Making your family project work

Graeme Parkins, pastor of Scarborough Christian Fellowship, offers 10 key points to consider if you’re setting out to meet the needs of your community.

1. Talk to people who have done it, or are doing it. You need a good idea of what it takes to get a project off the ground, and the commitment needed to maintain it.
2. Get a team together. You need to have support around you, especially if things get a bit tough!
3. Meet the right people and be bold! I had 15 minutes with the Chief Executive of the Council, where I outlined our plans for Oasis. I’d prepared a project plan and a budget, so he could see we were serious. I said “This is what we want to do and I need your help to open some doors.” And he did – he pointed us in the right directions and cleared the way for us to liaise with the planning department, the economic development department and so on. You need to know what you want and then ask for it.
4. Research the need properly, especially if you will be seeking funding. Use other people’s research, particularly local government research. Link up with other churches to ensure you don’t duplicate what another church is already doing.
5. Remember, relationships are key. Our team joined the local community PACT – a group involved in the community from both the statutory and the voluntary sector. They are also part of Faithworks Scarborough, and maintain strong links with the local council and service providers like Sure Start.
6. Be sure what you do rests comfortably with the heart and ministry of your church. Our heart was very much for parents of children under five, especially new parents. As a church, that was the group we felt called to help.
7. Be realistic about costs. My experience is always to take a quote and allow twice the time and at least 50% more money than the quote is for. With Oasis the original quote started at £307,000 and rose to £370,000, which actually was only a 25% increase. But I think we were just blessed that it was only 25% over the amount quoted!
8. Keep your focus. It’s tempting to ‘chase the funding’. We’ve been told “If you want to help drug addicts, there’s funding available.” But that’s not our area of expertise. You have to know what you’re good at, and stick to it.
9. Maintain your Christian ethos. When we received European funding we could employ staff, which is very helpful, but brings its own problems. As a church we believe in offering equal opportunities, but our Christian ethos is also vital. We got some advice, from Faithworks and elsewhere, and phrased our job specifications in a way which enabled us to meet the requirements of our funders while preserving our ethos.
10. Work with your church. Scarborough Christian Fellowship has been both gracious and generous as we’ve launched Oasis. This is definitely a ‘whole church’ project and it is the vision of the church that has enabled Oasis to come into being and make a difference in our community.

Last Updated 10 November 2008