Bestselling author Eddie Gibbs gleans critical biblical insights from the early church's experience to help today's leaders and churches minister more effectively.
These days, everybody wants the latest killer app for successful ministry. But ministry is not plug-and-play technology. It is an art cultivated over a long-term journey of faithfulness and perseverance.In his most intimate book yet, Eddie Gibbs articulates a personal philosophy of ministry born from his storied career in teaching and pastoral ministry. Through images from his own life and family, Gibbs shows how effective ministry is a matter of walking slowly with the family of God, overcoming hurdles and facing challenges together. He explains how the networking nature of the early church offers helpful models for connecting in our fragmented technological age. Linking fresh biblical exposition with our contemporary realities, Gibbs gives practical advice for welcoming people into the family and helping them live out God''s intentions for them.If you want your ministry to last, learn from those who have gone the distance. Discover here insights that will help you lead and serve for the long haul.
The church has always been potentially just one generation away from extinction. But now, with a generation of under-thirty-five-year-olds turning away from institutional expressions of Christianity, churches in the West recognize that they face a challenge that is more urgent and radical than it has been for many generations.In this acclaimed study, the authors identify some of the major storm centres through which churches must navigate, not in order to return to a previously more tranquil world, but to enter an entirely new one. They look at mission, church structures, developing new leaders and mentoring, worship, spirituality and evangelism, and ask how our ministry must change in order to serve a new generation of Christians.
Churches across the Western world have become increasingly fragmented and marginalized, often struggling to survive. Here Eddie Gibbs, a bestselling author and veteran church and culture expert, addresses the challenges of re-imagining the church in a post-Christian world. He gleans critical biblical insights from the early church''s experience to help contemporary leaders and churches minister more effectively.Gibbs compares and contrasts the social and cultural context of the twenty-first century with the first century, exploring what can be learned about the birthing of churches in the book of Acts and in Paul''s letters. He identifies the issues Paul faced in order to sustain a movement growing exponentially and considers what lessons might be learned in addressing current challenges in the church. The book examines vital issues not only for the survival of the church but also for its revitalization and rebirth, and provides direction for local churches on becoming agents of mission.