Dear friend,

Welcome to the second issue of Engage Today. This month's newsletter looks at answering a crucial question: How do we begin to engage?

My guess is that many churches feel unnerved at the thought of putting their heads up 'above the parapet'. And yet, when I meet church leaders who are trying to address family-related issues in their areas, I often hear fantastic stories about the appreciation they receive from local community workers, the police, and so on.

It reminds me a bit of the story of Nehemiah - when he followed God's call to change the situation, and found a way through despite tough opposition.

That, I feel, is a huge encouragement to us as we engage with our communities!

Best wishes

Richard Hardy
Head of Church Relations, Care for the Family

PS Email me at Richard.Hardy@engagetoday.org.uk if you've got a story to tell - I'd love to hear from you!

Look up, look out, look in

Beginning to engage with our community can be tough - where on earth do we start as a church? We may feel overwhelmed, like Nehemiah surely did when he first heard about the state of the walls of Jerusalem ¹. But, like Nehemiah, there are three key things we have to do to begin. You might wish to use these keys to take your church on a journey of faith and courage , like Nehemiah.

Before we do anything, 'look up'

Nehemiah's response to the distressing news about Jerusalem was to pray². It would have been easy for him not to - maybe the task seemed so great, maybe because he knew he was dependent on finding favour with the king. But instead...

"One thing we couldn't do was nothing"

Now, here's a real-life example of a community who did just that - looked up, looked out, and looked in...

In 2006, Scarborough Christian Fellowship (SCF) opened the doors to a purpose-built family centre, offering support to parents and, in the words of pastor Graeme Parkins, "plugging the gaps" in local service provision. "We looked around and we saw the needs, and decided that the one thing we couldn't do as a church was nothing."

The Oasis Family Centre enables SCF to have much wider contact with the local community. "We now have over 400 adults and children in contact with the church...

Making your family project work

We asked Graeme Parkins for his advice. Here are 10 key points to bear in mind if you're setting out to meet the needs of your community...

1. Talk to people who have done it, or are doing it. You need a good idea of what it takes to get a project off the ground, and the commitment needed to maintain it.
2. Get a team together. "You need to have support around you, especially if things get a bit tough."
3. Meet the right people and be bold. "I had fifteen minutes with the Chief Executive of the Council, where I outlined our plans for Oasis. I'd prepared a project plan and a budget, so he could see...

7 reasons why you need to come to the Engage day conference.

The Engage day conference is taking place in Nottingham on Saturday 4 October and Cheltenham on Saturday 8 November. There are Early Bird discounts on all tickets ordered by 31 July, and group discounts also available.

Here are 7 reasons why you need to come to Engage...