Can a Church Transform Its Wider Community? by Geoff Surratt In 2006 a newspaper article in the Charleston Post and Courier reported that North Charleston, South Carolina, was one of ten most dangerous cities in America. This was stunning news. South Carolina is a small state and we are seldom among the ten-most anything. When the multi-site church where I work, Seacoast Church, became aware of the article, we knew we had to get involved in making a difference in this crime-ravaged community just across the bridge from our original campus. We had no idea how to impact our sister community, but we jumped in with both feet. We first secured a base of operations by sharing a facility with a struggling church already in the community. We immediately opened a food pantry, a clothes closet and a weekend service. People began to stream to our new location to find help and to hear the Gospel. Within a year we outgrew our original site, so we moved into a building of our own. Within 18 months of reading that article we were operating the largest free medical clinic in North Charleston. While other churches are feeling forced to relocate Seacoast is now making a difference every week in the lives of hundreds of residents of one of the most dangerous cities in America. Outreach is very simple whether your church has one location or dozens:      1. Find a need in your community or in a community nearby      2. Figure out a way to begin meeting that need      3. Continue to meet that need on a daily basis     4. Point the people to Jesus Any church in America can transform their community by simply opening their eyes to the needs right around them. Geoff Surratt is Pastor of Ministries for Seacoast Church, a multi-site congregation based in Charleston, South Carolina. You can connect with Geoff at www.multisiteroadtrip.com or www.twitter.com/geoffsurratt.