About the CIT Project

We are a team of faith leaders, scholars, social entrepreneurs, labor leaders, and cooperative developers exploring how churches and congregations can address more effectively the most pressing economic needs of their communities and how this work can deepen their mission and strengthen congregational life and calling. Rising rents, depressed wages, gentrification, homelessness, and other forms of inequality and displacement are profoundly reshaping individual lives as well as whole communities, especially in our hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. We believe that the future of the church is at stake in this crisis and that in order to sustain and grow churches that fully reflect our values we must find new ways to address these pressing material and spiritual challenges. Economic cooperation is one important model for building bottom-up community wealth in a world of growing inequality, and many churches have the theological, structural, and financial resources to support this work.

Our team came together with the hope of visiting and investigating churches currently supporting the cooperative movement throughout the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from traveling, so our original plan of producing a documentary on churches and cooperatives was put on hold. Instead, throughout the fall of 2020, we were able to connect virtually with these faith leaders and cooperative organizers while also researching the theological and historical roots of the cooperative movement. What emerged from this time of conversation and research was a toolkit of resources to help faith communities pursue economic justice by supporting worker empowerment in their own communities. 

This project was made possible by a grant from the Louisville Institute, and we are grateful for their continued support. Read more about Louisville Institute grants and about our project.