In every community, there are people who slip through the cracks—individuals churches and social services might not even realize need help. Often, these groups are overlooked because social, economic, or systemic barriers make it harder for them to find the support they need.
But Jesus’ command to serve the “least of these” is a constant reminder to the church that our goal needs to be to serve everyone, even the hard to find.
Ministry technology solutions provide powerful tools that can help you uncover and address the hidden needs around you.
Who Are the Underserved?
Underserved populations are groups of people who lack access to basic necessities like food, healthcare, education, or social services. The term “underserved” is used because these individuals miss out on resources that others might not even think twice about having.
They could be low-income families, isolated seniors, refugees, or those with chronic health issues.
And they can be nearly invisible, especially for churches busy meeting the needs of their members. Churches that can’t identify the needs of their neighbors can’t meet those needs.
Technology offers a way forward for resource-strapped churches. For a relatively small investment, you can think of it as adding a GPS to your ministry—a tool that helps you navigate the complexities of your community and reach destinations (needs) you might otherwise miss.
How Technology Bridges the Gap
Technology is a tool. It won’t comfort the lonely or feed the hungry, but it can certainly help you find people in need.
Take data-driven tools like ACS Technologies’ MissionInsite for example. They make it easier to understand the needs in your community by providing demographic and psychographic data, among other insights. These tools help you see the bigger picture of your community—highlighting dynamics you might not notice otherwise—and show you who’s being overlooked and why.
For example, with MissionInsite, you’ll have access to several reports that break down your community into small enough areas to pinpoint needs.
You can use it to see basic demographic insights like age, income, and family structures. Or you can look into psychographic trends to find out the attitudes, values, and spiritual openness of your community. And you can do that in census blocks or even using hand-drawn areas that represent the people you’re actually trying to engage.
MissionInsite will even show you trends in the life concerns of the people around you. For example, you can find out if people are more likely or less likely than five years ago to describe alcohol/drug abuse, anger, or loneliness as problems.
Practical Steps for Using Technology
You might not feel you’re equipped to use technology to find the surrounding needs. You’re not a tech person. The good news is you don’t need to be. The tools make it simple. Here’s how you’d do it with MissionInsite.
- Adopt a tool to gather data. MissionInsite is a great place to start. You can schedule a demo on the website to find out exactly how it can help you find ministry opportunities.
- Decide on an area you want to learn more about. Think about who you want to engage. Maybe it’s a few miles around your church—maybe it’s 20 miles. Or you might try to find opportunities in neighboring communities. With MissionInsite, that decision is up to you.
- Study the reports about your target area. The insights in the reports you get from MissionInsite are user-friendly, so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to glean insights from them. You might start with the QuickInsite report, which is designed particularly for people new to the platform. The 11 pages of this report are packed with colorful charts that make the data come alive. Use a highlighter to mark interesting notes about previously unseen needs.
- Don’t forget about getting a ComparativeInsite Report. This unique report lets you put side by side the demographics of your target area with the demographics of a core group of your congregation.
The best part about data tools related to your community is you can keep digging deeper and learning more about your neighbors. As you learn more about these neighbors, you learn how you can love them more fully — in word and deed.
Other Tech Tools That Can Help
Data reporting tools are great for identifying vulnerable and underserved communities in your area, but you can get information about needs in your area through other tools, too.
- Social-media listening tools can help you dig into the real-time conversations that are happening near you. Most of these tools, such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social, help you look specifically at posts made near you geographically.
- Volunteer-opportunity tools can connect you with other organizations meeting nearby needs. Spending time with other people who care about your community is a great way to learn about underserved pockets of people.
- Survey and feedback apps can help you send targeted surveys to your neighbors so you can learn more about the needs they’re seeing in the community.
Best part? Most of these tools, even the paid ones, have free versions that cover all the basics you need to start identifying where help is needed most.
Get Help Finding the Underserved
When it comes to finding needs in your community, technology is your friend. It won’t do ministry for you (nor would you want it to), but it can help, particularly in spotting these hard-to-find communities in your midst.
To find out more about how to engage vulnerable communities and the important role technology can play by reading our new FREE guide, Neighbors in Need: How to Identify and Help the Most Vulnerable.
ACS Technologies
ACS Technologies sets a new standard in church technology, offering a holistic suite of solutions that streamline administrative tasks and empower your staff to excel in their roles and your church to excel in your community.
In the ever-evolving landscape of church engagement and management, ACS Technologies rises above the rest. Our comprehensive church solutions, bespoke digital offerings, streamlined communication tools, comprehensive ministry consulting, and training make us the trusted choice for over fifty thousand churches. Experience the ACS Technologies advantage and elevate your church’s online presence, connectivity, and generosity today. Join us in redefining church technology for the digital age, where your ministry’s success becomes our shared mission.
