Church for the poor - strategies to engage people experiencing poverty
This is the third blog about the results seen from the recent survey on 'Church for the Poor' which attracted 384 responses from churches of all denominations. See the first blog about 'poor-focused' activities here and the second blog about the barrier of middle-class church here.
Churches in the survey were asked what strategies, if any, they using to reach people experiencing poverty. A number of strategies were presented and respondents were asked to tick all that applied to their churches. There was also an opportunity to enter free text if a strategy was not on the list.
What strategies, if any, are you using to reach the poor? (tick all that apply):
|
Strategy to reach people experiencing poverty |
All
(330 responses) |
Level of deprivation in area |
|
|
|
Most
(49 resp) |
Least
(68 resp) |
|
Partnering with other churches to create initiatives to reach poor |
53.0% |
67.3% |
54.4% |
|
Social action based at your church building |
51.5% |
65.3% |
36.8% |
|
Gathering, building relationships and listening to the poor |
34.5% |
65.3% |
20.6% |
|
Creating a community without recognisable 'church' trappings |
32.1% |
49.0% |
22.1% |
|
Social action and creating a place/events for those responding |
30.3% |
53.1% |
22.1% |
|
Social action based in the poorer community at a 'neutral' location |
23.6% |
34.7% |
29.4% |
|
Other |
18.5% |
20.4% |
17.6% |
|
Bringing on leaders from poor backgrounds |
12.1% |
26.5% |
2.9% |
|
Helping the poor speak to business and/or authorities |
11.5% |
26.5% |
4.4% |
|
New church plant in the poorer area |
6.1% |
14.3% |
2.9% |
Other strategies being pursued apart from above:
-
Giving to and volunteering for local charities - 14 mentions
-
On local authority groups influencing policy – 3 mentions
-
Working with other faiths – 3 mentions
As you would expect, churches in the most deprived areas are heavily engaged in strategies to reach people experiencing poverty. This contrasts greatly with churches in least deprived areas. The biggest gaps are:
|
Strategy to reach people experiencing poverty |
Absolute difference |
|
Gathering, building relationships and listening to people experiencing poverty |
44.7% |
|
Social action and creating a place/events for those responding |
31.0% |
|
Social action based at your church building |
28.5% |
|
Creating a community without recognisable 'church' trappings |
26.9% |
|
Bringing on leaders from poor backgrounds |
23.6% |
|
Helping the poor speak to business and/or authorities |
22.1% |
There is a good level of partnership between churches - mostly foodbanks I suspect given the number of churches in all areas involved in this activity.
What is noticeable though is the intentional involvement of people experiencing poverty in church life in areas of most deprivation, either in speaking about their experiences, involvement in social action, leadership or advocacy. Strategies for all leadership teams to consider if they want to see a church without barriers..
Download the Executive Summary here.
Download the full report here.
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Geoff Knott, 21/11/2016