10 keys for impact - inspiration and guidance for community impact

Inspiration and guidance for community transformation

10 Keysfor impact

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Introduction 4–5

KEY 01: Encourage spiritual passion 6–7

KEY 02: Aim for professional excellence 8–9

KEY 03: Be strategic 10–11

KEY 04: Create sustainability 12–13

KEY 05: Nurture your team 14–15

KEY 06: Protect against burnout 16–17

KEY 07: Involve your community 18–19

KEY 08: Communicate your Christian distinctive 20–21

KEY 09: Sow into others 22–23

KEY 10: Keep the heart right 24–25

Contributing partner organisations 26–27

THE KEYS

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This resource captures the ten most important areas of learning and development for church projects and Christian organisations that want to have an effective impact on material and spiritual poverty. The learning is grounded in the accumulated knowledge and experience of Tearfund’s UK partners over the last 15 years. Further guidance, templates and resources for each key area of learning can be found at www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys

It is our belief that regularly revisiting these ten areas of learning and development will significantly help more church projects and Christian organisations to become beacons of spiritual passion and professional excellence, reflecting the example of the Good Samaritan, who went out of his way to ensure the man in need was shown genuine love and ongoing care.

Matthew Frost Chief Executive

One thing I’ve learnt as I’ve got older is that the more I know, the more (I realise) I don’t know. Which is why I believe this booklet will be invaluable to your work. It’s 15 years of collected wisdom from Tearfund’s UK partners operating grassroots Christian community organisations and church community projects.

TEN KEYS FOr IMPACT

INSPIrATION ANd GUIdANCE FOr YOUr COMMUNITY PrOjECT

In Luke 10 jesus reasserts the central importance of loving your neighbour as yourself. When he is asked, ‘And who is my neighbour?’, jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan and commands us, ‘Go and do likewise.’

If we are to reflect the model of the Good Samaritan, the importance of going out of our way to help people living in poverty on our own doorstep cannot be ignored. For over 40 years Tearfund has been concerned to educate the UK church in material and spiritual transformation. Additionally, for over 15 years Tearfund has specifically focused on enabling churches and Christian organisations in the UK to develop programmes that reach out with God’s loving arms into local communities experiencing poverty and significant disadvantage.

Clive Mear/Tearfund

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IMPACT UK

In 1996 Tearfund began to proactively address poverty and disadvantage here in the UK, realising that thousands of people on our own doorstep were living in equally desperate need. The poverty we see here is not just physical: there is great poverty of relationships and identity too. rising family and community breakdown, isolation, loneliness, depression, addiction, debt and abuse across the UK have left many broken, vulnerable and lacking in hope.

As with all of Tearfund’s work, we believe that the answers to this poverty lie in the hands of local churches that are filled with Christians passionate about seeing God’s kingdom come on earth. That’s why the IMPACT UK Team at Tearfund partners with church projects and Christian organisations to address these issues of poverty and disadvantage in some of the poorest areas of the UK. Partnerships last for three years and support projects through grants, one-to-one organisational development support, peer learning, networking and training events. This helps to increase the projects’ effectiveness, enabling best practice and ensuring work is strategic and sustainable so they can maximise their impact on the lives of those they work with.

In this resource you’ll find not only the gathered wisdom of many of these partners, but also a flavour of some of the amazing projects that are being run all over the UK. Lives are being changed on a daily basis as Christians work tirelessly to relieve poverty and injustice. The IMPACT UK Team is privileged to work with its partners and to play its part in the Tearfund ten-year vision to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty.

If you would like to find out more about the work of the IMPACT UK Team you can email [email protected]

Tearfund is well known for working around the world, where it has been campaigning for justice and transforming lives by overcoming poverty since the 1960s.

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Fundamental to giving our best to our communities is keeping faith at the heart of our work. We need to:

be motivated and inspired by God’s love

seek to constantly grow in our personal relationship with God

ensure we don’t try to do things in our own strength, and trust God no matter what happens

delight in God and make sure we focus on him each day

be accountable to someone who will watch out for our spiritual growth

‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’

(John 15:5)

God’s promise is that as we remain in him, we will see fruit in our work. Encouraging spiritual passion will also:

keep us in line with God’s strategy (see Key 3)

ensure we communicate our faith in our words and in our actions (see Key 8)

enable us to look after our teams (see Key 5) and give our communities our absolute best (see Key 2)

help us keep our hearts right (see Key 10) and ensure we don’t burn out (see Key 6)

This kind of work can be tough, but the most important thing is to keep going back to God; he gave you the vision and he will sustain you as you fulfil it.

Catherine Smith, Hope Centre

01ENCOUrAGE SPIrITUAL PASSION

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Further resources

The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey

Sacred Rhythms by ruth Hayley Barton

Prayer by richard Foster

‘Turning the key’ – additional tips

regularly meet with a mentor/spiritual director who will help you grow in your relationship with God.

Make sure you tell everyone when you get a notable answer to prayer.

Take time as a team to ‘stand back’ and review your work, seek God together, be inspired and enthused.

Make space for restful activities that help you engage with God and hear his voice.

Keep a journal to keep track of words and verses God has given you and ways he has answered prayers.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keyone for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.

We spend 15 minutes every morning before work praying and have a varied rota of requests to make sure we don’t get stale and religious in our prayers.

Dan Lane, Christians Against Poverty

Try to develop rhythms rather than routines, so that spiritual passion isn’t another thing to do. restful activities (like gardening or walking) that you enjoy and that give your mind space to pray and process can be really helpful.

Josephine Knowles, Beyond the Streets

Walking by faithEvery time we meet with a client we pray for wisdom to understand what a person’s real needs are. It’s also important to look at situations from the perspective of what God can do (not you) – he is the God of the impossible.

Susan Coupland, Destiny Angels

God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

(2 Corinthians 9:8)

To grow spiritually you have to be prepared to get out of the boat, like Peter did. For us that meant working without the certainty of a salary for a year; we trusted God to provide and he did. When we walk by faith and see miracles happen, that builds our faith and passion.

Gary Wicker and Affi Luc Agbodo, Networkfour

I had a chair in my office set aside for jesus. Every decision I had to make, I would look at the chair and ask, ‘What would you do?’

Catherine Marshall, Signal

Everything’s got to come from a heart that loves to serve jesus and his church.

Mark Russell, Greenbank Care

KEY

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Margaret Chandler/Tearfund

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02AIM FOr PrOFESSIONAL ExCELLENCE

God inspires and equips us to give people our absolute best. To achieve professional excellence, you need to:

set and maintain the highest standards in your work

be prepared to undertake training and gain qualifications where necessary

be strategic in your planning and delivery (see Key 3)

ensure your team are thriving and fulfilling their capabilities (see Key 5)

Professional excellence inspires confidence from people coming to you in need, will help you achieve sustainable funding (see Key 4), equips you to grow and change (see Key 3) and ensures you are offering the best possible service.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.

(Colossians 3:23-24)

Our job as Christians is not to be led by the world, but to lead it. I love it when outside agencies come to us and are inspired by the way that we work. Our policies, procedures and building match or, in many cases are better than, the agencies that we work with. There is no credibility gap.

Mike Robins, Newquay Christian Centre

We have a responsibility to our clients to give them the best service we can provide. They come to us in need and look to us for our help; we can’t give them anything but God’s best. It’s also vital for fundraising that donors see you are well organised, so they can trust their money will be well used.

Dan Lane, Christians Against Poverty

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We’ve worked to bring in processes and web tools to quantify and improve our performance. It can be hard work and tedious, but it’s vital. I’ve also deliberately sought to join or create networks that share skills and expertise. Overall we are trying to learn, and to capture learning so that we can build on it.

Richard Phillips, ACET Ireland

Working to a high standard of excellence can sometimes bring its own unexpected rewards. We once applied for a £25,000 grant and were given £34,000 instead, as the trust was so impressed with our work.

Audrey Carmichael, Crossover

It’s easy to try and do too much when you see so many needs, but it’s better to do something small really well than to try and make limited resources spread too thinly.

Phil Herbert, Healthy Living Projects

Make sure you have a defined, written vision and three-year plan so that everyone is clear about where you’re headed. Never forget that what can be achieved with Christ can far outstrip anything that the world can achieve, and to deliver things well honours him.


The pursuit of professional excellence should be something that we all strive to attain. As an organisation, we’ve secured the Investors in People Standard, PQASSO and Matrix. They improve our services and demonstrate that we have been validated by an external body, so people can see we are committed to quality and excellence. We don’t chase such standards for their own sake – they need to be relevant and have strategic value to our work.

Stuart Ashmore, First Base Walsall

Further resources

Consider using PQASSO. See www.ces-vol.org.uk for more details and other resources.

www.ncvo-vol.org.uk

www.faithworks.info


Spend time defining your vision and detailed plan (see Key 3).

Quarterly management meetings give a chance for evaluation and feedback.

Think about people within your church who have professional expertise they could offer. They could be good people to have on your board of trustees.

Look at what other organisations are doing and learn from them.

Ensure you have a complaints procedure in place for service users.

Use PQASSO or another quality assurance tool.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keytwo for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.

Owen roseblade/Tearfund

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03BE STrATEGIC

Being strategic encompasses so much more than planning. It’s about taking time to:

continually seek God’s wisdom (see Key 1)

develop a clear vision

turn your ‘big picture’ vision into a detailed workable plan with achievable objectives

monitor, evaluate, reflect, adapt and change as you go

This will help you achieve professional excellence (see Key 2) and ensure your project is around for the long haul (see Key 4).

VisionA famous ice hockey player said that what makes him different is that he doesn’t skate to where the puck is, he skates to where it’s going to be. I think the same approach is needed in ministry. Ask the questions about where the community is going, look at what changes are on the horizon and aim to be there to meet the needs.

Jason Scott, Compassion

PlanningSpend time developing a thorough realistic plan. We completely underestimated everything, from the number of people we would see in a year to the amount of parking spaces we needed. Think it through again and again. And again. Then talk to lots of churches and groups who have done something similar, so you can learn from their mistakes and successes.


Start with a clear vision, mission and values and then turn these into strategic objectives to make sure you are focusing on what is most important.


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Growing and changing Keep focused on the needs you have identified and the vision

you had for fulfilling them.

Be careful not to start tailoring your work to what funders are willing to give to.

It’s important to keep in mind the original aims and objectives when planning new activities: it’s quite easy to move away from them without even realising it.

But also remember you don’t have to be slaves to your original vision: if the community has moved on you might want to rethink.


Good administration underpins all successful organisations. Investing in administration support releases and empowers everyone in the organisation to focus on the role and responsibilities they have been called to, avoiding distractions and allowing God to use our time to the full.


EvaluationEvery two months we hold a short, informal forum for service users It’s a great chance for anyone to have their say about the services, to offer suggestions for improvement and to air problems.

Phil Herbert, Healthy Living Projects

We collate and read all our evaluation forms within two weeks and seek to respond to them within six weeks in terms of tweaking services. This demonstrates that we are genuinely listening. We have also used an independent evaluator and found his objective observations were vital in helping us improve.


Letting godon’t be afraid to move on. Sometimes things flourish and other times they die. Some projects run successfully for a few years then peter out; we’re okay with that, as when they end it gives space for something new to grow.

Bill Shaw, 174 Trust

Further resources

National Association for Voluntary Community Action www.navca.org.uk

www.businessballs.com

www.businesslink.gov.uk


Learn to say ‘no’: you can’t help everyone and you’ll lose your identity and focus if you try.

Hold regular Vision days with all your staff and volunteers to look at where you are, where you want to go and how you are going to get there.

Follow the needs – if they change, change and grow with them.

review your processes with others to see if they can be improved.

Evaluate your work regularly and respond to feedback quickly.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keythree for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.

Vernon Kingsley/Tearfund

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04CrEATESUSTAINABILITY

To be around for the long haul, it’s vital to focus on sustainability rather than short-term fundraising needs. This means:

finding ways to sustain and nurture the vision (see Key 1)

being strategic (see Key 3)

nurturing your team (see Key 5) and building in safeguards so you/they don’t burn out (see Key 6)

exploring ideas to create reliable income streams that help to outwork your vision

FundingThere’s not usually one single answer to sustainability: you need to have a mix of things. One thing that helps us is providing conference facilities and offices to rent and hiring out rooms. We mix this with grants, statutory funding and self-generated funds so we’re not too dependent on one area.


We seek to grow the base of support from individual donors (including church members), always thanking them for donations promptly. Standing Orders particularly help us plan ahead.

Piers Young, Coventry Jesus Centre

Our advice would be:

Consider using an outside grant finder/bid writer. The money you spend on them will be small compared to what they can bring in.

Know your financial limits, risk assess them and remain true to that, despite the temptation to overextend yourself.

Be prepared to engage with the statutory agencies and to negotiate hard but with grace.

Look for opportunities to help the local authority meet their objectives – they may help fund your work.

It’s vital to provide reports to funders on time and with all the evidence they have requested.

Have a three-to-five-year financial strategy and constantly review it.

Mark Russell, Greenbank Care, and Audrey Carmichael, Crossover

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don’t forget that small and simple is fine. Watch that you don’t grow at a faster pace than you can sustain.


We began a charity shop ministry to help with sustainability. It has the same ethos as the rest of our work and also gives opportunities for work experience to those going through our programmes.

Alistair Park, New Hope and The Jigsaw Project

We held a ‘dreamers’ Breakfast’ to come up with ideas about how to make our work sustainable. Around 40 people from the church came, aged 13 upwards, who aren’t involved in the project. This gave them the creative freedom to come up with 400 wild and wacky ideas without worrying about how to put them into practice! We developed one really strong idea (to set up a day care provision for adults with learning disabilities) which will eventually fund two of our posts and is in line with our true purpose.


Within our farm project we have 500 hens which provide therapeutic work activities for our clients (collecting the hens’ eggs, checking, packing, distributing them to agents and selling them at Farmers’ Markets). Selling the eggs also generates around £16,000 a year, which offsets some of the farm’s running costs.

Hazel Guest, Good News Family Care

Further resources

www.socialenterprise.org.uk provides a ‘business model’ for Christian initiatives

www.businesslink.gov.uk

The Social Entrepreneur by Andrew Mawson


develop a Pr, marketing and fundraising plan rather than doing things ad hoc. If you don’t have the skills, seek out someone who has.

Capture figures and stories of positive change. This is invaluable for funders’ reports and encouraging more individual supporters.

Think of a variety of ways to get money, eg

– grants

– donor database

– innovative income ideas (buy hens, sell eggs)

– hiring out facilities

– social enterprise

– statutory funding

– events (eg supporter dinner dance, sponsored hike)

don’t forget, as part of your Pr, to develop good relationships with managers of local supermarkets, banks, small businesses, newspapers. They will help promote your work, take you on as their ‘Charity of the Year’, and provide volunteers and gifts in kind.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keyfour for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.


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05NUrTUrE YOUr TEAM

Nurturing your team goes beyond just investing in your staff and volunteers so that they give you a good return. developing your team means having a genuine Christ-like love and concern for them (including your board of trustees) and committing to:

praying for them

actively listening to their feedback and ideas

providing opportunities for them to form their own decisions and take action

making them feel valued and cared for

showing special consideration for their welfare and ongoing development

being prepared for them to move on

To be able to do this properly you need to ensure that:

you are not consumed by busyness (see Key 6)

you are allowing time for yourself to be nurtured through God and others (see Keys 1 and 6)

you develop a culture of nurturing one another within your project or organisation, providing opportunities for team members to meet together to learn, support, have fun and pray for one another within their work

We want to care for our team as much as we do the families we serve. You can’t just turn on a smile when you see someone from the community walk through the door; projects should be built around genuine and good relationships.

Angie King, Springfield Children’s Centre

You need to get to know your team as individuals so you can truly support them. If you say you’re going to be there for them you need to follow through and book time in your diary to go out for coffee and chat. If you make them feel valued they are in a better position to do the same for the community you are serving.

Monique Russell, Greenbank Care

Find fun ways of dealing with stress. We keep skipping ropes in the office, so anyone who is stressed can go outside and do 50 skips!

Tricia McConalogue, Bridging the Gap

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Support and empower staff to progress with an annual personal development plan. Think creatively: if someone wants to get a scuba-diving qualification and you can see a tangible benefit for them and the organisation – then why not?


‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’

(John 13:34-35)

Avoid a blame culture. When things go wrong, help your team put things right and encourage them that it’s okay. At the same time it’s good to hold people accountable and to tell them the tough stuff to help them develop.


We close down the project for a week three times a year to give everyone a chance to be refreshed. We gather everyone together to recognise their contribution and encourage them. days included team building, prayer, stories, celebrating successes and planning for the future and individual awards.


Further resources The FISH! Philosophy: Visit www.charthouse.com

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer johnson, a great book for helping staff/organisations cope with change

www.investorsinpeople.co.uk


Encourage everyone to come up with ideas for your work, including the cleaners and temporary workers.

Provide each volunteer with a simple contract detailing your commitment to them and your expectations of them.

Present volunteers with a certificate annually, recognising their commitment.

Try to have fun in your staff meetings – tell stories and eat cake as well as addressing work issues.

When giving constructive criticism, try to sandwich it between two pieces of positive feedback.

Encourage your team to pray and care for one another.

Send handwritten thank-you cards on an annual basis.

Once a year have your paid staff cook a meal for your volunteers.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keyfive for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.

Clive Mear/Tearfund

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06PrOTECT AGAINST BUrNOUT

The more you do in your community, the more needs you will see and the more demands can be placed on your time. To make sure you don’t overstretch yourself and end up burnt out, safeguards should be put in place for you and your team to ensure your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. You need to:

build rest into your plans

find ways of relaxing and having fun away from work

make sure your team are well trained, taking on their share of the work, and are looked after (see Key 5)

stay focused on God (see Key 1) and be obedient when he tells you to rest

This will help you give the people you work with your very best (see Key 2) and make sure you and your project are around for the long haul (see Key 4).

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ (Matthew 11:28-30)

Take time out and guard that time by drawing clear lines of demarcation as to what must be done and what, though important, will have to wait.

Switch off your mobile phone and don’t be tempted to respond to every call: sometimes you are allowed to be ‘not available’.

don’t look at emails at the weekend or when on holiday.

remember that ‘no’ is a very positive word and that your heavenly Father says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).

Christine Murray, St Rollox Asylum Seeker Support Project

Get a life outside of work! Try a new hobby like tango dancing, gardening or attending vintage festivals.


The key things for me are being accountable to other church leaders, trying to put quiet times with the Lord in my diary each day, delegating work, not overcommitting, and learning how to say ‘no’.


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We review stress-generating functions in the centre and axe those that do not contribute significantly to the aims. We’d rather shut down sessions or even the whole centre than demand too much from our teams.


To be effective for the long haul we must have a working framework for each day, with a start and an end point, plus proper breaks.

Richard Davies MBE, OWN IT

What’s kept me going for ten years is a weekly street dance class and having people around me that can tell me to slow down when needed.

Rowena Crisp, Alongside You

Further resources

Email [email protected] for a pack on managing stress and avoiding burnout

www.mindtools.com


Keep time with God as a priority.

Have a spiritual director/mentor whom you see regularly.

Train up a good team and delegate to them.

Make sure everyone takes their annual leave.

Monitor sick leave – it can be an indicator of stress.

Make sure staff don’t feel guilty for not coming in when they’re ill.

Mark time off in your diary and stick to it.

Try to allow flexible working hours where possible.

Encourage everyone not to have appointments first thing on a Monday. This means they are less likely to spend Sunday night thinking about work.

Take a walk in a park during your lunch break.

If people work extra hours, make sure time off in lieu is taken.

remember that saying ‘no’ to additional work demands allows you to say ‘yes’ to your family and to your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Create laughter!

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keysix for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.


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07INVOLVE YOUrCOMMUNITY

Involving your community in a serious, considered and ongoing way goes far beyond just asking them what their needs are. Making a long-term commitment to community involvement means:

finding ways to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, eg clients, councils and charities

providing opportunities for ongoing dialogue

making sure you know who is doing what in the community

blessing others who are also working to bless your community (see Key 9)

Truly involving your community will keep you on the right track, make sure you continue to meet local needs, and help you work with others to deliver the very best for your community.

One of the best ways we’ve found to involve our local community is having four refugees on our board of directors who help to shape the work that we do. They know what works and what doesn’t, because they are in the same position as our clients. For our schools project we trained some pupils so they could be on the board too.

Tricia McConalogue, Bridging the Gap

When we started, one of the first things we did was try to understand all the issues in our community, like housing, schools and healthcare. Then we started to form relationships with all sorts of groups and experts who were working in those areas, to make sure we were all working together to meet those needs.

Jason Scott, Compassion

Make room for people you are working for to become people you are working with – this ensures that we are not ‘doing’ projects to people but engaging with them and together shaping and delivering the project. For instance,


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when we engage with women in prostitution we want to create space to ask their opinion, to give them the floor, and to support them to lead or take initiative even when it’s messy or painful.


If you’re serious about your project succeeding you need to take the time to build relationships with local statutory bodies. It can mean sitting through boring meetings, but it’s vital for people to get to know you and see they can trust you. Conversations after those meetings are often where key relationships are built.

Barry Cheesman and Phil Herbert, Healthy Living Projects

When we started the Hope Centre we chose to have key stakeholders from the community on the board as well as members of our church.

One person we chose was a local ward councillor and the deputy elected mayor, though he wasn’t a Christian. His input and help have been invaluable, and I think of him as our ‘Cyrus’ (Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1). Our councillor has advocated for us whenever we’ve had problems at the council and helped us enormously; it reminds me that sometimes God uses unusual sources to fulfil his vision. One thing to be careful of is that you make sure others really understand you and your agenda. don’t be like Esau and sell your birthright for a bowl of pottage! If you’re dependent on particular groups for funding, it can put you in a vulnerable position. So I would say, be who you are and expect God to resource your work in unexpected ways!

Patrick Parkes, Hope Community Church

Further resources

www.urbanforum.org.uk

Journeying Out by Ann Morisy


Talk to local businesses about your project; invite their questions, ideas and support.

Go to meetings to build relationships with statutory bodies.

Give space for your service users to shape where the project is going.

Conduct surveys to find out how community needs are changing.

Where possible, employ people who have used your service.

You won’t have all the answers yourself, so keep leaflets and contact information on other relevant community organisations.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keyseven for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.


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08COMMUNICATE YOUr CHrISTIAN dISTINCTIVE

Your project will stand out from many other services in your community because it is prompted by your faith. You need to:

ensure your Christian distinctive is firmly embedded in your core mission, vision and values documents, and carefully consider how you incorporate it into individual job descriptions

know how to explain your vision both orally and in writing

decide the most appropriate way to communicate your faith with your clients

ensure your words and your deeds communicate the same thing

be aware of the impact being a Christian organisation has on partnerships and funding

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.

(Romans 1:16)

Our mission statement is clear that we house people without discrimination or favour. Then we do all we can to show the love of Christ in our actions and look for opportunities to share our faith. Sometimes just being kind and sticking with someone can make them ask why we do what we do. I often think about how Ezekiel sat and suffered with the people before he spoke God’s word to them; it’s important to meet people where they’re at and understand them before trying to say anything.

Pete Cunningham, Green Pastures

It’s important to be crystal clear about who you are, what you do and how you go about doing it, so people can choose whether to buy in to your values. We don’t want to proselytise; we’re not here to force any beliefs on anyone: we prefer the ‘explanation’ approach, ie when people see us modelling Christ-like behaviour they ask why we’re doing what we do and we can begin to tell them about our relationship with Christ.


Translate everything into ‘normal’ language; it helps cut through ‘Christian-speak’ and clarifies what we really believe. Be confident in what you bring as Christians and remember God asks us to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16).


Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

(1 Peter 3:15)

If you run a programme for vulnerable people, then trying to tell them about jesus could be perceived as exploitation. It has to be natural. For example, when people come to us for counselling we explain we can provide secular or Christian counselling or a combination of both. It’s amazing how many take us up on having a Christian element, and that allows us to introduce the gospel in an appropriate way.

Julian Richards, Cornerstone Church, Swansea

Be careful who you partner with, and make sure affiliations don’t water down your purpose even if they do provide income.


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When working with someone new I explain that Signal is openly Christian and make it clear what that means in practice. Then I ask, ‘Are you comfortable with that?’ It helps people to know exactly what they’re getting involved in.


Further resources

www.faithworks.info

Talk to the Charities Team at Anthony Collins Solicitors (www.anthonycollins.com) for guidance and advice


Practise giving your testimony and explaining your faith in a safe environment.

Be clear that you are faith-based but not faith-biased and will love and serve everyone, regardless of their beliefs.

Be ready to explain how being a Christian has a positive impact on what you bring.

Be careful of preaching to people who are in vulnerable situations.

Look for ways to build genuine loving relationships with your community: natural opportunities to share your faith will inevitably follow.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keyeight for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.

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09SOW INTO OTHErS

As you seek to bless your community, be ready to encourage, empower and equip other Christians, churches and projects in your area to help transform lives together. This means:

supporting others

– financially

– with advice and guidance

– through prayer and friendship

– with training

actively looking for ways you can help other organisations for the good of the community

taking opportunities to work in partnership with others and involve other organisations in your community (see Key 7)

Freely you have received; freely give.

(Matthew 10:8)

Cultivate an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competition with others. Build partnerships and be ready to give away and let go of things, to the point that you are working towards putting yourself out of a job.


Take opportunities to invest in others and help other churches navigate the maze of social engagement. jesus said, ‘Give, and it will be given to you’ (Luke 6:38), and it is spiritual stinginess not to pass on what God has given us in terms of experience and expertise.


We’re involved in a forum for Christian projects working with people with HIV. Though it can sometimes feel like a battle, it’s such a helpful process to meet with others in the same work. You have to be willing to share your expertise and let go of any ‘I want my organisation to be better than yours’ attitudes. Choose to bless others in the hope that they will go even further than you in helping others. Also choose to give even if you don’t see any direct benefit for you, eg be willing to speak at people’s events or provide training just to bless others.


Find out what’s already going on in your area so you don’t replicate someone else’s work. It may be that you can partner with someone else rather than competing with each other, or that you see a gap in their work that you can fill.

Paul Leppitt, CLEAR

We often have people from agencies, churches and other organisations visit to find out about our work; we love it when our work inspires others. We also take opportunities to speak at schools and churches about our work and let them know about ways they can get involved in what we do.


remember the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4) has wider applications than just salvation. Some of those we sow into will disappoint. But don’t be discouraged: some will be fruitful.

James Davies, International Care Network

right at the start we decided to tithe to others doing similar work to us. We only did it to bless and encourage them but actually found that it made them more willing to enter into dialogue with us. I’ve also found great relationships can be formed by accepting speaking invitations.

Alistair Park, New Hope and The Jigsaw Project

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join a network in your area or, if one doesn’t exist, then start one, as they are a great way to support and encourage others. People may be slightly resistant to the idea, but if you invite them for a meal and allow time for relaxed conversation, you’ll find it happens naturally and in an informal way.


Further resources

A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian d McLaren


Give financially and prayerfully to other projects.

Welcome people who would like to visit your project.

Be aware of who is doing what in your area and think of creative ways to bless them.

Meet with other church leaders to see how you can work together for the good of the community.

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keynine for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.

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10KEEP THE HEArT rIGHT

To keep the right heart in all you do, you need to:

stay focused on God and get your strength from him (see Key 1)

make sure you’re getting sufficient rest time (see Key 6)

find ways to deal with disappointment, frustration and fatigue

be accountable to others

stay in community and not get isolated

Keeping the heart right will help you look after your team (see Key 5), live out your faith in your words and actions (see Key 8), and be a blessing to others working in your community (see Key 9).

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

(Proverbs 4:23)

When I start to get overwhelmed by the needs of families and face the limits of my human resources, the best thing I can do is to take some time out in a quiet place with God. It’s in this place that my heart softens, hope is restored and I start to get excited again at all that is possible with God.


It’s easy to think we keep our hearts right, but it’s something we need to be really purposeful about. For me, I’ve had to learn to step back, ignore the flesh, and try do what jesus would do, ie

responding with the right heart when people let us down – we can end up feeling frustrated and hurt, but we have to trust that Christ has a perfect plan and his plans will be fulfilled

keeping the right heart in our humility towards who we are without Christ, and remembering that it is only through him that we are able to achieve anything

When we have the right heart, we give all the honour and glory to the Lord.


Accountability is absolutely key. As a Christian I need to be accountable to others so that I protect myself as best as I can from falling into moral lapse. Accountability helps keep you on track.


As a leader, it is so easy to become disappointed with those around you, but you have to see past this and have grace for them. At times everyone feels like giving up, but keep reminding yourself that it’s God’s vision and you need to please him, not others. We must also remember to continually search our own hearts and motives and to keep short accounts before God.


It’s absolutely essential that we safeguard our hearts, as there are so many pressures associated with community work. I find that when my heart is not ‘right’, praying and focusing on jesus becomes almost an impossible task. Family life suffers, my health is at risk and I can’t enjoy meaningful relationships. To protect against this we need to hope in the Lord to give us strength (Isaiah 40:31) and make space to be still with him.

Richard Davies MBE, OWN IT

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Further resources

Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures by Gary L McIntosh

Boundaries by Henry Cloud and john Townsend

Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels

Money, Sex and Power by richard Foster

Want to know more? Visit www.communitymission.org.uk/tenkeys/keyten for more resources, templates and interactive activities for your team to try together.


Take time out with God to get things in perspective.

See a spiritual director/mentor at least three times a year.

Make space in team meetings for people to be honest about how they’re feeling and to share how they deal with work problems.

Share inspiring stories at every opportunity.

Make sure you have time with your service users to remember why you’re putting in this hard work.

don’t try to fix or save people – trust them to God.

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174 Trust is a Christian community development organisation tackling injustice, bringing hope and sharing God’s love in Belfast. www.174trust.org

ACET (AIdS Care, Education, Training) Ireland offers sexual-health and relationship education in schools and youth groups as well as providing care for those living with HIV and AIdS. www.acetireland.com

Alongside You equips volunteers from churches to support children and families living with HIV in East London. www.stpaulsshadwell.org

Beyond the Streets and its 50 affiliated projects across the UK are working to see a world where people are free from sexual exploitation. www.beyondthestreets.org.uk

Bridging the Gap was established in 1998 and works together with local churches in the Gorbals area of Glasgow to meet local needs. www.bridging-the-gap.org

Christians Against Poverty offers hope and a solution to anyone in debt through its debt counselling network of 150 centres based in local churches across the UK. www.capuk.org

Coventry Jesus Centre provides social care for homeless people and anyone in need. Services include support groups and skills classes, a community café and drop-in for those in need. www.jesuscentre.org.uk/coventry

Crossover in Camborne, Cornwall, provides social and educational activities for toddlers, primary school-aged children, youth and adults, alongside a day care provision for adults with learning disabilities.

Destiny Angels is a community helpline operating in cities throughout the UK offering practical and spiritual support to anyone in need. www.destinyangels.org

First Base Walsall provides bespoke personal development support and accommodation to vulnerable 16- to 25-year-olds as well as engaging with the needs of the wider community. www.firstbasewalsall.co.uk

CONTrIBUTING PArTNEr OrGANISATIONS

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Freedom Social Projects manages a range of services dealing with the care, education, relief of poverty, suffering and hardship of vulnerable client groups, including those who are homeless, have substance misuse issues, have a history of offending behaviour, or have mental health issues or other life-controlling problems. www.freedomsocialprojects.org.uk

Greenbank Care provides a community home care service and day centre activities for elderly and vulnerable people in Liskeard, Cornwall. www.greenbankcare.org.uk

Hope Community Church pioneered the development of the Hope Centre in the city of Stoke. The church is committed to serving Stoke and empowering people to make a difference to the city through various initiatives. www.hopechurchstoke.co.uk

International Care Network is a refugee support agency in Bournemouth with over 12 years’ experience of helping refugees and asylum seekers. www.icn.org.uk

Networkfour works with homeless and vulnerable young people in the West Midlands and is developing an offender outreach programme to include training, mentoring and employment skilling. www.networkfour.org

New Hope and The Jigsaw Project works with substance misusers to help them overcome their addictions. www.newhopeleeds.co.uk

Newquay Christian Centre is dedicated to connecting the gospel with social issues in the community for all ages. www.nccdream.com

St Rollox Asylum Seeker Support Project in Glasgow provides advice and assistance to refugee families and asylum seekers, supporting them to integrate into the wider community.

The Springfield Project in Birmingham provides a wide range of social, educational and family support activities for parents, children and young people in a highly multicultural area. www.springfieldproject.org.uk

Vineyard Church Dungannon empowers and enables disadvantaged families to turn their lives around and become independent citizens who experience ‘life in all its fullness’. www.vineyarddungannon.co.uk

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www.tearfund.org100 Church Road, Teddington TW11 8QEChallenge House, 29 Canal Street, Glasgow G4 0ADTŷ Catherine, Capel Cildwrn, Llangefni, Ynys Môn LL77 7NN Rose House, 2 Derryvolgie Avenue, Belfast BT9 [email protected] 0845 355 8355 Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland)

19777-(0811)BishopsAlderson Brothers

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10 keys for impact - inspiration and guidance for community impact

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