Resources, Examples, and Inspiration for Meeting Community Needs
If you’ve read Joy Skjestad’s article in the May 11 issue of Alban Weekly (“Starting a Nonprofit At Your Church: Drawing More Resources to Meet Increasing Community Needs“), you’re aware of the value to be found in establishing nonprofit organizations for supporting community ministry. If you haven’t read the article, here is the link: http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=7788.
And you’re aware of the featured resources at the end of the article—especially Joy’s own book, Starting a Nonprofit at Your Church.
These are among the resources that are featured in The Congregational Resource Guide’s section on “Community Ministry.” Here is the link to this section:
http://www.congregationalresources.org/ShowCat.asp?CN=141&SCN=142.
I want to especially call your attention to the late Carl Dudley’s book, Community Ministry: New Challenges, Proven Steps to Faith-Based Initiatives, published by Alban in 2002. Here is the link to our book review in the Congregational Resource Guide. At the bottom of the review are further links to resource providers:
http://www.congregationalresources.org/ShowOne.asp?RID=9250&TC=142.
You might also consider looking at some congregations that have done outstanding work in community ministry. One of the most famous is Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, a congregation that offers meals, health care, and a host of other services related to community needs: http://www.glide.org/Work.aspx.
Also famous is Church of the Savior in Washington, DC. Its ministries range from medical care for the homeless to housing for seniors: http://www.inwardoutward.org/?page_id=8.
Do you know of congregations, large or small, that are doing significant work in community ministry? Perhaps they have established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If so, let us know about it!
Claudia Greer
Resource Associate, Alban Institute
A related resource that may be of interest is:
Leslie R. Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, Force for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008).
Although the book is based upon the practices of twelve nonprofits that are not church based, the lessons of effectiveness should largely be the same for those that are. Once the decision has been made to go the nonprofit route, effectiveness will be essential and Crutchfield and McLeod provide clear suggestions how to achieve it.
On a final note, the book lends itself well to small group discussion–I am in the process of convening my second six-week group. Give it a look!
In a study several years ago in Buffalo and Western New York, one of the findings was that the region had too many non-profits seeking to address community concerns, all seeking funding from the same regional donor base and regional foundations. Therefore, I sould suggest that any church envisioning a community ministry consult with their Community Foundation and with the United Way to learn about existing non-profits seeking to address their particular concern. It may be better for a congregation to develop a partnership with an existing non-profit rather than to establish “their own” agency. The sense of call and passion for a particular ministry might be just what an existing non-profit needs to strengthen its efforts and serve more effectively.
Thanks, Bruce and James, for the recommendation and advice. We’ve ordered Force for Good and will include it as a resource in the Congregational Resource Guide!
What if you are a nonprofit that wants to partner with an existing church to do ministry with them on their site? Does this cause any issues with city governments? We are a pregnancy care center and with funding so tight would benefit from this kind of partnership. We’d like to keep our autonomy.