Work! by Billy Wilson on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Eddie Arthur challenges the popular notion that mission is ‘finding out what God is doing and joining in’.
What do you think about this?
Go Where God Is Not At Work
Three Steps In Turning Around A Church
See what you think of this video. For me, it was striking about one minute in when the speaker said that telling an aging congregation mission was a church priority was like telling a leper colony they needed to be healed: there was an obligation to agree, but a feeling it couldn’t be done. Listen for how Don Ross approaches this problem, and for his emphasis on making bold decisions.
Best Recent Books On Outreach
Human Resources by Zach Stern on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Outreach Magazine has published a list of its resources of the year. These books are very largely American, and predominantly come from one theological persuasion, so they may or may not be your cup of tea. But whatever your convictions, you will find useful material here.
What would you add to the list?
From Evidence To Action
Action-D! by David Goehring on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
In January 2014, the Church of England published an excellent church growth resource called From Anecdote To Evidence. Now comes the follow-up: a website called From Evidence To Action. It provides all sorts of resources – articles, stories, workbooks, and more. Take a look.
(HT: David Flavell.)
From Church To Chaplaincy?
London Chaplaincy Team, 14th February 2010 by Dean Ayres on Flickr. Some rights reservied.
Do chaplains have an increasingly important part to play in Christian outreach as church attendance declines? A new report suggests so. You can read about it here, and buy or download the actual report itself here.
The Dollar Club
Dollars by Teddy James on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Your church might not be big enough to start the large-scale medical ministry that Southland Christian Church in Kentucky did, but surely any church can embrace the principle that led to its beginning.
As their pastor Jon Weece says,
“We decided we needed to take a season, read through the gospels and the book of Acts, look at the pattern of Jesus and the first church and pray and say, ‘God, what are we uniquely created to do in the Kingdom?’”
The process took a year and a half, and Weece admits it was a difficult season, fraught with layoffs and some disillusioned families. But the church’s mission became clearer for it.“We started focusing on people outside our four walls, and we found our niche. It was a catalytic season for us in that we determined we’re here in central Kentucky to love people that no one else in our church community was paying attention to.”
Weece is candid about this identity, to the point of drawing lines in the sand.
“People come in and we just tell them, ‘You know, we don’t offer a lot internally for Christians. We’re focusing on the people Jesus would want us to go after,’” he says.
The whole story is here.
Awakening To God
Waking Up by Carl Nenzén Lovén on Flickr. Some rights reserved.
Dave Ferguson writes about five different types of ‘awakenings’ he has seen in people who come to faith.
Does this sound right? Can we spot these? Can we respond?
Where Is The Church?
The Importance Of Showing Up Consistently
A Messy Life Cleaned Up
I know nothing about this pastor or the church he serves, but isn’t this central to what we’re about as church?
Thinking About Mission 