Compassion By Design

When pastors and their teams begin to reach out through the process of needs assessment, some very exciting things begin to happen.  In addition to the sense of joy and faith that rises in the hearts of those who are serving, ministry and relationship opportunities naturally develop from the heart and action of service.  Listen as this young pastor talks about their recent effort and the outcomes. Story of Outreach and Needs Assessment The impact of service on the hearts of leaders and their teams reaches far beyond the numbers or the size of that outreach.  Something happens in our hearts when we are doing the things we were made to do–serve out of a heart of compassion.  The needs assessment leads naturally to these kinds of opportunities by putting us face to face with people who are ready to discover that compassion and its source.

It almost seemed crazy…my family had just finished a 5 year church planting effort that by most accounts was very succesful.  That doesnt’ mean it was easy, but it was worth it.  We had planted in a community where there was only one viable church, and our unconventional approach was really a great fit for the area.  We did all the usual things, lead a small group, did visitation– and really had a great time!  But here we were again, considering another church plant–how many did we have in us?  That was about 16 years ago and we did plant that second church (it made the first one look easy).  I am still committed to church planting even after having done it twice.  I have two big reasons for my commitment: 1) New churches are a key place where innovation happens.  It is hard to change the character of a church after the cement dries, and much easier to start with innovation that can become part of the character of the new church.  We are in desperate need of innovation in church life.  Our culture demands it and we have got to adapt to the century, decade and culture in which we are serving.  2) I want to do the community service work, needs assessment and grant based service activity with people who are actively sharing the life that is within them.  I want to plant sustainable community service in the context of reproducing Christians.  I don’t know of a better place to find people who are paying attention to the wholistic needs of people, and working to transmit real faith than in a new church.  So, there you have it–battle scars and all.