High Impact Community Ministry

Yesterday afternoon I had quite a fulfilling time hosting AlbanLearning’s webinar, led by independent consultant Joy Skjegstad, entitled “Outreach Isn’t Optional: Why Community Ministry is Essential to Your Congregation’s Future.”  We had a total of 96 computer connections for this first of four webinars on the theme, “High Impact Community Ministry.”

They asked Joy, who spoke from a moderate evangelical Christian perspective, thoughtful and honest questions like the following, which exemplify the diversity and eagerness of contemporary congregational leaders wanting to explore community ministry.  I wanted to post these, just as they were asked, both to give our presenter the chance to respond to questions that didn’t get addressed in the time we had, and to give you the chance both to ask more questions by commenting here and to answer each others’ questions and share insights.

Q: You’ve mentioned evangelizing the gospel of Jesus Christ as an emphasis in community ministry.  How about Jewish congregations or Unitarian Universalist congregations that have members who are not Christian?

Q: What objections might congregants have regarding participating in community outreach? What are some positive responses?

Q: can you something about outreach in a community that does not have diversity or much of a transient population?

Q: our congregation is totally against community ministry-what can I do?

Q: I serve in a prosperous bedroom community where there isn’t a lot of need on our doorstep. My folks have good hearts but it’s hard to see where to engage! Suggestions?

Q: Can you talk about organization for community ministry? How to turn “ardor” into some sense of “order”?

Q: What do you do when hitting resistance? Internal/external?

Q: Tell me more about your experiences in small congregations. that is…less than 200 people.

Q: We are too old and too tired to engage ministry outside the congregation.  How would you respond?

Q: We are trying to have our mission team and our stewardship team meet together, so that they can see the relationship between. What more could you say about how mission and stewardship serve each other?

Q: For example, do you just send 2 or 3 out and bless them with church permission vs. forming a committee and going through church polity?

Q: You named “developing people rather than programs”.  How do you pair leadership development with discipleship?

Q: A lot of the examples of outreach are time intensive.  Time is a resource that is in short supply.  How do you suggest this issue be addressed?

Q: How do we approach congregants who see the church as sanctuary from their neighbourhoods?    They want a contemplative experience and are validated by the structure of the liturgy.

Q: We do not have our own church building.  We worship at a Catholic HS.  How important is it to have your own building?

Q: Young adults want to serve others and you want to engage them but you don’t currently have young adults within your congregation. How do you get started? Cast a net or ask young adults first?

Q: Do you see the concept of “community ministry” interchangeable with “Social Action” or “social Justice”?

Q: Would you name some measures of success for an externally focused church?

Q: Are there other ways to engage and emphasize the importance of community ministry other than from the pulpit?

Q: Is there a “critical mass” of interest that is necessary to start working int he community in order for to be effective?  Is one passionate person enough, should it be a group of 10, does it need to be half the congregation …?

Q: Any recommendations of curriculum for all ages on, say, addressing the issue of hunger? I love the idea of all educational groups, from the little ones through adults addressing the issue of hunger. Are there resources to help put this together?

Q: What are some specific ways of transforming the culture from a “What can I get out of it” to what “can I give” mentality?

Q: We do a fair number of social outreach *activities.*  How does the type of community ministry you’re discussiong differ from, say, an annual coat drive or food basket giveaways.

So, where do we go from here?