We need more youth: Often congregations want more young people involved in their churches. Spirituality, and therefore, “church going” for today’s parents and their children, has changed drastically. It has moved away from the traditional “Sunday obligation” to something else. The dilemma is that scheduling time on Sunday mornings may not fit the busy schedules of young families who are engaged in dual careers, organized sports and more hands-on parenting. As a result, if we want to increase church attendance and membership, we have to consider stopping trying to change the people to fit our package and start changing the package to fit the people. That we need to do this in almost drastic ways, and sooner rather than later. It is not about changing the message—just the delivery system. And yet, there is no magic construction or manual by which to do this, you just have to find something that strikes a chord in your particular community and do it.

One suggestion is that there are organizations in the community who work with youth, likely they would be a good place to start in learning what needs there may be. Sometimes we take on activities that could appeal to youth (eg: tree planting, seniors dinners, spring clean-up to name a few) they may offer an opportunity to participate, gain community service, learn about others by meeting them first hand. Ask, what youth can we invite to join in this activity?

How do we know what needs may exist in our community?: Critical to success is finding ways to engage and forge relationships with community organizations who are service providers and/or know about needs within the community. Be careful not to make assumptions about who or what is needed. Given that actions speak louder than words, this activity in itself also demonstrates genuine interest. Offer to host events, make your space a community hub and make your agenda to listen and learn.

People today tend to be more cause oriented in how they support (with time and money) the things that they believe in and feel make a difference. Our challenge is to connect what we are doing to meaningful causes and potential outcomes.

It is almost not so important what we do but rather how we do it that can make a difference…back to actions speaking louder than words.

How and where do we form partnerships?: Partnerships can represent a huge opportunity to leverage our strengths such as hospitality, compassion, pastoral care, fund raising, with partners who can open doors, provide complimentary resources, connections to other organizations and resources.

We can’t expect to engage in these relationships with a clear picture of how it will work or what benefits we will gain or indeed expecting a guarantee of outcomes. If we share a common sense of purpose, take the risk and work together. Obstacles and challenges can be addressed when they arise.

Many of our parishioners may be feeling burnt out and frustrated because we don’t seem to be making positive progress. And we are not getting any younger. Partnerships can let us concentrate on what we do well and use our energy for that, then we find partners with complimentary strengths. They may be other faith groups, social service agencies or service providers for local community programs.

We are already doing lots: Activities that are part of our current outreach and community engagement can be both a blessing and a curse. Blessing for all the great things so many parishes shared about the benefits of their efforts. A curse because they can lead us to the comfortable place where we are reluctant to try new and perhaps uncertain activities. Be sure to follow the Outreach column featured in the weekly diocesan eNews newsletter, find out what other parishes are doing, look for, be open to investigate and discuss new ideas within your parish.

We have signage and openness to our communities: the extent to which our buildings, signage and things like how quickly telephone and internet inquiries are addressed speaks volumes. Do you have a Facebook page where events are posted? Does you message taking system offer numbers to call for emergencies? How welcoming is our signage? Are service times clearly posted? Do you offer time for quiet reflection during the week? How important is your space for community gatherings and how well is that information shared in the community?

I would be delighted to lead a discussion about this important topic and opportunities to test or try; or to be a resource for parish mission/vision planning; and/or to help brainstorm ideas for your future. Contact me at russellgrant@outlook.com (416) 931-7153.

The post Check-in on community engagement with coordinator Russ Grant appeared first on Dialogue.

What is Community Engagement?

• Anything we do to put ourselves in front of the communities we serve
• It is about being seen and heard about things that matter to us as Christians
• Not just in our church buildings, we need to be seen in the community
• ‘Share the Gospel and if you have to use words’ – actions do speak louder than words
• Our goal is to address spiritual and sometimes more immediate well-being needs or services to support less fortunate people.

Why is community Engagement important?

• We live in a time and place where there are many in our communities who need our support
• It is how we live our faith in the communities we serve
• It can help us to identify spiritual needs and less traditional ways to address them
• Remember that people are more likely to make a choice to join a church after a minimum of 4 visits often for Parish sponsored events – in
• many communities there are a significant number of retiree transplants who would welcome the fellowship that we offer.

How can we approach Community Engagement?

• Remember that the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results – be receptive and ready to try different things
• It is less about what we offer and more about how we offer – eg: making visitors welcome
• Partnerships – we don’t have to do it alone – many organizations need space or other forms of support that mean we can be part of a larger whole – who else is supporting others in our community and how can we help?
• Ecumenical – there are other faith groups facing some of the same challenges that we do and with whom we can work together – learn what other faith groups are doing and join in
• Caring for the environment – in our facilities, in our communities and in our country
• There is no ‘one best way’ ‘cookie cutter’ or ‘silver bullet’ approach – we need to tailor our approach to what we already do well, to what we have passion for and to what our community needs. This may mean taking it to the community instead of waiting for the community to come to us – eg: have a table or stall at community events – sponsor an event
• Doors open/lights on for community events – eg: Terry Fox water and rest stop, parade drop ins
• Make sure we are checking our phones for messages frequently
• Have signage that is easily visible from the street and especially that announces service times, upcoming events and easy points of contact.

Within our Diocese we already engage in a wide range of activities from lunches and dinners, community meals programs, meals-on-wheels, language classes, thrift stores, garage sales and give-aways, tree planting, working with seniors, cook books, supporting the homeless, providing transportation, sharing medial assist equipment, warming centres, refugee support programs, Fellowship Open Tables, Messy Church, special music programs, ecumenical services, bible studies, housing and supporting food banks, Christmas hampers, housing for homeless and seniors, and more.

I would be delighted to lead a discussion about this important topic and opportunities to test or try; or to be a resource for parish mission/vision planning; and/or to help brainstorm ideas for your future. russellgrant@outlook.com (416) 931-7153.

The post Check-in on community engagement with coordinator Russ Grant appeared first on Dialogue.