Shaped by God's Heart - (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network) by Milfred Minatrea (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Discover the tools to create a new kind of church and move from merely surviving to thriving.
Drawing on an extensive two-year field study of 200 churches from a variety of denominations and geographic regions, Milfred Minatrea--a missiologist, urban strategist and practioner in minister--presents the best practices for re-energizing Christian spirituality in a congregational setting. He provides readers with the tools for assessing their congregation's position on the continuum between maintenance and mission and for determining the actions that will move them toward becoming a missional community. He also outlines key strategies that successful churches have used to become relevant in a postmodern society without losing what is distinctly Christian in their spiritual practices.

Milfred Minatrea (Irving, TX) is Director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

From the Back Cover

Increasingly, today's churches have become isolated from rather than engaged in the world. Many ministers and lay leaders-who have stable churches, good relationships with their congregations, and useful ministries-feel there is something vital missing.

Shaped by God's Heart reveals that it's not the church's activity level that defines success but whether its activities accomplish God's mission for His church. This book helps ministers and church leaders move beyond mere survival and maintenance toward a thriving missional mode for their congregations. Missional congregations become fully relevant to today's society without losing what is distinctively Christian in their spiritual practices.

This important resource draws on an extensive two-year field study of two hundred churches from a variety of denominations and geographic regions. Milfred Minatrea-a missiologist, urban strategist, and practitioner in ministry-shows how these vibrant congregations are abandoning themselves to God's purpose in mission and presents the best practices for reenergizing Christian spirituality in a congregational setting. Shaped by God's Heart includes a Missional Practice Assessment tool to evaluate a congregation's position on the continuum between maintenance and mission and to determine the actions that will move the congregation toward becoming a true missional community.

As Minatrea emphasizes, knowing God's purpose and pursuing it with deep passion, is the first step in becoming missional. Minatrea outlines the nine common practices that characterize missional churches. In addition, each of the book's chapters contain relevant exercises for reflection and application as well as resources for additional study.

Once transformed, missional churches have a profound effect on their members' lives out in the world. Their influence results in new followers of Christ and the development of new communities of faith.

About the Author

THE AUTHOR

Milfred Minatrea is the director of the Missional Church Center for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He served as pastor of several churches before becoming a highly sought-after church consultant. Minatrea desires to be an authentic disciple of Jesus and enjoys walking with others on that spiritual journey.

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