Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

408 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 1

8. How do entrepreneurs or other financial investors see this community? Have the banks redlined this area, or which banks are offering money to its residents for business, home, and other financial opportunities? 9. What is the relationship of the community to the overall business community in the city (e.g., the Rotary club, the Chamber of Commerce, Business groups, etc.)? 10. Who are the key economic and business leaders in the community? What are their assets and key economic enterprises? 11. How much illegal activity (drugs, gambling, prostitution, etc.) takes places in the community, and how do these activities affect the community financially? 12. Are there any examples of blatant economic injustices within the community? If so, how did they arise and what groups or events are responsible? 13. Are there any locally based economic groups seeking to bring renewal to this community? Who are they and what kind of projects are they engaged in? 14. What special hardships have affected the community’s economic condition adversely, or what special opportunities have affected it positively in the last 5 years? 15. What do the leading economic indicators show for the economic future of the community? 16. What kind of industries or businesses exist within or border the community (e.g., grocery stores, convenience, fast-food, offices, malls, government, construction, etc.)? What are the major employers, businesses, or industries within the community? V. What Is the Quality of Education Provided to Your Residents? 1. How many of the residents within your community boundary are of school age? 2. What is the average amount of schooling most adults have in the community? Where were most of the community’s residents educated? 3. What are the literacy rates for the adults in the community? 4. What are the major schools in the area (e.g., preschools, grammar schools, middle schools, secondary schools, trade or vocational schools, colleges, institutes, etc.)?