Communities should be blessed by the churches that exist there.
We believe that our Triune God is passionately engaged in mission to the world. So instead of asking, "What do we have to do to stir up our passion and increase our engagement in mission?", we ask "What is hindering us from joining the mission in which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are already engaged?" (taken from Stephen Seamonds, "Ministry In the Image of God")
Engaging with your surrounding community — becoming a great neighbour — is no simple task. It requires years of building trust, getting to know your neighbourhood, assessing your community's unique assets and needs and most importantly, seeing where God is at work already!
It can be overwhelming at first, but you don't need to go it alone.
Listed below are a few ways you can get started.
"A good neighbour takes care of their own property and looks out for the neighbours immediately around them.
A great neighbour is someone who cares for the condition of the entire community. Great neighbours are those who come together and have the shared goal to make their community a better place to live, for all."
- Jay VanGroningen, Communities First
RESOURCES
Key Principles
Let this valuable resource act as a guide as your church connects with its unique community.
Recommended Resources
Keep learning!
We’ve compiled a list of helpful books and websites to help get you started.
World Renew Resources
Churches want to connect and engage with their communities - but how do we get involved in our communities in healthy ways?
Our friends at World Renew US has put together some helpful webinars and other resources. Check them out now!
Introduction to Community Partnerships
A brand new resource to help your church begin to get to know your local neighbourhood and the people and organizations in it.
Consider a Community Opportunity Scan
A church that is ready to see its relationship with its neighbours in a new way will find that a Community Opportunity Scan (COS) opens doors to exciting possibilities.
Ready to Go Deeper?
Have you already done a Community Opportunity Scan!
Are you ready for what's next?
Our NewGround Program can help you get started.
WORKSHOPS
Helping Without Harming in Local & Global Community Engagement
“When relief is merely a band-aid that alleviates the symptoms of poverty but fails to address the root causes, then it is illegitimate. Such assistance merely helps people to manage their poverty rather than to escape from it.”
('Establishing a Church-based Welfare-to-Work Mentoring Ministry', by Amy Sherman)
Deacons want to help - but what if our help could actually be doing harm? What if our programs and resources aren't addressing the root causes of poverty, food insecurity, and other injustices?
This workshop trains and equips deacons, churches, and organizations to address poverty and injustice both locally and globally in good, helpful, wholesome ways. Based on the best-selling book, When Helping Hurts, by Brian Flikkert and Steven Corbett.
Visit our Events page regularly to find a workshop near you. Or click below to contact us to host your own workshop! We'll help you with all of the promotion and planning.
Becoming a Community-Focused Church (Cohort)
Similar to the learnings of a Community Opportunity Scan, this bi-national cohort is designed to help congregations become communities who love and desire the flourishing of their local neighbourhoods and cities - the people and the places where their church has been placed.
Churches come together monthly for learning and sharing as they live out the practices and disciplines they've been given. Typically this begins in January and runs for the calendar year.
Contact our staff for more information.
Contact Our Staff
Our experienced Field Staff can answer your questions, provide helpful resources, or even help you decide if your church is ready to do a Community Opportunity Scan.
