Needs vs. Assets: However You Engage a Community, Start with Listening

Six years ago, the organization I work for created a video to introduce its approach to Christ-centered poverty alleviation. In the opening line, the narrator sets up a contrast. “When we approach God with our dreams and desires, we often focus on what we don’t have,” he says, “but when God’s people approach Him in scripture, He often responds with an unexpected question: What do you have in your hands?”

This contrast is a perfect illustration of two different approaches to engaging with a community. And God’s unexpected question can, in my opinion, serve as a model for the posture we should take as we apply them both.

The question itself—“What do you have in your hands?”—is the epitome of the first approach to engaging with a community, the asset-based approach. This approach focuses on what resources are already present in a community and on working with a community to empower them to take ownership in working towards a common goal, often identified by the community members themselves.

The second approach to engaging with a community is the needs-based approach. This approach focuses on what a community lacks, cataloging and prioritizing its needs and then working to address those needs for a community. In contrast to the asset-based approach, the needs-based approach often does not require community involvement. Read More