Volunteer Centers strengthen communities by “connecting the dots” of social capital.  As a rule, Volunteers Centers mobilize individuals to address community needs.  Volunteers Centers are also are in a unique position to bring together community stakeholders around causes in order to create real and lasting change.  One of these key stakeholders is the faith community.

Today, faith-based and congregational networks are potentially the most influential allies in community organizing as they play an integral role in shaping communities.  Most organized religions expect followers to care for those in need, and many congregations provide avenues for faithful service.  In fact, for every one church member that is served by a congregation, four community members who are not members of the congregation received services.  In other words, congregations provide four times as much service in the community as they do to one another within the congregation. (Chaves & Tsitsos 2001)  Statistics also show that people of faith are volunteering in impressive numbers.  People most likely to volunteer (72%) attend religious services weekly and of those who volunteer, 75% report that they are acting on their moral values. (Thrivent Financial )