Atlanta places our “Dwellers” in communities of 4-6 people. Christians have practiced their faith in community for thousands of years. John Wesley called this practice “Christian conferencing” where Christians form communities that “watch over each other in love” and support one another in the life of faith. Living in Christian community enables participants to help one another give priority in their lives to the shared mission of Christ and to develop into the disciples Christ calls us to be. It is also nice to know that you have a group of Christians that want to support you, study with you, pray with you and walk with you through this journey. Participating in the dwell program, however, is not without its challenges. Our houses are located in the “abandoned places of Empire” – in parts of Atlanta where the needs of the community are not well hidden. Dwellers are required to share time, grocery money and space with 5 other people they have never met before. This is certainly not easy and it is often seen as “odd” by society at large. Also, we work hard to be the hands and feet of Christ in our urban neighborhoods and be a blessing to our whole community. Living in Christian community can be wonderful, but your time in the dwell program will certainly not be without strife or challenge.
Developing a disciplined contemplative life: As Christians we are called to participate in life-forming practices, through which God transforms us and makes us more Christ-like. Such practices are often simple and ordinary: studying the scriptures, daily prayer, serving our neighbors, and sharing our lives with others. But when you engage in these practices consistently they help shape who you are as a follower of Jesus. The Dwell program seeks to help participants make room in their busy lives for these ordinary practices, trusting that doing so will enrich your faith for the rest of your life. A disciplined contemplative life can be difficult to sustain, but living with others who are developing these same spiritual routines is a great way for you to learn and grow. Kenda Creasy Dean and Ron Foster caution us that these practices don’t transform us. God transforms us. But Christian practices help us loosen our grip on the wrong things so we can reach toward the right things. When we “practice” our faith, “we make room for the Holy Spirit to blow through our lives more freely, allowing ourselves to be invaded by God’s grace, which is what makes imitating Christ possible in the first place.”
Service in the city of Atlanta: DOOR believes that service is an essential part of living out our Christian faith. During Christ’s last gathering with his disciples, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and called them to the way of service: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:14-15.) Our dwellers seek to take Jesus’ words seriously and make service to others a vital part of their lives while they are here. As they serve the people of Atlanta they enter into new relationships, relationships where stereotypes and boundaries are broken and they have opportunities to grow into the people Christ is calling them to be. When we serve others we are the hands and feet of Christ, helping the wisdom and truth of Jesus to come alive for people in the real world.
Benefits
All Dwellers receive room, all utilities, wireless internet, and all program materials and fees, including books and 2 retreats.
If you are placed in a ministry internship by us, you will also receive a modest living stipend, a transportation stipend equal to a monthly public transit card, grocery money and health insurance.
All Dwellers must commit to at least one year of participation in the Dwell program.
If interested, you may contact Jannan Thomas at 678-596-8122 or Jannan@DOORnetwork.org.
To apply, complete this application and return by mail or email.
Curriculum- sort of
At Dwell Atlanta, our program interweaves service, developing a disciplined contemplative life and living in intentional Christian Community. To help us develop a disciplined contemplative life we have weekly meetings that everyone in the house is expected to attend. The pattern of our weekly meetings are designed to encourage our program values as we live, work, serve, pray and worship together. Click on the Rhythm of the Year to get an idea of the topics we’ll be exploring. The Rhythm of the year is not meant to be a curriculum, as if you were taking a class on these things. But rather it is intended as conversation openers to help us all think, imagine and practice as followers of Christ.
Site Information
From its early history as a transportation hub where railroads came together, Atlanta has been a city proud of its commerce. In the early 1900’s Henry Grady promoted the city as the “New South”, a city known for its modern economy. Years later, during the Civil Rights Movement, Atlanta stood apart from other segregated southern cities touting itself as “The City Too Busy to Hate”. The strong African American leadership in Atlanta, combined with the desire of the white leadership to avoid any publicity that would hurt commerce, led Atlanta to be free of many of the riots and demonstrations in other southern cities during the civil rights movement. But that did not mean Atlanta was free from the racism and economic inequality that existed elsewhere in the South and in the large cities of the North. Atlanta has long had a reputation for being a city of opportunity, but that opportunity has never been shared equally among all its residents.
Today Atlanta is the ninth largest city in the United States with a population of over 5 million in the metro area. It is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation and also has the fastest growing millionaire population in the United States. Atlanta is a wonderfully, multi-cultural city, a city where people from different racial and ethnic groups live and work together. Atlanta ranks third among U.S. cities in the number of Fortune 500 companies within its city boundaries. Coca Cola, Home Depot, UPS, and Delta Airlines, are just a few of the major corporations that call Atlanta home.
Atlanta is a city that is proud of its image and accomplishments. But the image Atlanta promotes does not always tell the whole story. Despite its reputation as a center of commerce, almost 30% of Atlanta’s population lives in poverty and the majority those people are African-American. There are many Atlanta neighborhoods dealing with high crime, failing schools, and massive home foreclosures. As well as a sizeable homeless population, many of whom are women and children.
If ministering in this context sounds intriguing to you, than consider becoming part of the DWELL program in Atlanta. Over the course of the year, we will explore urban ministry and discuss the many questions that arise out of serving in the midst of great blessings and great need.
To apply, complete this application and return by mail or email.