Synopses & Reviews
The church is on the verge of massive, category shifting, change. Contemporary church growth, despite its many blessings, has failed to stem the decline of Christianity in the West. We are now facing the fact that more of the same will not produce different results. Our times require a different kind of church---an apostolic, reproducing, movement where every person is living a mission-sent life. Many of the best and brightest leaders in the contemporary church are now making the shift in the way they think, lead, and organize. Motivated partly by a vision of the church as ancient as it is new, and with a driving desire to see Biblical Christianity establish itself in Western cultural contexts, we are indeed seeing a new form of the church emerge in our day. Hirsch and Ferguson call this 'apostolic movement' because it is more resonant with the form of church that we witness in the pages of the New Testament and in the great missional movements of history. In this book, Hirsch and Ferguson share a rich array of theology, theory, and best practices, along with inspiring stories about leaders who have rightly diagnosed their churches' failure to embrace a biblical model of mission and have moved toward a fuller expression of the gospel. On the Verge will help church leaders discover how these forerunners and their insights are launching a new apostolic movement---and how any church can get involved.
Synopsis
The church is on the verge of some tremendous changes. Contemporary church growth, despite its many blessings to believers, has failed to stem the decline of Christianity in the West. These times require a different kind of church---a church where every person is living a mission-sent life. The Bible uses the word apostles for Jesus' followers---that is, people sent on Jesus' behalf. In every existing form of the contemporary church---from the mega to the multi to the incarnational---some churches have taken the idea of apostolic mission seriously. Successful church leaders are discovering how to shift their existing resources and church structures into more adaptable forms to reach their communities. In this book, Alan Hirsch and David Ferguson share inspiring stories about leaders who have diagnosed their churches' failure to embrace a biblical model of mission and have moved toward a fuller expression of the gospel. On the Verge will help pastors and church leaders discover how these forerunners and their insights are launching a new apostolic movement---and how any church can get involved.
Synopsis
How the Church can recover her original, apostolic ways and become a high-impact Jesus movement again in the West.
The church is on the verge of massive, category shifting, change. Contemporary church growth, despite its many blessings, has failed to stem the decline of Christianity in the West, and we are now facing the fact that more of the same will not produce different results.
We are already seeing this new form of the church emerge in our day--an apostolic, reproducing Movement that's driven by a desire to see Biblical Christianity reestablished. Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson call this the apostolic movement because it's more resonant with the form of church that we witness in the New Testament and in the great missional movements of history.
And we are on the verge of a new apostolic movement...
In this book, Christian thought-leaders Hirsch and Ferguson share a rich array of theology, theory, and best practices, along with inspiring stories about leaders who have rightly diagnosed their churches' failure to embrace a biblical model of mission and have moved toward a fuller expression of the gospel.
On the Verge will help church leaders:
- Imagine the contemporary Church from the apostolic perspective--how we got from there to here.
- Shift our mindset from technique (how to do church) to embodiment (how to live as Christ's Church)
- Learn how to value, approach, and understand innovation.
- Move whole-heartedly toward the apostolic, missional movement.
Many of the best and brightest leaders in the contemporary church are now making shifts in the way they think, lead, and organize. On the Verge will help church leaders discover how these forerunners and their insights are launching a new apostolic movement?and how any church can get involved.
Synopsis
Two prominent thought-leaders in church planting and mission express a comprehensive vision for a truly apostolic---that is, mission-sent---future of the church. In an idea laden book, they relate inspiring accounts of churches recapturing the apostolic ethos and vision, and explain how a missional approach can bring wholesale transformation to existing churches that want to be all that Jesus intended them to be.