Compassion By Design

Does it have to be that complicated? In our technology rich (media, personal computing, surround sound, noise reducing ear phones, satellite radio) environment, its easy to forget the simple ingredients that Jesus used to totally rock the planet. I have spent the past 5 years in the complicated world of federal grants and public funding tied to outreach. It is easy to forget the simple there too. Could you really impact tens of thousands of people with a simple basket containing just a couple of puny fish and a few home baked loves of bread? Could the real ingredients of life change be simpler than a coordinated media blitz that includes both radio, direct marketing and brand identity development? He seemed to think so. When his disciples tried to pull some strategic planning on him, by scheduling the meeting so that there was time for a dinner break off campus, Jesus showed them that compassion plus a small basket of simple food was enough.

Is that all it takes to change the heart of men—lunch served with a heart of love? Jesus knew that he had to convince his own guys first, that’s why the loaves and fishes were enough for the crowd plus a basket of leftovers for each disciple. He reinforced this idea with Peter later, when he boiled it all down to “feed by sheep.” There is a big outreach and impact lesson here: we just need to feed people. People are naturally hungry in so many ways– physically, spiritually, relationally. We don’t really need neon lights and high tech delivery—and we don’t need to invent human hunger. We do need to respond to that hunger in love.

Are you delivering the bread? Meeting practical as well as spiritual hunger? One without the other of course is just a picnic, but when a heart of faith, filled with compassion serves up the grub, lives get changed. He didn’t separate the two, requiring a separate “food ministry”, he saw human hunger for the spiritual as connected to physical need. Food became a doorway to faith, both for the disciples as well as the crowd. We know the long-term impact of his approach when we see the crowds responding to the disciples after the day of Pentecost.

A great way to get practical about this is through a ministry that I have come to know called Angel Food. It is really simple, and brings church folks together with community members, for just good old fashioned food. This ministry helps us live out the “love them and feed them” approach of Jesus. Learn more

Food became a doorway to faith, both for the disciples as well as the crowd

This last installment answering the “why community needs assessment” question will address several additional important reasons to include a needs assessment in your new church preparation. We are convinced that this process can make a huge difference in the way that you start and the kind of church that you grow.

Crack the cultural code in your community early and accurately. One well known pastor told me that it took him nearly 10 years to really understand the culture of his community after he started a new church. Needs assessment advances this time clock dramatically, but giving insight to not only the leaders of a new church, but to its entire plant team. The entire team becomes more culturally aware within a short amount of time. This will sharpen everything about the new church from style to teaching, small groups and worship by aligning them with community values.

Help every member of your plant team to become a community net worker. Current research places the number of network contacts over 1200 for an effective church launch, and the planter cannot be the only net worker. Needs assessment points the entire team at specific community targets and gives them the initial opening to initiate a relationship.

Relationships are really the biggest reason for both needs assessment and the community ministry that follows. If we want relationships building to be a key part of our ministry expression, we have to prioritize them at the beginning.

Prepare to focus and sustain long term community engagement. The real question for new churches that want to have a community ministry or service focus is how will they sustain it? We often focus on community outreach only at the beginning of our effort and the current default for many churches is occasional or random community efforts that don’t result in sustained relationships that lead to transformation. The needs assessment brings clear focus to the community ministry by aligning the community ministry focus with the church calling, gifts and resources. Focus is a primary ingredient to community ministry that can be sustained.

If you are working to grow a missional church that is relationships centered and community focused, the real question you should be asking is “why wouldn’t I include a community needs assessment as a critical part of the launch process?” While this may require a shift in your focus, it can transform our launch effort from purely a preparation of church services to an effective relationship effort that connects to the hearts of people like a net.

Needs Assessment Resources community needs assessment kit for new churches
Check out the community needs assessment for existing churches
Join a free conference call to learn more

New research out today from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has some important insights for those who believe that the presence and impact of the local church is really important. Some of the news is no surprise—the protestant church is in serious decline. But some parts of this report hold key insights.

The largest growth group, as the blog title suggests, are those who are joining the Church of the Unaffiliated (that is—no church). To quote from the report: “The survey finds that the number of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16.1%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children.” This tells us where people are going when they leave a protestant or catholic church.

How do we appeal to those who have been disaffected by the church? To them, the church has lost real credibility or personal value. It seems clear to me that we have to reshape our Christian experience to include activity that is personally meaningful and powerful. That ought to include community service focused on critical community needs (see the needs assessment kit), and an approach to faith expression that touches the real values and sense of reality.

25% of those under 29…
What I found even more striking in this report was the composition of these “unaffiliated church non-goers.” The report stated that “Among Americans ages 18-29, one-in-four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.” This predicts that if the trend continues, the unaffiliated category will grow toward 25%– and the protestant/ catholic majority (now 51%) will surely and quickly slip into the minority in our country. This is a dramatic shift to which we need to pay attention. We also know that this same age group has a specific expectation that community service be included as a key part of any organization in which they belong. If you are interested in this research, email me at info@compassionbydesign.org.

This report is a must read for those who are serious about impacting the culture, and intentional efforts to engage community are not optional for churches that want to grow in this season.

A couple of resources the community needs assessment kit for new churches
Check out the community needs assessment for existing churches
Join a free conference call to learn more
Pew Study

If you are a church planter, or someone considering starting a new church, an emerging practice in church planting is the use of community needs assessment as an integrated part of the “pre-launch” phase up through the first couple years of the new church. As we explore this idea we must first, answer the question:

“What is a community needs assessment?”

A needs assessment is the process of systematically listening to community members and leaders through surveys, interviews and other methods. This is a period of intentional “listening,” that when approached in the right way, can have dramatic benefits for the growth of the launch team, new church and its impact on the community. To work for churches, the process has to be modified from the traditional social work approach and should engage volunteers as the primary workers, include questions about strengths and needs in the community and help the new church focus its ministry both inside the new church and in its community. It will result a public report that can be issued to coincide with the launch date, and help to establish a clear community focused identity for the new church.

Now that we know “what it is”, we need to answer the why question:

“Why Should I Include Community Needs Assessment in My Church Plant Process?”

WHY #1-It’s the natural prerequisite to the New Testament model of Demonstration and Proclamation. For us to effectively demonstrate through service, we have to first “investigate.” To use the words of Rick Rusaw of Externally Focused, who believes in “show and tell” as a key ministry approach, needs assessment creates a process that is “LISTEN, SHOW AND TELL.” Listening and intentionally networking increases the impact of service and helps to embed our demonstration of love in respect and a relational network.

WHY #2- Maximize your servant “outreach” activity. Many new churches include a series of outreach events that range from free car washes to block parties. The impact of these activities can be improved when they are linked to a needs assessment. The team simply does intentional survey work during the outreach events to help them focus on listening, make better connections with those who attend and to listen to the heart of the community.

next blog…more “Why Needs Assessment?”
Check out the community needs assessment kit for new churches
Check out the community needs assessment for existing churches
Join a free conference call to learn more