Lesley Hamilton-Messer emphasises the importance of knowing our communities

WHO is my neighbour? This was the question that the religious expert asked Jesus in Luke 10. Jesus had just exhorted him to love God and his neighbour, then went on to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan – illustrating that our neighbour is anyone to whom we show mercy and compassion.

Last month we looked at the question ‘do we have a vision for mission?’ This month we ask ‘do we really know our community?’ It’s a question every congregation should be asking in preparation for mission, and it’s not always as obvious as it seems. Having been part of a number of congregations and worked with many others, it’s an area where we can be prone to making assumptions. For example, one church planned to spend tens of thousands on a worker to support single mothers. However, the census showed almost no single parent families in the area. Asked why they thought this was needed, they replied, ‘You see them at the shopping centre, just the mums with their prams.’ It hadn’t occurred to them that their other halves might be elsewhere.

We see people around us, in the places we go, at the times we go there, and tend to extrapolate from that to form a picture of the community – but what of the people we don’t see? How can we find out more?

“ Having been part of a number of congregations and worked with many others, it’s an area where we can be prone to making assumptions.

Parish Statistics is an excellent place to start and will give you a snapshot of your parish. They are available through the Church Finder app on the Church of Scotland homepage (https://cos.churchofscotland. org.uk/church-finder/). More in-depth information can be found in the Government Census site (www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk) and the Scottish Government statistics site (statistics.gov.scot). It’s worth noting that good statistical information helps when applying for grants too!

Maps are also worth looking at. Perhaps your church building was built in the centre of the community, but decades of building mean that the population centre has moved away from it. Are there pockets of isolation? Where are the places folk gather?

Community police, local businesses, social workers and community health professionals are a great place to start. Informal networks are a treasure trove of information too – the folks that run the local football league, the village Facebook page, the book group, etc. And a top tip – don’t hire a consultant to do this! Get the congregation involved – that way you get more than just information, you form and build great relationships with the people in the area.

This kind of activity starts to build a picture of the community as it is experienced by the people who live and work in it – and it may also give us some insight into how they see us too. The Talk Jesus research shows us that people have far more goodwill toward Jesus Christ and His followers than we might suppose (https://talkingjesus.org/2022-research/), but how aware are our neighbours that we are right there in their midst?

For help or support with this, please get in touch with the Mission Development Team at FaithAction@churchofscotland.org.uk.