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 congregations 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.

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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Preface: A Personal Letter to the Reader.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Sending the Church into the World.

PART ONE: The Church in a New and Changing World.

1. From Maintenance to Missional: The Church in a World of Change.

2. Be Church and Be Changed: How Missional Churches Live Their Passion.

PART TWO: The Nine Essential Practices of Missional Churches.

3. Missional Practice Number One: Have a High Threshold for Membership.

4. Missional Practice Number Two: Be Real, Not Real Religious.

5. Missional Practice Number Three: Teach to Obey Rather Than to Know.

6. Missional Practice Number Four: Rewrite Worship Every Week.

7. Missional Practice Number Five: Live Apostolically.

8. Missional Practice Number Six: Expect to Change the World.

9. Missional Practice Number Seven: Order Actions According to Purpose.

10. Missional Practice Number Eight: Measure Growth by Capacity to Release, Not Retain.

11. Missional Practice Number Nine: Place Kingdom Concerns First

PART THREE: Structures and Strategies for Becoming Missional.

12. They Run Rapids in Rubber Rafts: Church Structures That Can Survive the Rapids of Cultural Change.

13. Seeing Beyond the Horizon: The Nature and Task of Missional Leadership.

14. Moving to Missional: Becoming a New Kind of Church.

Appendix: Missional Church Cultural Assessment.

Notes.

About Leadership Network.

The Author.