When starting with a new community intervention, it is important to take into account the current state of interactions. I think this is especially important if we are wanting to adjust some way we currently interact with our community.
We can get stuck in a rut.
But when we take a moment to think about how things are working, we can start to see potential changes.
Here is an example from our experience. Pre-pandemic, our church hosts an annual Christmas event for our community (pictures with Santa, holiday crafts, festive snacks, etc.). A lot of people have made this a holiday tradition for their family, and our church is happy to serve the community in this way. We look forward to being able to host this event again in the future, but we recognize that part of our goal in inviting the community to this event is to invite them to our church for a Sunday service. In the past, we have seen very little conversion of attendance at the event into attendance at a Sunday service. Looking at our current state, allows us to ask questions about this and explore what might be happening.
Thinking about our current state provides the opportunity for us to be honest with ourselves. We need to be honest about both our positives and negatives in the current state.
In my example, a positive is that we are serving the community, with good turnout and growing numbers of neighbors come every year. A negative is that there is a disconnect between the event and church growth.
It is important to see both. The positive can be an asset, and the negative can be an area of further exploration.
Before latching on to the negatives and trying to solve them, do not make assumptions as to why that current interaction is happening. Instead, ask questions. Try to learn what is actually happening.
We could assume that people may already have a church home and that is why they do not come back. That may be true for some, but others may be looking for something specific in a church and do not see it when attending a holiday outreach event.
Asking questions about the current state and looking for connections and gaps in understanding is an important step. One that should not be skipped or rushed.
What is happening in the current state of your work? What positives do you see? What negatives are coming to mind?
KATHY PIERBURG 