Get Out There!
Ideas for Learning Your Community
By Glenn A. Lucas
I am often amazed by the assumptions leaders make
about who the people are in their community. My experience is that they haven't
really researched the community and so they base their sense of who is there on
what they observe when traveling to and from the church on Sunday or during the
week for a meeting. The problem with basing one's understanding of the
community on this anecdotal evidence is that most people travel the same route
to and from the church so who they see may represent only a small portion of
the community. What one sees on the main street where the church is located may
be very different from what is just a few blocks off the main street. Churches
with effective outreach ministries know this and take the time to study their
communities and find ways to be a part of them. The following are some ways to
learn more about your community.
Get A Demographic
Study
There are many entities that will provide you with
a demographic study of your community. Demographics will tell you what has been
and projects anticipated trends of people in the community including race, age,
gender, marital status, income, household size, and much more.
Go For A Drive
Get leaders in their cars and have them drive
around the neighborhood and take note of who and what they see. Do this at
different times of the day and through out the week. Are there patterns of
people coming and going? Who's on the street and at what times? What do the
homes look like? What are people driving? Also, ask what don't we see that we
would have expected to see?
Take A Walk
Get out of the car and walk around the
neighborhood. Talk to people you meet along the way. Identify yourself and your
church. Ask them what they think are the greatest assets of the community. Ask
them what the biggest challenges are the community faces. Ask them what they
think the role of a church should be in the community. Listen to the sounds of
the community. Smell the smells and see the condition of streets, sidewalks,
businesses, and homes. What do all of these teach you about who's there and
what needs they may have?
Visit Businesses
Walk into businesses and restaurants. Identify
yourself and strike up conversations with the owners. Ask them the same kind of
questions as you ask residents. Is there a potential to partner with the
business in meeting needs in the community?
Meet With The
City Planner
The City Planner knows what future development is
slated for the community where your church is located. Are new businesses
moving in? Which ones? Will there be new residential housing? Targeting what
economic level? Is the city planning to build new schools? Where and how large?
Talk To City
Officials
No matter how small or large a city may be there are
usually local representatives that are available and willing to talk about the
city and/or community and their dreams and plans for it. The same questions
asked of others should be asked of these officials.
Make Friends With
Local Realtors
Realtors know the trends in the community housing
market. Are property values rising or falling? Who's moving out and who's
moving in? Realtors know because their livelihood depends on this knowledge.
Learn From Social
Service Agencies
Social Service Agencies are on the frontlines of
meeting people's needs in communities. They know what the issues are and what
resources are already present in the community as well as those that are
lacking. Ask the same questions as everyone else. Is there a gap your church
can fill?
Connect With
Other Churches
Learn from other church leaders what they are
doing. What has been their experience in the community? What ministries are
they providing that meet community needs? Can you partner with them? Can they
partner with you as you identify a gap in services?
The goal of learning the community is to create a
gospel presence in it so that your church can reach those who don't know our
Savior Jesus by meeting them where they are and drawing them into a saving
relationship with Jesus.
