You’ve felt the call from God to remodel or rebuild your church building to better serve the needs of your community. But one thing stands in your way: you don’t really know the needs of your community. Not yet.
How will you come to know these needs? You may be able to draw on your own experience for the answer. Think of an earlier time when you heard the call of the Lord. When you realized you wanted to know people and help them through Him.
Simply put, to best serve your community, you must think like you’re a missionary to it.
Clarify your vision, designate your target
A missionary doesn’t go into a new place telling the people what they need. A missionary listens, observes, and learns the language of the people he or she serves. A missionary discovers a community’s needs and then provides them.
Start with your congregation. Survey them, ask them what they need. Don’t preach, don’t even speak beyond asking a few questions, just be willing to listen and learn.
Then go beyond your congregation. After all, the vision is to expand your flock when you have your new church building. Round out your research by going into the community, again thinking like a missionary and surveying their needs.
Then decide on a target. Do you want to see more young adults in your new church building? More teenagers? Maybe you want a facility that will serve family members of any age. Finally, make sure you also talk to your intended target to hear what they need.
You’ve learned it all, now what?
Now it’s time to take all your research and translate it into vision targeted facilities your remodeled church can provide.
Are there a lot of young parents in your community? A daycare would almost certainly be welcome. Do the teenagers in your community not have a cheap or free indoor place to meet with their friends? Include space to host occasional age-appropriate social events, even if they’re just “hang out” nights. Combine needs. Build a daycare, and compile a list of local teenagers willing to offer babysitting services. Create space to run babysitting courses or even first aid courses…the possibilities are endless.
And all of these things will ultimately lead your community closer to God. You’ve gained local trust by listening. Now their minds will be more open to hearing the message of the Lord.
Rediscover Your Inner Missionary for Free
From thinking like a missionary, to starting planning your new church building or church remodel, to promoting your brand new facility in ways to excite and inspire your community, our i3 seminars and webinars cover all these topics and more. They are free of charge and are guaranteed to get you more inspired and excited than ever to remodel your church, and bring your congregation closer to the Lord.