Jesus invites us as his church to love God and love our neighbour. And churches are ideally placed to transform their communities. Many, however, are uncertain about where to start.

As well as being unsure of a starting point, church leaders often ask, “What should we do next to serve the most vulnerable people?”

At NAYBA, we have put together an ebook – Transform: Helping Churches Transform Neighbourhoods – that outlines all you need to know. We have amassed lots of experience in helping local churches discern where to start.

The book provides seven practical areas of support…

1. Knowing your why

The first point to understand is knowing your ‘why’. Clarity about the Biblical basis and motivation for church-led community transformation is critically important so that your expectations are God’s expectations.

2. Discerning what to do

Secondly, local churches want to know what to do in the community. So NAYBA has created a Community Transformation Pathway which is a five-question journey to help you discern what Jesus wants you to do in your neighbourhood or city.

3. Learning from others

The third chapter of the book accesses a menu of brilliant church-led community projects that you can take ‘off the shelf’ and adapt in your own community. These NAYBA Recognised Projects are tried and tested models so they increase your effectiveness and avoid you having to ‘reinvent the wheel’.

4. Strengthening your partnerships

Local churches are increasingly developing unity for the purpose of community transformation. Our Church Unity Ladder helps local churches understand the relationship they have with one another, the impact that has on the community and how they can step up to the next rung of unity for transformation.

5. Praying for transformation

In the fifth chapter, we look at an approach to praying for the well-being and transformation of the community. The Civic Prayer Breakfast model offers a five-step process for bringing together church leaders and civic leaders of all faiths and none to pray to Jesus for the well-being of your community.

6. Measuring your impact

We explore the importance of measuring social impact as part of the sixth step. The NAYBA Faith Action Audit is a five-phase process for enabling local churches to work together to provide evidence that ‘faith is a force for good’. This results in greater impact through increased influence, collaboration and resources.

7. Replicating what works

If your local church runs a brilliant community project that other local churches might also be interested in running why not intentionally replicate it? The NAYBA Replicate project helps local-churches develop four benefits and build eight capabilities that enable you to replicate your model through other local churches.

8. Transformational business

Helping someone find work gives them hope and purpose as well as an income. The Church has an opportunity to become a key driver in building businesses, which not only inspires the emerging entrepreneur but the entire community as the enterprise grows.

If you would like to know more about our Transform book, find out more here.

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