How to Start a Community Outreach Ministry

Community outreach connects the local church with the people in their city by meeting existing needs. Starting or adding Christian ministry initiatives will help positively impact your local community and grow your church membership. These services will help you engage your community, attract and give help to needy individuals, build relationships with the community and share the faith.

Church outreach ministries look at their community, assesses the needs and say, ‘Our community needs this, and as a church we feel like God has given us the resources and skills, and so we’re going to meet that need and use that as the our vehicle through which we’ll share Christ’. This ministry can have many different expressions.

For example, you have people in communities who are hungry or need help with clothing. Our church saw the toll that the recession was taking on families and engaged Angel Food Ministries to provide quality food items at half the cost. Years ago we identified a need for value priced clothing so we opened the Maranatha Storehouse. Another example would be a church that realizes its community deals with alcohol and drug abuse. That church might want to start a recovery program such as Living Free to address the issue.

Other popular community outreach ideas include jail or prison ministries, after-school programs for children or yard clean up for elderly and disabled. The nature of the ministry depends on the needs of the specific community where the church is located.

Here are some simple steps that will help you plan for a successful start up for your church outreach ministry:
• Develop a detailed ministry plan and share your vision with church leadership.
• Be prepared to resource your vision with time, talent, prayer and even your own money.
• Recruit, organize and develop a team of volunteers to implement your outreach programs.
• Develop a website to communicate your services and success stories.
• Evaluate success and recognize volunteers and donors.

The American church is by some standards losing its influence on society. One way to regain a voice in our communities is to harness the strength of the church through community outreach. For more information, call our Outreach Hotline at (763) 315-7111.

Let’s Party

If you are looking for ways to make sharing Jesus fun and effective, hosting a Matthew Party is a creative way to meet people and share God’s love. So what is a Matthew Party?

Remember the story of Levi the tax collector? After Jesus recruited him he was so excited that he invited all this friends over for supper with his new boss. Jesus sat down with ‘many publicans and sinners’ and they all got saved.

The most important pre-party preparation is prayer because it is an excellent way to hear God’s direction. Ask God who He is calling you to reach. Your neighbors? Friends? Co-workers?

It’s easy to think of reasons to have a party. The primary reason is to simply be friendly person. A neighborhood barbeque is a great place to start. You might team up with another Christian person or a couple to help co-host your party.

When sending out invitations, put yourself in the place of your guests and ask: Would I want to go to this party? Avoid using words such as ‘evangelism’ and ‘gospel’.

When Dan and Jane hosted a Neighborhood Party at their home last summer, they sent out invitations that said ‘Join the fun’; ‘Meet your neighbors’; ‘Bring the kids’.

Icebreakers are sometimes a relaxing way to start a Matthew Party; to get people comfortable. Participation should be optional. Don’t embarrass your guests.

Set the environment with relaxing background music. While food is always essential to a party, don’t spend excessive time in the kitchen. If you are challenged by the thought of having to serve alcohol, schedule your event for earlier in the day.

Set a start and ending time for your party. Leave your guests wanting another reason to get together in the future. It’s the first step to one more opportunity to share God’s love.

We live in a ‘garage door opener’ neighborhood. People come and go but seldom do they connect. If we are influence those who are far from God we will have to reject exclusivism and purposely build bridges into their lives.

A Matthew Party is a good way to start!