I have had the opportunity to be a part of a small group of downtowners concerned with crime and the appearance of crime downtown. The group has been working on some solutions. After a couple of meetings it was recommended that we establish a "Neighborhood Watch" in the city-center called City Watch.City Watch will have a coordinator who acts as the community 'minister' (their suggestion, not mine). He would coordinate monthly meetings to include residents, business owners, city officials, and service providers. He will spend a great deal of time on the streets and in businesses - getting to know everyone in the 15 block radius. And there's a lot more...
The really cool part is that the position will have a $1,200 p/month budget that includes $ for a loft apartment in the area. The current candidate for the position is JD Thorne. JD and his wife Corrie took a leap of faith, believing that God wanted them working with us in Macon, they quit their jobs and put their house on the market. Just this week Corrie was offered a teaching job in Macon AND as of yesterday New Town Macon will offer initial support for the City Watch - MEANING, JD and Corrie will likely have a place to live - a 2 bedroom downtown loft - and financial support that will bring them to Macon right after Christmas!
It also means (if JD becomes the coordinator) that we will have a staff member of New City Church in every downtown business - being the community "minister." I could write pages on how amazing all of this is, but hopefully you get the idea!
UPDATE - I had the task of presenting plans to a packed board room at New Town yesterday. The room was filled with some very powerful people - including the Mayor. After I presented our info there was a unanimous vote to approve our request for start-up funds.
I just received an e-mail saying that at the conclusion of the night, one of the individuals on the board stepped up and and agreed that HE would pay the full $4,800, so New Town is out $0 and the entire program is privately funded!
