Research your community

If we are to engage with the needs of our community we need to find out what the needs are.

Many churches that have embarked on this process of engagement have found it invaluable not to assume you know the needs of those around you, but to go and ask.

Bethlehem New Life Church in Cefn Cribwr, near Bridgend, did just this. They visited every one of the 5,000 homes in their local community. They simply asked what the residents felt were the pressing needs in the community, and how the church could meet them. The overwhelming response was for a sports facility. So as a church they set out to meet the need.

Willowfield Parish Church, East Belfast, did this, too - and discovered seven areas of need, which they then set about addressing. Scarborough Christian Fellowship did the same, and then began to meet the needs they found.

The same is true of most of the churches that have been serious about serving their communities. They go out in humility and ask what the needs are, and how they could be met by the church.

The following exercises are included to assist you in this process of listening.
They can be used together or apart, to validate your findings. They can be used as they are, or adapted to suit your needs.

NB. It’s important that you are aware of, and compensate for, any bias that you may have in setting the questions. It is so easy to ask the questions that you think will get you the answers you want to hear. For this reason, it may be better to use the exercises as they are, because though they are still inevitably biased, it is not a bias of your own choosing.

• The Community Research Exercise (PDF)
• The Community Leader Interviews Exercise (PDF)
• Writing a report as a result of your Community Audit (PDF)

Last Updated 30 November 2010