Compassion By Design

 Since we are recycling everything else and trying to become a more green nation, can we just recycle the outreach strategies of the past?  Is outreach really just an activity that takes people outside of the four walls of the church to express their faith?  What will it take to make our outreach fresh and relevant (and to work)?   Given the recent reports by the Pew Foundation that demonstrate across the board decline in all Christian churches, and the dire predictions of Barna and other researchers predicting a decline in church participation by 50% by 2025, outreach is certainly not something that we can relegate to the category of non-essential, or just recycle from decades gone by re-using old strategies.  Our culture has shifted, and our outreach has to change to be effective.  We can become green, but only by aligning our outreach strategies with the real environment in which our churches now exist.  Here are some things that we should consider.

Outreach is not just marketing.  While effective marketing lets people know that we are available and that our service may fit their needs, it is not personal and is only one part of the picture.

Outreach must build new credibility.  Our brand is tarnished.  There are great misconceptions about the real identity of the church and the church’s Lord, we need to demonstrate that we are current, credible, real and valuable.  Our outreach must not reinforce stereotypes that keep people away, but rather show them something that meets their personal sense of need.

For the younger generations, outreach must involved community service.  The value held by the emerging generations is, “if you don’t make your self valuable in the community, then you are not credible.”  Our outreach has to give legs to a heart of service for others.

Outreach that touches tangible and felt human needs will have a greater impact.  Our consumer culture has been trained to ask, “what is the benefit of this product, for me?”  Our outreach cannot express an obligation, a burden or a duty, but must help people connect felt needs of the heart with the willingness of God to enter their daily reality.

Outreach has to become lifestyle for our people and our institutions.  Just like the environmental strategies to reduce the carbon footprint—it is all about lifestyle.  Programmatic or purely attractional (get them to the church for a program) approaches fall short when it comes to creating an outreach lifestyle. 

Outreach has to grow beyond the episodic.  Some of our outreach efforts are similar to annual demonstrations by protest groups.  We simply make a “show of force” once in a while so that people know we are here.  You cannot build a ongoing relationship with someone using only with an annual turkey basket.  Outreach has to become regular, personal and a normal part of our Christian routine, and it cannot feel like outreach.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

One. For entry level, try Angel Food Ministries, it provides a personal contact twice a month, can have dramatic impact in creating large outreach impact and meets a real human need.

Two.  Complete a needs assessment.  This teaches all who participate to be good at listening and networking, and prepares the church for a long term outreach focus.

Three.  Make personal contact with people outside the four walls, a regular part of your church life.  Check out the Externally Focused Network for some ideas.

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

(part 3) Community Needs Assessment is a vital part of the launch plan for any new church. See the previous two posts and explore what follows…

Let the community know we are serious about serving. Since community needs assessment is the official method that new organizations in the community use to prepare for service, our use of the needs assessment lets the community know that serving is more than lip service—we are serious, intentional and sophisticated about understanding the needs in our community. The needs assessment changes the conversation with community leaders from the very beginning. It is critical to establish a service identity for the new church from the beginning, both for team members and the community.

Develop community partnerships. Long term partnerships with community organizations result from the needs assessment process. It allows us to begin by asking “how can we help?”, rather than “what can you give us?” You will discover that your requests for meetings with community organizations are much more readily accepted for the purpose of needs assessment that they are for the introduction of a new church. One church reported a 100% “yes” response to appointment requests with more than 200 community leaders during their needs assessment.

Look for some more insights about the importance of community needs assessments in the next post. 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