Getting Started in Urban Ministry Foundational Questions
Thinking about starting an urban ministry? The most impactful ministries are carefully planned and launched. Our urban ministry experts have created a start up guide with everything you need to consider in your planning process. Completing these steps properly could take six to twelve months. Taking this extra time will save your new ministry from making potentially costly mistakes.
- Initial Research
- What type of urban ministry model are you planning?
- What are the available statistics for the population in the area in which you hope to serve?
- What is your initial target population?
- Conduct a listening tour of your target population. What do they identify as their greatest challenges and needs?
- What will be the core values of your ministry through which all of your decisions will be filtered?
- Resources and Regulations
- What resources are already available to your target population?
- What gaps in resources and services are currently present?
- What potential partnerships are there for your ministry? What goods or services do they provide? What is their referral process? What will they want (if anything) in return for their referrals?
- What regulations apply to what you hope to do? What paperwork must be completed initially? What ongoing paperwork and fees are required?
- Finding Mentors and Donors
- Reach out to the National Urban Ministry to be connected to a member for mentoring and consultation on your journey.
- Work to identify local mentors who can provide advice and guidance.
- Where will you get your initial funding? What restrictions or limitations are placed on the funds? What expectations do initial donors have for your ministry? If initial funding is from grants or government funding, will restrictions prevent you from meeting the spiritual needs of those you are serving?
- Oversight
- Who will be the point person for the day to day operations of the ministry? (In most cases, this should not be the pulpit minister.)
- What eldership will oversee the ministry?
- What is the vision of the church to which the ministry will be connected (family, child, youth or recovery focused)?
- If you will have a board of directors for legal purposes, who will serve on the board? What will be their specific roles?
- If you are planting a new congregation as part of your urban ministry, do you have a core group of strong Christians committed to attending and serving there for an extended period of time? Who are they?
- Spiritual Planning
- What steps will you take to ensure that the spiritual needs of people will always be your primary concern?
- What steps will you take to make sure every activity or program has specific ways to encourage those participating to take the next step spiritually?
- What steps will you take to ensure the programs and activities you provide are helping and not hurting those whom you serve?
- What will be your system for following up on any contacts that are made?
- If you hold events away from your facility, what steps will you take to try to get contacts to your building for a Bible study, worship service or other activity?
- Program Planning
- Who are your potential volunteers?
- How will you provide training for volunteers - even those volunteering for short time roles?
- What is your safety plan for facilities, meeting with various constituents, children’s and youth classes and activities, transportation, incident reports, etc.?
- Strategic Planning
- Use the information you have gathered to create a godly strategic plan that addresses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as having goals, objectives and action plans.
- How will you ensure that all stakeholders participate in the strategic planning process and obtain the support of any elders and other leaders who could impact the plan in the future?
- Who are your prayer warriors who will constantly cover your ministry and all of those connected with it in prayer? How will you keep them updated without the violating confidentiality of individuals who request it?
Increasing the Knowledge Base of Urban Ministry
If you would like to contribute to the knowledge base by answering the questions, please use the button below to upload a file to NUMA. We are collecting data from subject matter experts who wish to contribute to the body of knowledge for those wanting to start an urban ministry.
