1. Ministry History
Each church's external mission reflects its unique history and heritage. Looking at where the church has been can be helpful in planning its next steps.
a) Ministry heritage: Is there anything in the story of the founding of your church that relates to mission and local outreach? What do you know about a missional heritage in your denomination (if your church belongs to one)?
b) Ministry history: When has your church been at its best in missional outreach? Has the congregation ever gotten "burned"? Have there been conflicts surrounding outreach, and how have they been resolved? Create a timeline of major church efforts relating to evangelism, social action or global mission over the church's history, including discontinued ministries, key partnerships, major changes in ministry funding or leadership, and new initiatives planned for the future. How does this history of ministry engagement correspond with high and low points in the overall life of your church?
c) Main characters: Who has played a key role in the church's ministry development? Tell about "heroes/heroines" or "saints" in the church who have made a difference in the community or beyond.
d) Ministry record: Which ministry efforts do members point to with pride, and which have not worked out so well? What has generated the most excitement, and what has been like pulling teeth? Complete this sentence: "The most successful ministry we have undertaken is …" What factors made this a positive ministry experience?
e) Ministry identity: Which of the following images best describes the character of your church's ministry over its history:
· Pillar churches are a stable civic anchor in the community.
· Pilgrim churches provide a shelter for minority groups and immigrant cultures.
· Survivor churches take risks to stand with people on the social margins.
· Prophet churches proactively challenge immorality and injustice in the world.
· Servant churches quietly provide help to individuals in need, near and far.
· Family churches support their members as a close-knit, caring group.
· Lighthouse churches seek to shine the gospel to those who are unchurched.
· Entrepreneur churches are catalysts for community development.
· Yeast churches exercise influence primarily through individual members.
· Other - come up with your own image.
See Carl Dudley and Sally Johnson, Energizing the Congregation: Images that Shape Your Congregation’s Ministry (Westminster/Knox, 1993).
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
2. Ministry Activities
As your church considers how to expand or enhance its outreach, a good place to start is by developing an accurate portrait of the church's current involvement.
a) Ministry focus: Has the church identified one or more particular ministry communities —the neighborhood around the church, another geographic location, or a specific population (e.g., college students, immigrants, people with disabilities)? What are the main social and spiritual needs represented in this community?
b) Ministry programs: Use the "Ministry Program Inventory" worksheet (tool #17) to record an overview of current programs designed to serve spiritual or social needs beyond the congregation. For each major outreach program (if there are many programs, select the five that are most significant to the church), additionally provide a short profile, including:
· a description of what the program does, noting how the ministry addresses spiritual and / or social needs;
· the audience or area that the ministry serves;
· the intended goals and actual outcomes (if known) of the program;
· how the ministry draws on, partners with or strengthens assets in the community (e.g., recruiting parents as volunteers in a children's ministry, partnering with the local business council for a job training program)
· a brief history of the program;
· (if possible) a story illustrating the need for this ministry, or a "success" case.
c) Benevolence: Over the past three years, what kinds of people have been asking the church for aid, and what have been their needs? How do they find out about your church as a place that can offer help? How has the church responded to them? Does the church have policies to guide its charitable assistance? What challenges / problems / opportunities have been associated with benevolence?
d) Informal outreach: How does the church encourage members to witness to and serve others in their daily lives, and to what extent does this happen? How does the church facilitate opportunities for people in the congregation to form relationships with people who are not Christians or who are on the social margins?
e) Member ministry: How are individual members or small groups involved by their own initiative in addressing particular social concerns, or ministering in an unofficial way? (For example, a member who consistently speaks out on behalf of pro-life issues, a family that takes an annual mission trip to Mexico, a cluster of members who volunteer regularly for Habitat for Humanity, or a small group that pushes the church to be more environmentally friendly)
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
3. Ministry Organization
Carl Dudley notes in Community Ministry, "In our common concern for social ministry, the way we mobilize in each congregation is unique to the people involved and the problems they face." When it comes to outreach, how does your church get things done?
a) Decision-making: What is the process for making and implementing decisions that involve the church's outreach (for example, launching a new ministry, allocating funding, assigning leadership)? What values or principles guide these decisions? What kinds of informal, "behind the scenes" activity goes into decision-making?
b) Planning: Does the church have a strategic plan for ministry development, or does it develop more spontaneously? Is there a central focus or set of priorities that guides outreach, and/or are efforts scattered in various unrelated directions? Does the church have a vision statement for its community ministry? (See tool #16, "How Is Your Church Engaging the Community?")
c) Organizational structure: How is external mission reflected in the organizational structure of the church? Is there a place for outreach goals in staff job descriptions, the committee structure, the budget format, etc.?
d) Volunteer management and support: What is the church's system for recruiting, training, placing, tracking, evaluating and recognizing volunteers? What opportunities do members have to share with one another about the ministry work they are doing outside the congregation, and ask other members to contribute (i.e. volunteer time, in-kind goods, donations, prayer support)?
e) Leadership: Where do ideas, energy and initiative for outreach ministry come from — pastors, lay leaders, small groups, individual members, community leaders? Note which of these tasks represent current leadership strengths and challenges:
· starting new initiatives
· sustaining and growing programs
· mobilizing church members
· ministry evaluation and accountability
· networking and partnerships
· cultivating resources for ministry
· long-range vision
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
4. Ministry Assets
What resources for ministry does your church have to work with? Inventory the major assets — tangible and intangible — available to the congregation, and note the extent to which they are currently being used for external ministry:
a) Financial resources: Endowment, tithes, mission offerings, fundraisers, major donors, grants, etc. What is the church's overall financial health? How much of the budget currently goes toward external ministry? (note local vs. international)
b) Material resources: Building, equipment, vehicles, educational curricula, etc. (See the "Space Use Inventory," tool #18.)
c) Human resources:
· List staff and volunteers from the congregation engaged in outreach.
· Identify potential human resources from outside the congregation (e.g. consultants, interns, community volunteers).
· Note special skills and interests that are represented in your congregation (managerial, electrical, artistic, health care, cooking, etc.).
d) Intangible resources: Intangible assets (which are often overlooked) include:
· Reputation: A positive reputation in the community, a proven ministry track record, or association with a trusted community service organization.
· Visibility: Recognition outside the church, gained for example by consistently sending representatives to community meetings.
· Energy: Momentum for ministry flowing from spiritual dynamism, a passion to make a difference, a positive outlook, youthful (or young at heart) enthusiasm.
· Time: Who in the congregation has time to share with others? Consider the volunteer potential of stay-at-home parents, college students, people with disabilities who do not work, and retirees.
· Trust in leaders: A healthy (though not blind) respect for leaders that encourages the congregation to follow leaders down new paths of faith in action.
· Ministry experiences: Motivational stories of past ministry achievements, or the encouragement of members who have led by example.
· Connections: Access to people or institutions who could contribute to ministry — e.g. donors, banks, colleges, politicians, foundations, artists, hospitals, etc.
e) Spiritual resources: What main biblical or theological foundations for outreach mission are taught at your church? What role models or sources of inspiration are important to your understanding of mission (e.g. denominational legacy, Christian authors or speakers, other churches or church leaders, etc.)
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
5. Ministry Connections and Collaborations
No church is — or should be — a lone ranger when it comes to outreach. Every church is embedded in relationships with the broader community, with the wider Christian fellowship, and with ministry partners. What connections does your church have with other organizations, and how does your church relate to its community? (See tool #16, "How is Your Church Engaging the Community?")
a) Partners: What outside groups does the church connect with to carry out ministry goals (e.g. the denomination, foundations, community agencies, parachurch organizations, church coalitions, government, etc.)? What kinds of cooperative arrangements exist between the church and these outside entities (e.g., shared space or equipment, jointly sponsored programs, collaborative fundraising projects)? How healthy are these partnerships? (See tool #27, "Assess Your Church's Ministry Partnerships.")
b) Community relations: What community events or programs has the church hosted or participated in? Does the church ever invite local leaders or agencies to special church events? Has the church sought out people from the community to help plan, take part in, or give feedback on church projects that affect the community (such as ministry programs, building projects or outdoor services)?
c) Associations: Does the church or pastor participate in local or national associations or networks such as a pastor's prayer group, a community organizing coalition, a denominational association, Christian Community Development Association, etc.?
d) Representation: Does the pastor or other church leader represent the church in some official capacity out in the community, such as on a public task force or the board of a non-profit agency?
e) Guidelines: What principles (if any) guide the church's selection of partner agencies and projects — for example, whether to participate in secular or ecumenical projects, or whether to accept government funding?
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
6. Ministry Balance
Maintaining a healthy church is a continual balancing act. Church life involves multiple, seemingly competing, dynamics: in-reach and outreach, local and global mission, evangelism and social compassion. It helps to step back and assess these dynamics with a big-picture perspective. (See tools #22, "Does Your Church Smell Like Mission?", tool #21, "Ministry Patterns and Priorities," and tool #25, "How Holistic Is Your Church's Outreach?")
a) Nurture/outreach: What is the balance between ministries of internal congregational nurture, and outreach ministry to those outside the church? Which is your church's priority, in terms of staff and volunteer time, resources, attention from the pulpit, etc.? How satisfied is the congregation with this balance?
b) Mission focus: What is the balance between local and global mission? Which is your church's priority, in terms of staff and volunteer time, resources, attention from the pulpit, etc.? How satisfied is the congregation with this balance?
c) Evangelism/social ministry: What is the balance between evangelism and social outreach? Which is your church's priority, in terms of staff and volunteer time, resources, attention from the pulpit, etc.? How satisfied is the congregation with this balance?
d) Integration: How much overlap or integration is there between evangelism and social activism? Are they totally separate ministries, interconnected ministries, or integrated within the same ministries? Do compassion and evangelism ministries serve the same community, or are they focused on different groups of people? (See tool #12, " Ways Churches Connect Evangelism and Social Ministry," and tool #13, "Sharing Faith in Social Ministry Programs")
e) Top down / bottom up: What is the balance between ministries that are initiated and organized by church leadership (top down), and ministries that grow more informally out of the interests and involvement of members (bottom up)?
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
7. Ministry Involvement: Evangelism
The following questions can help you take a closer look at how your congregation is sharing the good news of salvation with others. See also tool #26, "Review Your Church’s Evangelism."
a) Who? Does the church primarily reach out to people who are already Christians and looking for a new church home, lapsed or "baby" Christians in need of spiritual renewal and discipleship, or people who are not yet Christians? Is there an "ideal" type of person or family whom the church has been seeking to reach?
b) How? (See "Types of Evangelism Programs," tool #10, and "Review Your Church's Evangelism," tool #26.) Is the church's witness to Christ:
· Explicit (e.g. sharing testimonies or tracts) and/or implicit (e.g. modeled through lifestyle and service)?
· Formal (through organized church programs or campaigns) and/or informal (through relationships, in the course of members' daily lives)?
· Event-based (e.g. reaching groups of people via revival services or concerts) and/or one-on-one (e.g. sharing with one person at a time, such as in door-to-door evangelism)?
Why does the church have this approach? What feedback have leaders and members provided about the way the church engages in evangelism?
c) How much? How often do evangelistic events or campaigns take place? About what percentage of the congregation is involved in evangelism? What feedback have leaders and members provided about the amount of evangelism that the congregation is doing — too much emphasis, not enough, just right?
d) Training and recruitment: What programs of evangelism training are in place? How are people recruited to participate? How strongly does the leadership promote evangelism?
e) Attitude: How would you summarize the congregation's attitude toward evangelism — enthusiastic, eager but anxious, terrified, resistant, apathetic?
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
8. Ministry Involvement: Social Action
The following questions can help you take a closer look at how your congregation is demonstrating God's love through ministries of compassion and justice.
a) How? (See "Types of Social Ministry Programs," tool #11) Which of these areas of social action does the church emphasize:
· Meeting immediate needs by providing goods and services (relief);
· Empowering people by teaching skills or character, or offering emotional support (personal development);
· Renewing the economic and institutional building blocks of a healthy community (community development); and/or
· Reforming political, economic, or cultural systems (systemic change).
Why does the church have this approach? What feedback have leaders and members provided about the way the church engages in social ministry?
b) How much? About what percentage of the congregation is involved in social ministry? What feedback have leaders and members provided about the amount of social ministry that the congregation is doing — too much emphasis, not enough, just right?
c) Training and recruitment: How are members recruited and equipped to participate in social ministries? How strongly does the leadership promote social ministry?
d) Attitude: How would you summarize the congregation's attitude toward social action—enthusiastic, eager but anxious, cynical, terrified, resistant, apathetic?
e) Holistic approach: Does the church seek to address the spiritual needs of the people served in social ministries (e.g. by offering prayer and sharing the gospel in appropriate ways)? Are people served by social ministries welcomed into the church? (See tool #12, "Ways Churches Connect Evangelism and Social Ministry," and tool #13, "Sharing Faith in Social Ministry Programs" for more information on the connection between service and witness.) Does the church nurture the spiritual development of ministry staff and volunteers, and help them connect their ministry involvement with their faith? (See tool #14, "Community Ministry and Our Spiritual Life.")
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
9. Ministry Bridges and Barriers
Transformational community ministry entails building bridges — both to welcome the community into the church, and to bring the church out into the community. Consider possible sources of barriers to relationship with those whom God has called your congregation to love in Christ's name. (See tool # 24, "Identify Barriers Between Church and Community.")
a) Reputation: What is your church known for in the surrounding community? How do you think someone who does not attend might describe your congregation? Are you viewed as being for the community, or simply in the community?
b) Preconceptions: Do people in the congregation have prejudices, stereotypes or a history of negative interactions with people in the community that might be a barrier to authentic, caring relationships? Does the congregation tend to fear the community or think of it as a "bad neighborhood"?
c) Inclusivity: How welcoming is your congregation of people who are different — in terms of economic class, race, language, appearance, physical or mental abilities, and family structure? Are members gracious toward newcomers who behave or dress in unconventional ways? How does your church help people who are spiritual seekers or new Christians feel at home, socially and spiritually?
d) Geography: Where do members live in relationship to the church — are they mostly commuters, or community residents? What kinds of natural connections exist between the church and community, such as members who live, work, own businesses or go to school there? Does the church provide opportunities for members to get to know the church's neighbors?
e) Facilities: Are there physical barriers that represent symbolic obstacles to newcomers (e.g., fences, walls, "no trespassing" signs, locked gates, lack of handicap accessibility)? Do the church grounds say to people, "We care about the appearance of this neighborhood and we care about you"?
f) Priorities: How visible is the congregation's investment in the well-being of its neighbors? To what extent is a commitment to community outreach incorporated into "routine" aspects of church life?
· Is the importance of outreach in word and deed affirmed in the mission statement, membership covenant, welcome brochure, website, etc?
· Are the needs and dreams of the community present in congregational prayers, church bulletin boards, newsletters, etc.?
· Is Christian responsibility beyond the walls of the church addressed in sermons, Sunday school classes, small group Bible studies, literature in the church library or bookstore, etc.?
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
10. Ministry Outcomes
Holistic ministry means planting seeds of faith. Expect a harvest! (Galatians 6:9) What fruit have you seen from your kingdom work? (See also the Ministry Program Evaluation Guide, p. 60, for a more detailed assessment of individual programs.)
a) What have been the observable outcomes of the church's outreach (whether focused on evangelism and/or and social action), on two levels:
· quantitative — record of ministry goals achieved or numbers of people who share in the desired ministry benefits (advocacy goals met; conversions, rededications, or new members; GED program graduates; families in new housing; etc.). How are these numbers tracked, if at all?
· qualitative — description of general positive outcomes (improvements in the overall quality of life in the community, transformation in individual lives)
(Keep in mind that more ministry does not always mean better ministry!)
b) Is it important to your church to evaluate its external ministries, and if so, how are outcomes evaluated? What feedback have church leaders, members, beneficiaries and community contacts provided about the outcomesof the church's outreach ministries? Does the church have a sense that its ministries are "working" or not, and why this is so?
c) Which specific ministries (current and past) have been considered the most effective? What was successful about it? What factors led to the good results?
d) What have been the outcomes of outreach ministry for the church itself, both positive and negative, in the following areas:
· discipleship and spiritual vitality
· member involvement with and commitment to the church
· leadership development
· church size and resource levels
· conflict
If the church's outreach has had minimal impact on the congregation, explore why.
e) Does the church have a long-range vision or broad goals for its community outreach? How will the church know if it is on track with these goals – what are the benchmarks or signs of progress?
Summary reflections:
· What main themes emerged in the responses to these questions?
· Did you gain a helpful perspective on your church's outreach, learn anything surprising about your church, or spark ideas for ministry through this exercise?
Paul Fritz's January 2003 sermon on "Why Should We Preach Good News to the Poor?" with focus on Isaiah 61: 1.
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