As Americans, we admire the individual hero – the person who, acting solo, pioneers change and accumulates accomplishments. But imagine the achievements possible when several leaders combine their different strengths and perspectives in collaboration toward broader goals.
Austin Bridge Builders Alliance (ABBA) [7] gathers and supports leaders from the Austin’s faith, business and service communities to do just this. We believe that collective leadership can develop sustainable and holistic solutions to some of our community’s most pressing issues, including the needs for affordable housing and good quality healthcare and education.
Many churches, philanthropically minded businesses and service ministries are addressing these issues and others. But the bottom line is that none of our problems can be solved by any one organization working on its own.
Our mission is to connect the church, community and its resources to the needs of this city so that every man, woman and child may see and hear the compelling message of Christ’s love for them. Since 2001, we’ve served as a catalyst.
We’re a leveraging and networking force that brings leaders together to offer approaches that are bigger than the sum of their individual sectors, talents and personalities.
We facilitate three cross-community leadership groups (with up to 12 members each) working to better identify, understand and address major issues facing Austin:
- Pastors Strategic Council [11] – Pastors represent Christian churches that comprise more than 45,000 parishioners.
- Business Leadership Council [12]– Business owners who leverage the volunteerism of their employees, their financial resources and their influential, wider networks.
- Ministry Leadership Council [13] – Representatives from local nonprofits working to provide direct services to our neighbors in need.
Each of these team’s leaders has been chosen for their specific skills, which we call "gift sets." The right combination of gift sets on a council and the ability of each team member to see the big picture to help ensure that the group collaborates successfully toward achieving their goals.
Through this team-focused leadership approach:
- Diversity equals strength. Diverse team members create a strong team. Members bring their own experiences, knowledge and passion for particular issues to the table. Perspectives change from thinking how can my church or my business or my ministry accomplish its goals to realizing that individual goals are part of the bigger mission – a mission that we can accomplish by working together.
- New relationships are built. When people sit down with one another to work on a common goal they begin to see each other for who we are beyond labels. Churches serving mostly white or mostly black parishioners combine forces for the common good. Baptists work with Pentecostals. Bible Church ministers collaborate with Methodists. Yes, we’re all different. But we can agree upon a lot and leverage that to touch this city with the love of Christ.
- Change ripples outward. ABBA's work to build these alliances has fostered collaborative activities all over the city involving neighborhoods, churches, schools, and other organizations. More people now understand the value of working together for a bigger impact. And what we're working on is bigger than Austin. It's how we touch our country and our world. We’ve recently met with more than a dozen other U.S. cities working in this vein.
Looking forward, we're spreading out to multiple generations. We realize that the next generation in their 20's thinks and acts differently. We need leaders from that generation involved in this movement so that we can continue to touch this city.
This is a movement that is bigger than any one person or any one group. Nor can it be controlled by any one segment or group. It must grow organically and from within.
ABBA is working to ignite momentum so that what starts here with individuals blooms into a movement across generations, demographics and economic sectors. It is a movement that, as it grows organically, will support our community’s growth today and for future generations.