Planting Space

Our last few blogs have focused on the benefits of doing a community needs assessment. At New Life Christian Church a new community based organization, Passion 4 Community, was birthed as a way to directly address the needs discovered from the assessment. Passion 4 Community is its own entity, but functions as the service arm of the church. Because Passion 4 Community is a community based organization and not officially a church, we are able to serve the community and partner with secular groups in ways the church could not.

Let’s face it, the word “church” has become a troublesome word in our culture. Many business won’t partner with churches even if they are owned and operated by believers for fear it will harm their business by association. Many schools are church-phobic and won’t allow a church to serve. But, community based organizations do not have that stigma.

It may seem like pointless semantics to form a community based organization as the service arm of the church. But consider how many new churches choose a trendy name often excluding the word church in order to better reach their community. If all it takes is starting a community based organization to better serve the community, then I think we have to consider it. It also becomes a great teaching tool for the church to show them how serious we are about being the hands and feet of Jesus in the community.

contributed by Doug Foltz
featured on newchurches.com

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