I don’t usually laugh out loud reading ChristianityToday.com, but one of today’s headlines made me do just that. The headline reads: “Evangelicals Are the Most Beloved US Faith Group Among Evangelicals.” Well, of course we are! The subhead was less encouraging: “… And among the worst-rated by everybody else.” In other words, the latest research shows that our high view of ourselves isn’t shared by other groups.

It's probably not news to most of us that we’re not exactly beloved these days. There’s a growing opposition to evangelicals in the broader culture. Some of that isn’t our fault, but let’s face it—some of it is. We’d do well to examine the ways in which we engage our neighbors, making sure that any offense they take is because of our Christian beliefs and not our obnoxious attitudes or behaviors.

One way to do that is by listening. Our assessment pack on Meeting Community Needs will enable your church to do this effectively. You can use these questions and checklists to evaluate where your church is and to inspire the next steps for understanding and reaching your neighbors. Each assessment conveniently fits on one page, so they're easy to print, copy, and hand out.