Ferguson six-months later: where do we go from here?

FERGUSON, Mo. - Feb. 10, 2015 - PRLog -- The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri that sparked action and raw emotions throughout the world six-months ago still looms heavily over the suburb of St. Louis County and neighboring communities.

How does this community heal? How does it move forward without forgetting the issues that were brought to light since the August 9, 2014 tragedy? And how can the innovative and entrepreneurial efforts that are growing in Ferguson be coordinated and enhanced?

Conversations to heal have begun, but are they doing any good? Have people already forgotten and moved on? Commissions have convened and political campaigns have commenced, but has anything moved forward — do they cover the areas people are truly concerned about? In an age of instantaneous gratification, addressing community and societal challenges of this magnitude takes time and effort. Have we forgotten how to do this already?

Many questions still remain, but one group is addressing them. Six-months after the shooting, Incubate Ferguson has officially emerged.

Its goal is simple, yet complex:

• Launch a Ferguson-based community platform for grassroots entrepreneurial action and civic engagement in and around Ferguson

The answer to where do we go from here is: forward.

Incubate Ferguson coordinates space and resources in Ferguson to create opportunities for anyone who wants to be better prepared, informed and engaged in launching new responses to long-term issues. Through partnerships with area universities, entrepreneurs, socially engaged organizations and businesses, Incubate Ferguson empowers people through education, economic equity and reshaping the social and economic environments of Ferguson and the surrounding communities.

To get involved or find out more, contact Steve Lawler at incubateferguson@gmail.com or 314-329-8535.

The two men behind Incubate Ferguson are: Rev. F. Willis Johnson and Rev. Steve Lawler of Ferguson-based Wellspring Church and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church respectively. They’ve spent countless hours listening, observing and having conversations with people from all over the St. Louis region and beyond. Prior to August 9, the pastors and their churches had worked together for years committing resources, space and leadership to the Ferguson community.

They’re quick to tell you it’s not a faith-based project, but some of the basics of creating an initiative like this are similar to how ministry works.

As Pastor Johnson says, “It is our responsibility to respond to the challenge to hope. We are called to work to create space and opportunity in our community and to provide the means for people to achieve these aims through innovative action. It means sacrifice, hard work and selfless commitment. Incubate Ferguson is the launching pad for those in our community who are creating ways of doing this hard work together. It is the work of living forward.”

Lawler agrees, “In my work in the parish and with community organizations, it is that spark of innovation, that new thing that most often makes the big change, and offers the greatest impact. Incubate Ferguson is the platform for  innovative social enterprise and growing civic engagement in the Ferguson community.”

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Rev. F. Willis Johnson, D. Min.

Pastor Johnson, senior minister of Wellspring Church, an United Methodist urban-parachute church plant, captured national attention for his leadership last August after Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri.

With more than 15 years of professional ministry experience in Indiana, North Carolina and Missouri, Reverend Willis Johnson’s skills extend far beyond the pulpit. Trained in nonprofit management, Johnson has served in volunteer and paid leadership positions for multiple nonprofit organizations. Additionally, he is adjunct at Eden Seminary and chairs Ferguson’s Human Rights Commission.

Rev. Steve Lawler

Reverend Steve Lawler is rector of St. Stephens Episcopal Church and The Vine in Ferguson, Missouri. Before coming to St Stephen's in 2001 he worked at a venture capital firm in Belgium and for a business design consultancy. Since 2004, Lawler has been an adjunct professor at Washington University in St Louis teaching classes in leadership and strategy. He is also chair of the board of EarthDance Farms, an organic farm school in Ferguson.