If the church is to thrive in the twenty-first century, it will have to take on a new form as it ministers to the 120 million unchurched people in the United States. Planting and Growing Urban Churches is still virtually the only available text on church planting in North America and beyond. In this third edition, readers will find material on the importance of healthy, biblical change in our churches, updated appendices, insight on our postmodern ministry context, and strategies for reaching new population demographics such as Generation X and Y. Pastors, ministry leaders, and church planters will find the information and advice found in this book invaluable as they carry out their ministries.
For the last couple decades, urban church planting has been all the rage. This has been a blessing for the city. This has also been a curse for many who sensed a call, saw a need, and left for a life of adventure, only to leave the city after a short time. Many left behind no church and live with memories of failure and frustration. They were eager, well-supported, not a little naive, and unprepared for life and ministry in the city. Urban church planting is not for everyone. It is not more important than church planting elsewhere. But if you believe God has called you to urban ministry, read this book before you go. It is written by a city guy, freed from the romanticism often associated with planting churches in the city. If after reading this you still believe God is calling you to the city, then by all means go. If not, know that God can use you elsewhere.
Church planting has become a cottage industry. National conferences, hip planting organizations, and all-in-one resource kits celebrate the thrill of pioneering a church and inspire visions of glorious victories. Yet few who respond to the call are warned what they'll actually encounter: the relentless opposition they'll endure; the eventual scattering of their entire core group; the failure of their tried-and-true, field-tested system. Here's the dirty little secret of church planting: the roadside is strewn with casualties. Many have closed their churches. Some left ministry permanently. Others abandoned the faith altogether. Church planting is at once the greatest and most grueling ministry work on earth. This book is for those toiling in the trenches, those about to bail out, and those considering jumping in. It's for the church planters laboring and struggling, seeing little movement, and wondering what they're doing wrong or why God is failing them. It's also for mother churches, planting organizations, and denominations, as a challenge to rethink and re-calibrate the way they approach and measure planting endeavors. The Honest Guide to Church Planting is a fresh and candid conversation about the challenges and joys of planting new churches. Tom Bennardo speaks the truth so that those involved in church planting can embrace a more accurate and realistic picture of what planting a church is really like; one that not only enables them to survive, but to thrive in this wondrous work.
For the last couple decades, urban church planting has been all the rage. This has been a blessing for the city. This has also been a curse for many who sensed a call, saw a need, and left for a life of adventure, only to leave the city after a short time. Many left behind no church and live with memories of failure and frustration. They were eager, well-supported, not a little naive, and unprepared for life and ministry in the city. Urban church planting is not for everyone. It is not more important than church planting elsewhere. But if you believe God has called you to urban ministry, read this book before you go. It is written by a city guy, freed from the romanticism often associated with planting churches in the city. If after reading this you still believe God is calling you to the city, then by all means go. If not, know that God can use you elsewhere.
Cities continue to be at the forefront of culture. Now that over half of the global population lives in cities we're confronted with the reality of not only living in urbanized areas, but understanding them, loving them, and planting churches there. IJUT Volume 4 examines urban church planting and the nuances of that topic around the world. Whether we're exploring planting in gentrifying neighborhoods in Washington DC or Brooklyn, New York, learning about case studies of church planting in cities like Colombo, Sri Lanka and Singapore, IJUT Volume 4 gives you a well-rounded framework and perspective for this topic.The journal is broken down into three sections: Featured Articles, Case Studies, and Book Reviews.Contributors: Lisa Hoff (Ontario, California), Matthew Watson (Washington DC), Lloyd Chia (Portland), Stephen Stallard (Brooklyn), Linda Bergquist (San Francisco), Frank Rudolph Stirk (Vancouver, British Columbia), Kevin Baggett (Panama City), Michael Crane (SE Asia), Scott Carter (SE Asia), Lori Adams-Brown (Singapore), Bryce McFarland (South Asia), Matthew Brichetto (New Orleans), Kurt Holiday (Johannesburg), Sean Benesh (Portland).The International Journal of Urban Transformation (IJUT) is a bi-annual academic journal dedicated to a scholarly investigation and research, and analysis of urban issues and trends affecting best practices in urban missiology and applicable in the areas of the world, not least among the urban poor. As such, this journal is a forum for the exchange of ideas and research between urban missiologists and practitioners who are interested in advancing the kingdom of God.
For the last couple decades urban church planting has been all the rage. This has been a blessing for the city. This has also been a curse for many who sensed a call, saw a need, and left for a life of adventure only to leave the city in a short time. Many left behind no church and left only with memories of failure and frustration. They were eager, well-supported, not a little naive, and unprepared for life and ministry in the city. Urban church planting is not for everyone. Urban church planting is not more important than church planting elsewhere. But if you believe God has called you to urban ministry, read this book before you go. It is written by a city guy, freed from the romanticism often associated with planting churches in the city. If after reading this you still believe God is calling you to the city, then by all means go. If not, know that God can use you elsewhere.
Yes, there certainly are many obstacles to urban church planting. The challenge of refraining from insisting on suburban models for urban settings, the soaring cost of living expenses in global urban settings, the challenges inherent in diverse over homogenous contexts, the continual shifting of people moving in and out of cities, the multiplicity of global religions and worldviews- these things can sometimes seem formidable. However, God, who loves cities, and the promise of Kingdom come are truly worth the struggle. Our urban church planting work will be more effective if it is intentional about being both responsive to what is going on around us and in the world and proactive to the possibilities God has placed before us. It is Linda and Michael's hope that this book will help its readers become more willing to experiment and more willing to be hopeful about the possibility for starting thousands and thousands of vibrant urban churches.
Don't Try to Ride the Wave of 20th-Century Ministry Leaders, are you called to a place where Jesus' name is most often spouted as a curse word? Because in the 21st-century, the culture is shifting. The "easy places" are increasingly post-Christian-even pre-Christian. If you want to minister successfully right now, you must: - Learn the mind-shifts necessary to make disciples in the world as it exists today - Rethink outmoded ideas of funding, metrics, and team-building - Find out how to model a faith community that's relevant to the needs of the culture where God's called you to serve Refresh the way you think about starting, growing, and sustaining faith communities in the 21st century. Are you ready to ride the Next Wave?
Have you ever considered the incredible odds against Christianity? Over two thousand years ago, the self-proclaimed Son of God and His band of disciples first preached the Gospel in a small Roman province. From there, the Good News spread north, south, east, and west. It crossed oceans, climbed mountains, and traveled on horseback and footpath over every imaginable terrain. Within just a few generations Christianity grew from an obscure, regional uprising into a worldwide movement through the multiplication of local churches. Church Planting Thresholds explores both the why's and the how's of church planting, providing "Thresholds" that serve as progress mileposts along the church planting journey. This simple guide will encourage ordinary Christians as they seek to fulfill the Great Commission through planting churches.
