Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post
By Jenne Lyle
Christian Today Reporter
Fri, Jun. 13 2008 09:52 AM ET
Christians are making a remarkable contribution to the social welfare and transformation of their local communities, according to a new report launched Thursday.
The report, two years in the making, is the joint project of the Churches Regional Commission in Yorkshire and the Humber and Faithworks and confronts the widely-asked question of “If your church disappeared tomorrow would anyone notice the difference?”
The charities looked at 19 innovative “presences,” or expressions of Christian work, from across the Yorkshire and Humber region in the United Kingdom to find out what makes or breaks an effective Christian presence in the local community. They discovered that churches are making a substantial financial contribution to their communities.
The report, funded by governmental agency Yorkshire Forward, also identified seven key components of an effective Christian presence. These included partnership or collaborative working between organizations, team work and simply “keeping the fire alive.”
It added that volunteers were “crucial” to effective community engagement, but added that “churches need to [get] better at managing them.”
Liz Carnelley, chief executive of the Churches Regional Commission for Yorkshire and the Humber, said the report’s findings were of national significance when it came to promoting the effectiveness of Christian engagement in local communities.
Carnelley was at the launch of the report along with Malcolm Duncan, leader of the Faithworks movement, and Fran Beckett, head of Church Urban Fund.
“We can learn from what has made these presences effective, and there are real lessons here that churches need to hear,” she said. “Lives are being changed and communities transformed by what Christians are doing across the region.”
Duncan, meanwhile, paid tribute to the work of the projects featured in the research, which included church-run Fairtrade cafes, conference and drop-in centers, after school clubs, and alcohol and drug abuse recovery programs.
“In these 19 presences we see true examples of Christian-motivated community work that are demonstrably making a tangible difference to the lives of all kinds of people,” he said.
“Through this report we hope to highlight these projects, as well as [draw] attention to the thousands more who are putting their faith into practical action for the benefit of their communities.”
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