Peoples on the Move: Community Research for Ministry and Missions

EMQ » April–June 2022 » Volume 58 Issue 2

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North America is becoming increasingly diverse due to an unprecedented global diaspora. How is the church to understand and respond to a changing community context? In his compact, readable book Anthony Casey gives valuable insight into how community research can help answer this question. Casey, associate professor of Intercultural Studies at William Cary University, brings a wealth of experience in conducting community research, ranging from Malaysia to the Hmong of Wisconsin, and from London to Louisville, Kentucky.

Casey describes the purpose of the book as “an effort to equip the church with the skills necessary to step out of their door and into their neighborhood with eyes to see and ears to hear what God is doing” (5). The book is divided into twelve chapters covering the why of community research in chapter 1, the biblical basis in chapter 2, and the how in chapters 4–10. The final chapters describe special considerations and a short-term team-based approach.

Preparing an ethnography (the broader category of study in which community research is situated) can be a daunting task. Casey does a good job of breaking down the task in an understandable and non-academic approach. The book is peppered with useful thoughts, resources, and tools for conducting community research. One particular tool I found helpful and will use in the future is the five Fs of worldview identification: Family, Friends, Food, Festivals, and Future. Casey includes the five Fs in the appendix (147) along with corresponding questions for researchers to better understand what they are seeing.

A suggestion to improve the book is to include a single community research project that the reader could follow from beginning to end with concrete examples of each of the steps. A sample study would give researchers a helpful tool for starting the process. Casey gives many various solid examples, but it was still difficult to discern the process of community research in its entirety.

This book is recommended for church planters and workers in North America who seek to have a better understanding of their community of interest and how to reach it. The text could also serve as an introduction to field research in preparation for cross-cultural service or as part of a class or training. Few books break down the process of community research for Christian workers and Casey has helped with his practical and approachable work on the subject.

For Further Reading

Elliston, Edgar J. Introduction to Missiological Research Design. William Carey Library, 2016.

Kutsche, Paul. Field Ethnography: A Manual for Doing Cultural Anthropology. Prentice-Hall, 1998.

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EMQ, Volume 58, Issue 2. Copyright © 2022 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.