Community Engagement - definitions & principles

So having discussed the theological, biblical and practical basis of community engagement in my earlier posts, here are some ways of defining community engagement - between an outward looking church community or a group of missional-thinking Jesus-followers and their respective local neighbourhoods:
(1) where community needs and aspirations meet spiritual faith and resources;
(2) bringing people together (with transformative intent);
(3) entering the rhythms of community life [this one comes from Alan Hirsch];
(4) "playing away" - engaging with people in their own context [Stuart Murray];
(5) people of good faith partnering with people of goodwill around things of common concern.

Now I can list some of the principles of community engagement that I have discovered in my experience and reading:
(1) love your community, and get to know it well by frequenting the various places of gathering and listening to the voices of the neighbourhood;
(2) there are good, motivated and compassionate people working to help others and build community who may not have any church allegiance who we can form partnerships with;
(3) be adventurous and follow the promptings of God in walking through open doors and (gently) knocking on not yet open doors;
(4) imagine what the local community could look like if comprehensive and cohesive contributions were made by committed people;
(5) be truly local by allowing the local neighbourhood to reflect back into the worship of the church;
(6) pray for people and places - Dave Andrews says that community development cannot have value unless prayer is seen as indispensible and central;
(7) walk humbly, share life gently, build relationships patiently, become co-travellers, engage with the agendas of others while discovering gospel connections;
(8) be ready to make practical contributions - large and small, and fully follow through any commitments made (yet "good deeds" are only truly "good" if they are viewed that way by the recipient in terms of what their needs are);
(9) seek to increasingly involve more people to spread the load;
(10) be completely honest about where you are coming from and have no hidden agendas - Steve Addison promotes "medium-tension" activity i.e. fully connecting while remaining a distinct entity that does not deny or lessen one's central focus;
(11) be willing to lose debates without withdrawing, thus embracing consensus decision-making;
(12) watch for signs of manipulation or being boxed into a corner or pushed towards a party parochial position - promote enjoying people rather than using them;
(13) be in a position to always be available as the peace-maker, conflict resolver and reconciler;
(14) relationships forged during community engagement are of great value in and of themselves, irrespective of other outcomes; 
(15) people who experience God's love in the context of community engagement are already embedded in the culture of mutual service and thus well-positioned to serve others;
(16) have a long term view, and continually consider how God may be active.