Within One Challenge, we view research as foundational to all effective ministry. We define research as gathering information to make good decisions that ultimately result in the mobilization of God's people. This article identifies 20 ways that research can be used to identify needs, create relevant ministries and mobilize God's people.
Communities
Research can help make community outreach more effective.
1. Read the local newspaper seeking to understanding the community. In the formal research world, this would be called "library research"
2. Familiarize yourself with the demographic data for your community. Governmental agencies do a good job at tracking social indicators related to ethnicity, employment, education, household structure, poverty, economic, crime and other demographics. This information, I have found, is often "eye opening" and challenges our conceptions about a community.
OC workers engage in what we call short term “impact ministries” in approximately 60 countries per year. These “open doors” provide a marvelous opportunity for workers to interact with church leaders in these countries. Generally OC workers enter a country at the invitation of local church leaders and thus should have opportunities to interact with them. Taking the role of a learner, a mission worker can use interactions with church leaders as an opportunity to learn about: (1) the history of the church; (2) the present status of the church; (3) the leader’s vision for the future of the church; and (4) how God has workers and is at work in the country. 
OC workers engage in what we call short term “impact ministries” in approximately 60 countries per year. These “open doors” provide a marvelous opportunity for workers to interact with church leaders in these countries. Generally OC workers enter a country at the invitation of local church leaders and thus should have opportunities to interact with them.