How do we get Churches in a Community to Work Together with a Non-profit to Make a Difference in their Neighborhood?
Who is 12th Rock Ministries?
12th Rock Ministries is:a 501(C)3 non-profit organization seeking to build partnerships with local churches in the Hudson Valley to offer sports programs, camps, and events, with a focus of bringing to life positive characteristics and self-esteem in every child.
Mission Statement:Creating opportunities for youth in the Northeast to experience God through camps, sports, and missions. Building on the Rock of Jesus Christ by teaching Godly values and discipline!
Vision Statement:Empowering a mission minded generation to spread the gospel, both locally and globally, using sports.
Local and Global Missions
Finding the connection point with culture is a difficult task, especially when it involves getting people into churches. The great news is that God is a God of sending. Sports is a universal language and it can be used as an avenue for spreading the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We’ve effectively put this into practice in the following ways:
Evangelism through mobile sports camps
Our organization, with teams made of families and individuals, has run four North American sports mission camps: two in Cleveland, Ohio, one in Baltimore, MD and one in Ottawa, Canada. We worked with a local church to run FREE 3-hour sports programs, using their facilities, for the kids in the community. The goal of these camps was to help train the churches to run a similar program on their own after we returned back home. We also took on service projects for their areas.
12th Rock is putting this passion into action here in the Hudson Valley with programs like:
Local to Global service projects
Our most recent project was the “Dirty Water Project” helping to provide clean water for communities in Ghana, Africa. Liquid Church of Morristown, NJ provided us with the resources to make this project a great success in our community. We also collected soccer jerseys which will be sent to kids in Ghana. In the future, we are planning a trip to Ghana and/or Haiti to facilitate soccer and basketball camps. 12th Rock is also planning to oversee a basketball clinic in Brooklyn, NY at some point in the future.
Community Partnerships
One of our goals as an organization is to partner with community organizations. We have developed partnerships with local youth sports programs, and youth organizations, to provide camps and programs for the kids in the community. One example is our partnership with Pine Bush Youth Soccer to run a summer soccer camp.
Local Sports Programs
The founders of 12th Rock Ministries have been bringing quality Upward Sports programs to children, and their families in Orange County, NY since 2002.The original vision of bringing Upward Sports to the area was to unite the churches in a community based ministry.
In Upward Sports, success is not based on wins and losses. Coaches are trained that success is determined by how they convey salvation, character, and self-esteem to each child. Upward Sports® defines winning as learning and/or teaching lessons in the game of life.
The local Upward Sports® Soccer League has been running since 2005. We partner with Trinity Lutheran Church in Walden, NY. Participants enjoy beautiful field space for games and practices. Since inception, over 700 kids have participated in the program. We held our first summer soccer camp in 2011. It was a great success as we teamed up with an organization from England who provided a stellar week of soccer training.
The local Upward Sports® Basketball League has been going strong since 2002. The program runs at Circleville Church in Circleville, NY, whose facility is remarkably set up to accommodate up to 1500 people each game day. The program is a huge draw in the community, and we have had almost 3000 kids participate in the program since its beginning year. We have also run an evening summer basketball camp since 2005.
2011 marked the beginning of the 12th Rock 7th-8th grade Basketball League for boys and girls. Many of our local schools have had to cut their modified sports programs due to budget deficiencies. We feel it is important to keep this age group involved in a positive program. The 12th Rock Basketball Leagueis off to a great start with 70 kids involved. God has given us favor to use the Public Schools’ gym facilities in Circleville, NY. Games and practices are held in each of their 3 buildings.
At 12th Rock Sports Camps, our goal is to present a solid skills development camp, using drills and game situations. We also provide the classic camp experience with fishing, hiking, roasting marshmallows, arts and crafts, and much more, while weaving in strong character development. Our focus is to build relationships with the kids and teach them the love of God using an exciting curriculum based on Christian values.
The ultimate 3 for1 Camp Experience: Hone your skills...Build your character...Grow your faith!!
Recently I was made aware of a new Barna Group studythat says, “Most Americans remain relatively upbeat about the role that local churches play in their communities.” It continued to say “that three-quarters of U.S. adults believe the presence of a church is a“very” (53%) or “somewhat” (25%) positive influence for their communities.
In contrast, only 1 out of every 20 Americans believes that the influence of a church is negative—either very (2%) or somewhat so (3%). That leaves about one out of six adults (17%) who are indifferent toward the role of churches.” People who tend to view churches in a more favorable view are the elderly, married adults, women, churchgoers, Protestants, African-Americans and political conservatives.
The first part of the study shows really positive results, but in the later part of the study, things are looking grim.In the second part of the study it shows groups of people who have a less favorable view of the church. These people are young (18-27 age), men, never-married adults, those living in the West and Northeast, unchurched adults, and political liberals.
Also despite people’s positive feelings about the church, only 21% of adults could tell how the church is contributing positively to their communities. There also seems to be a disconnect for most Americans between serving the community, and helping individuals find their way to God through Christ. A ministry-related goal such as teaching the Bible, introducing people to Christ, and bringing people to salvation seems to be missing.
I can see this problem play out in this generation. The National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) show that most youth see church as just something nice. Many teenagers approach church like an extra-curricular activity. Teens see it as a good thing to do, but not a necessity in their everyday life.Kenda Creasy Dean talks about this in her book Almost Christian. “Many youth said religion was important…though most could not describe the difference it made to them personally.” Rick Lawrence from GROUP magazine interviewed students from different church youth groups and asked them one question “Who is Jesus?” Almost all the students answered “He is loving and nice.”
This is where the church and local organizations need to begin to work together on a regular basis to MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR COMMUNITY!!
These are some of the steps that we have taken to get churches working together to make a difference in their community:
- Evangelism through mobile sports camps-Over the past 5 years, we have organized multiple mission camps. The goal is to unite generations to go into a community bring positive change. Our each of our trips, we have challenged the youth/adults from multiple churches to take leadership roles. Whether it be organizing the meals, working in the clothes closet, or running sports drills the youth are put into these roles throughout the week. The challenge, at times, is to get the youth/adults that come from leadership roles within their church, to step back and let the us lead the mission.
- Local to Global service projects- This is a great way to meet people right where they are. Challenge them to think about what impact they would like to have on the world, both locally and globally. Last year we had multiple youth spearhead a “Dirty Water” project in our area. Recently, we had youth lead the charge in challenging their peers, and adults around them, to put change in water bottles. The idea was for people to skip their cup of coffee in exchange for giving someone clean water. In two months time, the youth collected more than $5,500. The money was sent to Ghana to provide clean water wells.
- Upward Sports programs- We train all of the youth/adults from many area churches together. From the beginning of each season, we allow each person to fill the roles of: coaches, referees, and game day staff. The key is to provide them with adequate training, but more so to show them that we trust them with the responsibility. It is awesome to see people from multiple churches coming together to have a positive impact on their community.
- Local Missions work-Our goal is to unite the local church body within our community. Our challenge to them is to look into what is taking place right here in their community. What needs need to be met right now, and what is it going to take? Our most recent project was a school supplies drive. The youth from multiple area churches organized the collection of school supplies, and then put them in bags to be distributed in our area. Over 150 bags were put together and given out to kids in Newburgh and Middletown.
The success of our ministry hinges on PRAYER, NETWORKING, and STRATEGIC PLANNING!
You need to be confident enough to strategically plan meetings that will be of interest and will have a greater impact on your community by challenging the churches to work with to meet the needs around you . The goals of the initial meetings will be to set goals and action plans in place, and provide the training to achieve these goals.
These meetings need to provide a safe place for church leadersto come and develop friendships where trust is being built. Without trust, your mission will not be achieved.
What do these meetings look like?
- These meetings must start and end on time.
- Location, location, location! The location is crucial. Meeting in restaurants for the most part is too distracting, and moving from church to church has also presented challenges when people get lost. If you can find one location and stay there for six months, that seems to work best. What about the atmosphere?
- Atmosphere is important.
- Leaders need to be ready when everyone arrives!
- Do signs give direction to the location of the meeting and to also welcome them inside the meeting room?
- Is the room arranged to optimize communication? For example, round tables facilitate better discussion and prayer.
- Is there a table to display and share resourcesand upcoming eventsthat the attendees can take home?
- It's possible to provide a "free meal" for every meeting, getting someone to donate the meals, or having different churches provide funds. Everyone can then come straight to the meeting and know that a meal is being provided.
- Don't forget name tags. (Permanent ones that can be handed out and collected are the best.)
In order to make a difference in your community, your partnerships must be SOLID!
What do good partnerships look like?
Partnerships are built on trust and time. As you get to know each other you can develop deeper partnerships with one another. Ben O’Connell developed a partnership continuum that shows the levels of effective partnerships. This blog is adapted from his work, Good partnerships focuses on the actions of Communicate, Coordinate, Cooperate and Collaborate. There are also practical questions below designed to facilitate discussions that will help mature the church partnerships to the next level.
Communicate
Build the relationship and share who you are and what you are doing. Listen to them and find out who they are and what they are doing. All partnerships are based on some kind of interaction. At this level the interaction is low commitment and trust is being established.
- Tell me about yourself. What is your passion and purpose that God has given you?
- How is your soul today?
- What is going well for you?
- How can I pray for you?
Coordinate
Look for common ground between your organization and interests. Work your organizations programming in tandem. It is checking with your potential partners and making sure your event schedules do not overlap. At this level some level of trust has been established and the commitment level is starting to rise. It is like going on a first date. The opportunity is to join an event they are doing or have them join your event.
- What is your ministry/organization doing?
- Do you have any events or strategies that we can be a part of?
- Would you like to hear what our ministry is doing?
- Would you like to join in what we are doing?
Cooperate
Do something together. At this level trust has been growing and the commitment level is higher. The opportunity is to plan an event or ministry together. It is more of a one time basis hopefully looking towards doing more together.
- What can we do together that we can’t do alone?
- Where do you see common ground?
- What need do you see in our community that we can help meet together?
- What event or strategy can we develop to meet that need?
Collaborate
Work in partnership where your two organizations weave together to develop a larger strategy or project sharing resources of time, talent, training and treasure. At this level the partnership is hitting on all cylinders. There is high trust and high commitment to the cause. As Danny Pyon, a networker in Compton shared, “Real change happens when ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ become ‘ours.’"
- What are some long term strategies that we can work together to accomplish?
- What ways can we partner together to meet the needs in our community?
- What resources can we share to meet those needs?
- What is our joint mission and vision that we will accomplish together?
…Back to the Barna Study
Jesus and the church is a nice thing to have in the community. Just nice? That is not what the first church was, and this is not what Jesus shows us. We see in Scripture power and passion flowing out of the life of Christ. He welcomed sinners and ate with them. He corrected the self-righteous and turned overthemoney tables in thetemple. Then Christ was willing to be beaten and bruised, then nailed on a cross for the sins of all mankind. The leader of the first church had such passion for the gospel of Christ that large numbers of people became believers in Christ.
The Church needs to be more than a nice fixture in a community. The body of Christ needs to work together in loving, powerful, and passionate ways to reach the community. The Church needs to show that Jesus is truly the Living God, and He is powerful.
Do you feel stuckas youtry to work together with others in reaching in your community? Maybe it is time to start growing your ministry network.
The beauty of God’s creation is that everything grows. A tree starts from a seed, grows into a sapling and then produces fruit and multiplies. Likewise, in working together, there are stages of growth that ministry networks naturally go through. Healthy networks go through the stages of Starting, Growing, Serving and Multiplying
How Your Network Grows
These questions are designed to help you in each stage of your network. Alone - or, better, with your organizations leadership team - take time to answer the questions that apply to your local community.
Starting
What is the central idea that has drawn churches/organizations in your area together?
How can you start getting churches to gather together and unite?
Growing
What other organizations in your community resonates with the desire to meet needs by working together?
What are ways you can build trust within the network your organization is trying to form?
Serving
What are the spiritual and physical needs of the people in your community?
How can you work together to meet those needs?
Multiplying
How can you widen the net to bring in more churches and organizations in the surrounding area?
Are there any smaller areas in your community that you can sharpen your focus of uniting churches?
Here are 9 reasons why you should make a huge effort to get a network of churches working together in your community?
1. A network is a place to combine resources