Issues

Through my research I have come across several issues that are important to consider when getting involved in community work. I wanted to share some of those with you:

1. Area definition: One issues that needs to be considered is that of area. We are a church that attracts people from all over the city. Last week I pinpointed the congregation onto a map in order to work out where we we have a presence in the city and apart from key students areas we are very spread out. Working out which area constitutes our church community is then rather difficult. Whatever we decide to do must be within an area where we have some sort of a presence as a church, whether in terms of church buildings or where the congregation live.
2. Area resistance: The issue of area definition is important not just in understaning 'our community' but also because of area resistance. There can be a great deal of resistance of a group of seemingly fairly well off Christians going into a "poor deprived" area where they have no connections and trying to "do good works". This is also tied in with working out the approach and attitude that we have as a church when going into the type of work. Are we serving our community out of Christian love, or are we going to try and "help them" because they are "poor and disadvantaged"?
3. Targeted groups: One of the key areas of need that has come up again and again is that of social exclusion and isolation. The question then arises - how do we reach those that are socially excluded? How do we know where they are, what they need and what they want? There are so many isolated people out there, and one of the biggest problems can be knowing how to make that initial step of reaching out to/contacting them in the first place.
4. Working alone/in partnership: Do we do a project alone, do we put our resources into supporting another organisation or do we run a project in partnership with another church? This is a big one that I'm not sure I have the ability or time to try and answer right now, but it is one that is being considered. It's a big issue, with sound arguments on either side. Surely if we want to effectively impact Edinburgh and reach many people then we should work in partnership...? But then do problems of leadership and ownership not come up? Do we really need to support another organisation when there is a chance to impact an area where no one is working, to feed a very real need that is currently not being fed? Is there a way of working alongside other organisations but still running something ourselves? All BIG questions, and all being considered, not just by myself but by church leadership. No answers as yet, but they're coming...