CHASKA — Jeff Burzinski finished 146th out of 147 students in his high school class in the meat-packing town of Austin, Minn. He readily admits the guy who placed dead last had learning disabilities.

From this inauspicious beginning, Burzinski has risen to positions of leadership in his church, his community and in business.

“I have to give back,” Burzinski said, grateful for the success he has known in life.

As a 19-year resident of Carver County in the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis and president of banks in Chaska and Chanhassen, Burzinski understands both the affluence of the region and its pockets of poverty.

“One report identified our community as the 16th most affluent in the country,” he noted. “Yet we have people falling between the cracks.”

That reality prompted him to convene a summit of 70 government, church and business leaders in 2004. Acting as facilitator, Burzinski led the group in identifying the disadvantaged in the area and discussing how to best help them.

“The group confirmed that gaps existed in the community’s ability to meet the needs,” Burzinski said. “Believing we could do more together than any one church or agency could do on their own, we determined to start a collaborative nonprofit that would first meet needs others weren’t meeting.”

A sub-committee of pastors and business leaders ironed out a purpose statement. They learned of a national organization, Love INC (Love in the Name of Christ), which had a proven track record of bringing churches, business and government agencies together to help the economically disadvantaged.

In March of 2006, the group traveled to Hudsonville, Mich., to observe a Love INC affiliate and assess the model. They were inspired by what they saw; dozens of different churches within a community operating a network which included a food shelf, thrift store, bike repair ministry and a program that provided cribs for single mothers.

“We saw how profoundly needs could be met through church and community cooperation,” Burzinski said. “We were impressed that Christians were being resourced in a relational ministry which had as its goal both life and community transformation.”

The Steering Committee approached Love INC about starting an affiliate in Carver County. “With a 30-year history and 130 affiliates in 30 states, they had the infrastructure, training, bylaws and budget model,” Burzinski said. “There was no need to reinvent the wheel.”

The cooperation of at least six churches from different denominations was required. The Carver County effort began with eight churches, as well as representatives from community social service agencies, the Police Chief, the city administrator, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, several business leaders and a state representative.

“We have a very caring community,” Burzinski said. “Working together there is so much we can do. I feel like a nonprofit venture capitalist!”

Joel Johnson, pastor of Westwood Community Church in Chanhassen, serves on the board of Love INC of Carver County.

“We will partner with many organizations but we come first as representatives of Jesus Christ and His Church,” Johnson said. “The Church is the greatest force of healing, hope and good in the world today.”

Father Bob White, of St. Victoria Catholic Church in Victoria, agreed.

“As faith communities working together we can better care for the immediate, emergency needs of people as well as their longer term need to become more self-sufficient,” White said. “Love INC is there to serve us as we serve others, without adding a layer of bureaucracy or duplicating social services already available through the county.”

The group just hired an executive director and as its first ministry expression opened a thrift store in Chaska.

“That’s just the beginning,” Burzinski said. “We’re organizing generosity. We’ll train people to walk alongside those in need to help them break through poverty as they benefit from life skills and budget management training, mentoring and supportive services. We’re never going to eliminate poverty but we are going to be able to help a lot of people.

“The families we help will in turn want to help others and the social conscience of our community will increase. We’ll have a greater understanding of each other and a greater compassion.”


ACTION POINT
To learn more go to www.loveinc.org