The Mouse in the Chancel

See a Need, Fill A Need- The ABCD’s of Outreach Ministry that can promote a congregation, do good, and evangelize all at the same time……

In the dim and distant past, I attended a thing called seminary. During those heady days a strategy called Asset Based Community Development was all the rage. This strategy was and is still utilized to organize communities and neighborhoods to bring about positive change. It is a long, complicated process that involves many steps and requires hours of sweat equity and hard work. The strategies that are employed are ones that usually require intense training to execute and are the type that smaller parishes and missions do not have the time to participate in or execute. I will admit that I also, even after taking the training, think that the process seems really overwhelming. So, if you are looking for a simplistic guide to save the world – or at least your little corner of the world – by using Asset Based Community Development, this ain’t it.

So, why are you, one of the rarest of folk, actually reading this? This is because you probably have decided that your parish or mission has decided that you all want to make a difference in the lives of the people in your community. Undoubtedly, your congregation has been there for people in their time of spiritual need, but maybe you are thinking that it is time to be there for the other needs of the people in your community. Maybe you want to reach out from the church walls to provide services for those in need. Maybe you want to provide a safe place for kids after school, or a place that distributes food or clothing to those in need. These are all laudable things, but before you charge off to fight the good and noble fight – you should ask the question- “What do we do and how do we do it?”

This is where Asset Based Community Development (Referred to as ABCD for the remainder of this conversation) gives us a valuable strategic tool. And that tool is knowledge- the knowledge of the assetsof your community. You see, your community probably has assets that help people and the ABCD program features a stage that requires that a group catalogs the resources of a community. In other words, if you want to be an asset to the community, you need to know the existing assets of your community. It is also important to note that you don’t want to duplicate services or compete with folks who are already taking a risk and already doing great job at providing a service.

Now, you might now be tempted to ask, “Well then, why don’t we just partner with those other organizations?” I know this is a really popular strategy. I have seen church members successfully bring people who are not involved in church to volunteer at food pantries or other activities that are socially laudable. But here’s the thing,  I have not seen that involvement transfer into evangelism which promotes the church (your church) that is a small partner or bring the unchurched into the community of the church (again, your church). This is why I hope that after a church assesses what needs their community has, they will work to fill those needs on their own or in a clear leadership role with partners.

This is where the cartoon I spoke of earlier comes into play. Before I went to seminary, I was a public-school teacher and a summer stay at home dad of two small boys. One of the favorite DVD’s in our house during the summer was the movie “Robots”. While we were at home in the hot and humid climes of North Carolina sheltering in the Air Conditioning, we watched this movie………….a lot. There was a robot character who owned the robot factory – or something like that- the kids are now adults and in college and grad school so forgive the hazy recollection- who had a great quote.

The character was voiced by Mel Brooks, and he constantly said, “See a need, fill a need.” This is simply the strategy. This is how we determine how we make ourselves invaluable to our community. This is how we show the community that that the love of Christ is not only reserved for those who enter our doors and pay their pledges. This is how we show the community that we love God AND OUR NEIGHBOR- AND THAT THEY ARE INDEED OUR NEIGHBOR.

We find out what our communities offer, find the holes or the needs, and then fill the needs, then tell the story and let folks know we are doing it and why we are doing it. We do it because we love God and we love them.

Ok, it sounds great. So how does it work?

1. Find out what your community has to offer
   1. Look on the internet
   1. Call local churches and ask if there is an ecumenical outreach group that gets together or is in possession of a list of services offered
   1. Contact local social services and ask if there is a catalogue of services
   1. Contact the local Ministerial Association if there is one and inquire if they have a list of services offered
   1. If you are in a larger metropolitan area this can (and should) be limited to neighborhoods.
   1. This is a broad overview, so there may be other ways to conduct a survey of the assets the community might have.
2. Find out the needs of the neighborhood or community
   1. This step is more nuanced for groups of volunteers such as a small congregation.
   1. This can be determined by listening to the community and conversations.
      1. Invite players in the community such as Teachers, Social Workers, Pastors, Priests, Law Enforcement, Counselors in for conversations to determine what THEY see as real needs- and they might not be the sexy needs congregations envision, but that is ok. Remember, feed them and they will come.
      1. If your church regional hierarchy (Diocese, Synod, Conference, etc.) has someone on staff or leadership that can facilitate this- by all means call them in to help, it SHOULD be free.
      1. Remember You must SEE a need to fill it.
3. Fill the Need –Unfortunately, I wish this was one size fits all-, but it is not. I’ll do my best with some overarching themes.
   1. Even if you need to operate remotely make sure folks know it is your congregations’ program
      1. Get a professional sign donated or invest in it – ask your regional church hierarchy body to invest in t-shirts and the sign or a local business to sponsor. Ask your Bishop about a donation from their discretionary fund. You can also ask the local Ministerial Association or a Regional Large Congregation with Resources within your denomination
      1. Use Social Media, and advertise. 20 dollars once a month on Facebook can get the word out to the community in a massive way and you can also add donation buttons on social media platforms to support the program- again ask the Communications “department” or “specialist” for help with this. Your Regional Chief Financial Officer/ Person might also be able to help you with this.
      1. Contact the press, Use Public Service Announcements, this should be free as well and you can google how to do this.
4. Just as  importantly   
   1. BE NICE to each other
   1. Pray
      1. Add this to your weekly prayers, God is with you
   1. Remember you are the Body of Christ
   1. Intentionally discern the right time to do this
   1. Evaluate and don’t give up after mistakes
      1. Be honest- The truth is a friend
      1. Risk something to do something great
   1. Make this a churchwide project
      1. The more the better
         1. The less involved the easier to execute, the more involved, the more complicated- but more resilient in the long run.
   1. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO FAIL