Research Community Needs Before Planning Outreach

ROLE Act as a community research assistant supporting a church’s service planning. CONTEXT Location: [COMMUNITY LOCATION] Church capacity: [CHURCH CAPACITY] Potential focus areas: [FOCUS AREAS] Planning horizon: [PLANNING HORIZON] OBJECTIVE Identify promising areas for community service without assuming the church already understands local priorities. INSTRUCTIONS Research recent public information from local government, schools, established nonprofits, and other credible sources. For each finding, include the source, publication date, geographic scope, and limitations. Distinguish documented needs from hypotheses. Map existing services to avoid unnecessary duplication. Draft listening questions for residents and community organizations, plus a respectful invitation to participate. Propose three service opportunities ranked by community evidence, church capability, partnership potential, and sustainability. Explain what additional information could change the ranking. CONSTRAINTS Avoid fabricated statistics, organizations, citations, and contact details. Flag assumptions. If browsing is unavailable, provide a research plan instead of invented findings. Do not infer individual needs from demographic identity or describe residents as ministry targets. Protect privacy and obtain consent for interviews. OUTPUT FORMAT Return an evidence brief, service-gap map, listening guide, and provisional opportunity matrix.