2025 CED Summit Recap: Leading During Disruption
|
On April 29-30, 67 CED Network participants gathered in Dulles, Virginia for the 2025 CED Summit. Representing over 35 organizations, this event marked the largest CED Network gathering to date. Common threads through sessions included:
1. Disruption prompts the question, 'What is God calling us to do? How can we creatively pursue that calling when faced with challenge or limited resources?' As painful as disruption can be, it can lead to new possibilities as we navigate through challenges with God's guidance. 2. Working in community and collaboration is necessary. We must pursue holistic resilience and wellbeing together rather than working in siloed sectors. This is especially relevant for sectors experiencing the greatest climate impacts and the greatest funding disruptions. 3. We live and work in the both/and: crisis and peace coexist, trauma and agency coexist, relief and development coexist. There is power in responding early to listen and reinforce agency, and economic interventions can provide pathways for both financial and personal recovery. |
|
Devotions
Dan Williams from HOPE International and Joseph Carvalho from VisionFund International led daily devotions. Core passages included John 16:33 and John 6:4-10, which participants explored through the Discovery Bible Study approach, collectively discerning what the passages say about God, people, and God’s kingdom. Main ideas included that we can take heart knowing that Jesus is not surprised in our discouragement – he has overcome the world’s challenges and is with us in them. Jesus also calls us to greater faith when we face insurmountable odds in serving others, like he did with Philip and Andrew with the five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of several thousand. Jesus calls us to participate in building his kingdom and trust him even in the most impossible situations.
Dan Williams from HOPE International and Joseph Carvalho from VisionFund International led daily devotions. Core passages included John 16:33 and John 6:4-10, which participants explored through the Discovery Bible Study approach, collectively discerning what the passages say about God, people, and God’s kingdom. Main ideas included that we can take heart knowing that Jesus is not surprised in our discouragement – he has overcome the world’s challenges and is with us in them. Jesus also calls us to greater faith when we face insurmountable odds in serving others, like he did with Philip and Andrew with the five loaves and two fish to feed a crowd of several thousand. Jesus calls us to participate in building his kingdom and trust him even in the most impossible situations.
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Henry Kaestner
|
Faith-Driven Entrepreneurship during disruption
Henry Kaestner, from Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor, presented the 12 Marks of a Faith Driven Entrepreneur. He shared his conviction that God calls entrepreneurial leaders to integrate their faith into their work. He spoke on the importance of seeing ourselves as creators made in the image of a creating God, and that being grounded in our identity in Christ is crucial during challenges. A lively Q&A session discussed the intersection of the private entrepreneurial sector with economic development, with Henry sharing his current focus on galvanizing investment to support the vision of African leaders. In response to a question about government withdrawal from global poverty alleviation, he said he asks himself and other entrepreneurs if Galatians 2:10 is true: “Am I eager to remember the vulnerable? Or am I reluctant? Because God expects me to be eager.” (Faith Driven Entrepreneur's 8-session Foundation Series is available for free online and you can learn more about Henry’s work bringing together builders, investors, and givers for Solving the World’s Greatest Problems.) |
|
Take Heart: Case studies on working amidst disruption
Anne Figge of Five Talents and Mark Goeser of Hope Ventures presented examples of their work in conflict-affected South Sudan and in response to small businesses impacted by wildfires in California. They discussed the importance of mental health, local leadership, and partnerships. A clear throughline was that relief and development often happen together during crises, rather than having a clear period of only relief followed by development. Anne shared Five Talent’s recognition that because peace and conflict coexist, and people need to rebuild livelihoods during a crisis, economic activities like savings groups can contribute to peacebuilding, restoration of community trust, and mental health healing. (Forthcoming article in the Christian Relief and Development Advocacy Journal on this topic). Mark shared insights from supporting small businesses devastated by the Altadena fire in California, including that business owners were ready to start rebuilding right away. By going straight to the business owners to listen first, Hope Ventures was able to build trust and empathy, enabling the organization to help coordinate stakeholders to respond as a community. Because such massive losses are just as personal as they are economic, healing and rebuilding must go hand-in-hand. |
Anne Figge
|
"We should not wait for stability to begin recovery."
Randy Tift
|
Navigating the Shifting Landscape of Holistic Economic Development
After lunch, Randy Tift, advisor to the Accord Network, and Lanre Williams-Ayedun, senior vice president of global programs at World Relief, discussed current disruptions in the foreign aid industry. Randy provided an overview of the changes within the administration related to foreign aid, which led to abrupt and chaotic disruption to USAID and other funding. He emphasized the importance of faith-based organizations continuing to communicate the value of their work, especially as the newly reorganized State Department determines the future vision of US foreign assistance. Lanre shared her perspective as a leader within an organization affected by funding changes. World Relief’s leadership gathered before the funding cuts to discern, “What is God calling us to do?” |
|
This led to a renewed commitment to World Relief’s mission to respond to the world’s greatest crises and support the church – even when that work is less popular or less resourced. She reflected on the difficulty of halting work with vulnerable communities due to lost funding and the appreciation for World Relief’s supporter base, which has partially filled the gap with increased generosity. The organization is adapting in multiple ways, including working creatively with the resources they have and exploring new funding sources and partnerships. She invited attendees to consider, “How can we be creative in this moment?” if organizations have lost funding and need to be resilient, or if they have the capacity to lean in to increased need.
"How can we be creative in this moment?" |
Lanre Williams-Ayedun
|
Tinashe Chitambira
|
On the first day, participants selected from the following breakout sessions:
1. The Geopolitics of food: led by Cheryl Cuthbertson of Compassion International and Tinashe Chitambira of Partners Worldwide. Food is integral to life on the planet, and maintaining it was one of the few instructions God gave to mankind in the Garden. Development practitioners often view food insecurity through the lens of lack of access to proper methodology and resources, rather than as a result of broken systems. Restoring land ownership, repairing the effects of colonial agriculture, and promoting access to markets are key to empowering healthy farmers as stewards of land and food, not just laborers. We must commit to seeing righteous systems that restore just and inclusive food economies. 2. Hiring for faith alignment: facilitated by Russ Debenport of Living Water International and Dan Williams of HOPE International. Strategies in hiring for faith alignment are not about “one right way,” but about being faithful in the missions that God has given each of our organizations. Cultural and legal contexts significantly influence hiring, as well as the organization’s strategy for faith integration, whether through overt Gospel proclamation or more decentralized spiritual activities. The most important task is to intentionally discern which approach best fulfills your mission. There is no greater decision than who you bring onto your teams and who you let go from them. Participants discussed practical resources to help mitigate the challenges and maximize the opportunities they experience in their hiring approaches. |
3. Lending into disaster: Recovery loans in microfinance: led by Richard Reynolds of VisionFund International and Mike Kellogg of HOPE International. Richard introduced VisionFund’s experience with recovery lending across several disasters. He dispelled three common recovery lending myths: 1) lending to clients hit by disaster is throwing good money after bad; 2) institutions should primarily focus on collections; 3) recovery lending leads to over-indebtedness. Mike presented case studies of VisionFund’s recovery lending following drought in Africa and HOPE’s wartime lending in Ukraine. Visiting clients early during crisis to show care and understand their situations, combined with careful assessment of future earning potential, can promote a virtuous recovery lending cycle. Richard shared VisionFund's current recovery lending mobilization after the recent Myanmar earthquake. He emphasized that rapid response recovery lending can reduce defaults, protect assets, and promote long-term resilience, bridging the gap between humanitarian assistance and microenterprise development.
On the second day, participants joined one of two workshop options.
On the second day, participants joined one of two workshop options.
Rachel Cheng, Casey Duthiers, and Lane Lareau
|
1. Practical steps for leading holistic programs led by Lane Lareau, Dr. Casey Duthiers, and Rachel Cheng from the Resilient Communities Center. The RCC team conducted skill-building exercises curated from their holistic leadership development programs. They focused on navigating stakeholders and power dynamics for an empowering approach to ministry. Participants mapped out their stakeholders and considered how their organizational structure and perspective on poverty affect their work. Agency and empowerment were prominent takeaways. Agency reflects a person’s inherent ability to make choices and act on them, while empowerment is the process of recognizing, affirming, and supporting someone’s agency. As holistic leaders, our aim is not to “give power to the powerless” but instead to recognize agency and partner to reduce barriers that prevent people from acting on their agency. Participants practiced using appreciative inquiry to bring an asset-based community development lens to their work by identifying the strengths and possibilities within a community.
|
|
2. Engaging climate at the nexus of economic development, WASH, & food and agriculture facilitated by Barak Bruerd of Living Water International and Cheryl Cuthbertson of Compassion International, with presenters including Carl Ureta from Compassion International, Jessica Horwood from HOPE International, Gebe Ayele from Compassion International, Dr. Abram Bicksler from ECHO, Damon Elsworth from Medair, and Michael Vice from Wineskins Ltd. Carl Ureta opened the workshop with an overview of the impact of climate change and the Biblical importance of creation care as an aspect of holistic flourishing. Presenters shared primers on the intersections of climate, food, WASH, and economic development. Climate-related agricultural decline necessitates conservation agriculture and careful water management, while WASH infrastructure is damaged by natural disasters, further exacerbating low water quality and availability. Economic interventions like savings groups and crop insurance can help families buffer climate-related emergencies, but no single intervention can address all issues.
|
Michael Vice, Damon Elsworth, Jessica Horwood, Barak Bruerd, Gebe Ayele, Carl Ureta, and Cheryl Cuthbertson
|
Integrating climate strategy across disciplines requires investment in multi-sectoral collaboration at the organizational, community, and policy levels. Beyond adaptation and mitigation, systems must become resilient – able to absorb stresses, maintain function, and even improve over time through innovation. Finally, presenters referenced opportunities for climate-related funding such as the Green Climate Fund. Participants worked through brainstorming stations discussing the challenges and opportunities to design and implement climate programming, strategic alliance and partnership strategies, available tools, and managing donor relationships.
To see the agenda and more details about this event, visit the event page here.
To see the agenda and more details about this event, visit the event page here.
Thank you for joining us – we hope to see you next time!
With gratitude from the 2025 CED Network Steering Committee, left to right:
Mark Goeser, Cheryl Cuthbertson, Joseph Carvalho, Dan Williams, Tinashe Chitambira, Gillian Foster Wilkinson, Anne Figge, Paige Snyder, and Lizzie Stoltzfus
|
Join our next in-person gathering at the CED Network Intensive on October 14, as part of the 2025 OneAccord conference in Washington, DC.
Note: you do not need to be an Accord Network member to attend the conference, and you do not need to attend the entire conference to attend the CED Intensive.
|