This practical guide for equipping local churches and individual Christians seeking to do effective community-based outreach includes real-life examples of how these strategies have been successfully implemented.

Are you and your church making a difference in your community?

Too often when churches are presented with a need outside their walls, they operate on the principle of "say no unless you have to say yes." Don't want that to be your church's legacy? Drawing on more than thirty years of service to the community surrounding Faith Church in Indiana, pastor Stephen Viars shows you how to develop a dynamic, giving relationship with your community, one in which your natural response to needs is "Yes! How can we help?"

No matter the size, location, demographics, or issues of your community, the approach found in this practical book will help you improve people's lives, draw them into productive conversation about the hope you have in Christ, and glorify God.


"What does it look like for a church to take the gospel to the streets? Read and apply Loving Your Community for a theologically sound, practically proven, and narrative-rich approach to making a Christ-centered difference in your community."--Bob Kellemen, PhD, vice president and academic dean, Faith Bible Seminary; author of twenty books, including Gospel Conversations: How to Care Like Christ

"If you're tired of running the church like a cruise ship and would love to equip and launch your people back into the community, then get this book and read it with your leaders!"--Brad Bigney, lead pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, ACBC-certified counselor, conference speaker, and author of Gospel Treason


Stephen Viars has served as a pastor and biblical counselor at Faith Church and Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana, since 1987. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, colleges, and seminaries in the United States and abroad. In addition to overseeing the staff and ministries at Faith, he also serves on the boards of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, the Biblical Counseling Coalition, Vision of Hope, and the Faith Community Development Corporation. The author of Putting Your Past in Its Place, he and his wife, Kris, have been married since 1982 and have three children and three grandchildren.