What Does it Take for Transformation to Spread from One Community to Another?
Mar 25, 2025 | Ashley Hendrickson
What does it take for transformation to spread from one community to another? In Masatepe, Nicaragua, intentional steps like listening to local people and investing in opportunities for sustainable growth have led to real, lasting change. Families have gained stability, businesses have created jobs, and local leaders have stepped up to address challenges in their communities. Now, the opportunity to build on this foundation has become clear. The team is stepping into a new chapter—expanding into a neighboring community called Ticuantepe. This expansion, an important part of One Collective's model of Integrated Community Transformation (ICT), is an exciting opportunity to acknowledge where God is already working, follow the ways of Jesus, and encourage locals to continue bringing change forward in their communities.
The Journey So Far
One Collective first entered Nicaragua in 2012 with the goal of helping people in the community of Masatepe see what God’s kingdom could look like in their context. This meant entering into local spaces, engaging with people and leaders, listening to needs and ideas, and looking for opportunities to catalyze transformation. After 6 years, around 45 Nicaraguans and 15 Americans had come together to serve Masatepe through local farms, a thriving coffee shop, the hosting of short term teams from the United States, and more. As the work in Masatepe grew, so did local ownership. Many of these initiatives are now sustained and led by Nicaraguans, with a small team of One Collective workers continuing to empower and equip local leaders. Their role isn’t to run the programs, but to walk alongside pastors, business owners, educators, social workers, and others who have a heart to see transformation in Masatepe. With a strong foundation in place, the question now is: What’s next?
Integrated Community Transformation
What has happened in Masatepe so far follows the first three stages of One Collective’s model of Integrated Community Transformation (ICT):
Enter - Before launching any initiatives, the team first immersed themselves in the community—getting to know people, listening to stories, and learning what was already happening. This meant sharing meals, attending church services, and simply showing up in everyday spaces to build relationships.
Evaluate - Once trust was established, the team worked alongside local leaders to understand the biggest challenges and the strongest opportunities. In Masatepe, they found that food security, job creation, and education were pressing concerns—but they also saw that Nicaraguans were already taking steps to address them. The key was not to create solutions from the outside, but to support what was already in motion.
Engage - With clear priorities identified, the team partnered with local entrepreneurs to launch small businesses, supported educators in strengthening schools, and helped establish farms that could provide both jobs and nutrition for families. These efforts weren’t about quick fixes but about building long-term, sustainable impact.
When these three steps take root, something powerful happens—change spreads. As people come together, vision begins to extend beyond a single location. Sometimes local leaders carry the work forward on their own. Other times, One Collective workers recognize an opportunity to invest in a neighboring community. This is the fourth stage of ICT—expand.
Ripe for Expansion
Today, the work in Nicaragua is ripe for expansion. In 2020, the team in Masatepe was invited to take over an existing ministry about 40 minutes away that is centered around a 29-acre farm called Papagayo. The farm grows pineapple, dragonfruit, coffee, bananas, and more. The past caretakers of the farm served a community neighboring Papagayo, called Ticuantepe, by bringing American church teams to stay at the farm and invest in the people there. However, while they did a lot of good, they did not have a sustainable model of ministry, and eventually, their external stream of resources slowed down and they could not continue their work. One Collective’s desire since receiving the farm has been to discern what resources around Papagayo can be developed to sustain it and empower local stakeholders to take ownership of the transformation in their community. The community of Ticuantepe already has assets, resources, and infrastructure to support sustainable change, these just need to be activated and mobilized to serve people. The Papagayo farm is an outstanding lead initiative, or platform, to begin a new process of Integrated Community Transformation in the city of Ticuantepe. The team is able to be present in the community through Papagayo in a way that allows them to figure out what God is already doing there and resource and encourage local people to be a part of it. Expanding into the new community of Ticuantepe reignites the Integrated Community Transformation process of entering, evaluating, and engaging in a new place.
Catalyst Role
Expanding into Ticuantepe is an exciting opportunity because so much groundwork has already been laid for the work there. There are extensive relationships and resources that can be utilized to serve people. However, for this next chapter to take shape, we need the right person—someone who can step in as a Catalyst for Ticuantepe. At One Collective, Catalysts serve as general contractors who bring God’s people and his abundant resources together to transform their communities. In this role, you wouldn’t be running a farm or managing projects alone—you’d be bringing people together, uncovering local opportunities, and helping turn ideas into sustainable realities.
As a Catalyst, your role would include:
Building relationships – Meeting local leaders, families, and business owners to understand their vision for their community.
Identifying opportunities – Learning what’s already in motion, discovering gaps, and helping mobilize existing resources.
Empowering local changemakers – Equipping Nicaraguans to take ownership of transformation so it’s not dependent on outside help.
Partnering with the Masatepe team – Drawing from the experience and resources of a well-established team that has already walked through this process successfully.
This is a role for someone who sees opportunity where others see challenges—someone who is willing to take a step of faith, build a life in Nicaragua, and invest in a community for the long haul.
Listen to this podcast to learn more about Ticuantepe!
If this resonates with you—or if you know someone who would thrive in this role—we invite you to reach out. Our team would love to talk with you, share more about this opportunity, and help discern if this could be the next step for you and your family.
Papagayo is ready. Ticuantepe is waiting. Are you the person to take it forward?
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