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Identifying the Forgotten ChecklistThe exercise which follows is designed to help you think about various categories of persons relative to their activity or potential activity in your congregation. Use the symbols to describe each of the categories. Those which you mark NC are the ones who may have been forgotten or overlooked in past outreach efforts of the congregation. (Click here for a reproducible Microsoft Word document of this checklist.) IC - Persons who are already active in your church. NC - Persons who are present in the neighborhood or ministry area of your congregation but who are not in your church or at least not in numbers proportionate to their community presence. NF - Persons not found in your church or in your church’s neighborhood or ministry area. _____ Retired persons _____ Divorced persons _____ Young married couples _____ Teenagers _____ The deaf _____ Persons with impaired mobility (confined to wheelchairs, severe arthritis, etc.) _____ Persons with learning disabilities _____ Single male adults _____ Single female adults _____ Persons who are wealthy _____ Persons who are poor _____ Persons with advanced degrees _____ Persons with little formal education _____ Children in foster care or institutions _____ Parents of infants and small children _____ Parents of teenagers _____ College students _____ Members of the military _____ Voluntary service participants _____ White people _____ African Americans _____ Asian Americans _____ Hispanic people _____ Native Americans _____ Childless couples _____ Persons who have to work on Sundays _____ Persons who have obvious physical disfigurement _____ Persons who drink and/or smoke _____ Persons suffering from terminal illness or other serious health problems _____ Persons caring for someone who suffers from terminal illness or other serious health problems _____ The hungry and the homeless _____ Persons who dislike traditional worship services _____ Persons who dislike contemporary worship services _____ Persons who are afraid of crowds _____ Persons with serious emotional problems _____ Persons with a loved one having serious emotional problems _____ Persons recovering from alcoholism or another drug addiction _____ Persons with a loved one who is recovering from alcoholism or another drug addiction _____ Persons who want to participate in social activities which will help them make new friends _____ Young parents who need child care in order to participate in worship services or Sunday school _____ Single parents _____ Persons who are concerned about the welfare of animals _____ Persons who have been to prison _____ Persons who have family members in prison _____ Persons who have been victims of crime _____ Persons who have been hurt by the church _____ Your addition: ____________________________ For ideas on ways your congregation may reach out to the "forgotten" in your community, see the New Life Ministries report Identifying the Forgotten. You are free to reproduce this questionnaire for use in your own congregation. Thank you for giving credit to New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org |
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