Benefits of Completing a Needs Assessment



⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. ) ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)  ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. (John 4: 7-10 NIV)

Churches provide an important basis for programs to improve community health, but often programs are implemented based on the church’s opinion of what the community should have rather than on real insight about what the community actually needs.

The community needs assessment process has proved successful in forming community relationships, building community recognition and connecting the church more deeply with the community by understanding its needs.

Read the NewChurches.co article on ‘Why a Community Needs Assessment?’

Compassion by Design Needs Assessment Kits

Designed just for churches and church planters, this workbook outlines 8 distinct steps to complete a needs assessment that can be achieved using a volunteer team.

Beginning with leadership orientation, the steps will progressively unfold a deep understanding in to the community using simple but effective interviews, surveys and focus groups. Clear role descriptions along with guides for all of the activities will connect you more deeply to the community!

Walk Away with community recognition and planning your next steps towards outreach and community service!

Benefits

• Mobilizes all team members in networking

• Approaches community in a way that increases connections and open doors

• Builds missional/externally focus DNA in the life of the new church

• Makes hundreds of new relationships

• Helps form community partnerships

• Creates focus for sustainable community service

Process Timeline

All eight steps range from 3 months up to 1 year, customizable to your own church timeline. The scope of work is also scalable to fit the resources and number of volunteers you have!

About the Author

Author David W. Mills, founder of Compassion by Design, is a two-time church planter with a passion to help new churches successfully win the unchurched and establish themselves with credibility and impact that surpasses traditional outreach methods.

David’s Needs Assessment approach is clearly out of the box when it comes to how we start churches - but uses approaches that have built in community credibility and place the church planter and team face-to-face with those they seek to reach.

Buy Kits for Church Plants or Missional Churches >