ChurchNet USA

A successful outreach program keeps the congregation and its target audience actively involved in the outreach activities. The congregation should be inspired to continue to volunteer and give; the target audience should receive services that are in-line with their needs. If both of these conditions are being met at your church, congratulations, you are on the road to success! However, if you are noticing a lack of volunteer interest and your target audience does not attend your programs, there are a few things that you may need to revamp.

If your congregation has ceased to volunteer their time or give to the outreach program, they may have forgotten that your church is conducting an outreach program. Are flyers prominently displayed on the church bulletin board advertising the program? Are periodic updates being provided during the announcements portion of worship services? Have you polled the current volunteers to see if there are any problems that they are experiencing while volunteering? Oftentimes, volunteers cease to support outreach activities because of a lack of knowledge or a bad experience while volunteering before. Make sure that your outreach program is fresh in the minds of your congregation by providing updated pictures on the church””s bulletin board, website, and/or newsletter. Remember to periodically check in with volunteers to see if they need more resources (i.e. books for a reading program), more support, or if there is a problem with any part of outreach program. They will appreciate the concern and may be able to clue you in to the lapse in volunteer support.

Another problem that may hinder your outreach program from operating successfully or growing is misaligned services. If your church did not conduct a needs assessment prior to starting the outreach program, the services that you””re providing may not be what your target audience actually needs. Therefore, you will most likely have low turnout at your events. Survey your local community to find out what services they need. Are many of the parents unable to afford after school services? If so, can your church serve as an after school program site? Are many families suffering from the current economic crisis? If so, can you provide weekly financial management workshops? Even if you conducted an initial needs assessment, you should conduct yearly assessments to ensure that the needs of the community have not changed. Designing and implementing an outreach program that truly responds to the needs of the surrounding community ensures that your target audience will actually use your services.

A successful outreach program, one that is sustainable and growth-oriented, must respond to the needs of the congregation and target community. If your outreach program is experiencing problems, conduct a thorough evaluation of every component of the program to see where improvements can be made.