Description
Available on Kindle!
This fourth volume in the "Living Church" series responds to the needs expressed by today's church leaders for community focused ministry. Taking the principles of missional church theorists, ministry practitioner Glynis LaBarre engages local congregations in the Missional Church Learning Experience (MCLE), a model she developed and tested with hundreds of small to mid-sized churches. This "learn by doing" process guides pastors and lay leaders through practical steps, leading to partnerships with their community, addressing local problems. This missional approach succeeds in:
• Bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ alive in neighborhoods
• Building disciples for both the community and church
• Bringing churches together with others in the area to learn from and encourage one another
Learning Mission, Living Mission brings missional principles to life with stories of actual ministry practice and quotes from participants in the MCLE. This exciting and practical guide encourages transformation not only for church leaders and congregations but also their communities.
Reviews
"Discover an author who believes what she writes and practices what she preaches. Glynis has engaged a cornucopia of congregations in missional hands-on ministry and has generously shared her teachings and learnings with us. Thank you, Glynis!" —C. Jeff Woods, Ph.D., Associate General Secretary for Regional Ministries American Baptist Churches, USA
"A powerful, practical toolkit for churches on a missional journey! Glynis offers clarity of mission and challenge as we face the future as people of faith. She combines this with the impact of community and the power of the coach approach! Certainly a roadmap and compass for those willing to face the future with a deepening desire to be on mission with God in a rapidly changing world. A treasure that can transform all those who live into its message." —Edward Hammett, Author of Making Shifts Without Making Waves, Church & Clergy Coach for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina
"In the midst of all the conversation and activity relating to the idea of the missional church, the task of actually equipping local congregations to live into their missional vocation remains challenging. In Learning Mission, Living Mission, Glynis LaBarre has provided an eminently practical guide to this process, rooted in the experience of real communities that have been transformed by the Missional Church Learning Experience described in these pages. Follow along with this book and join the missional revolution." —John R. Franke, General Coordinator, The Gospel and Our Culture Network
Author Bio
Since 2005, Rev. Glynis LaBarre has been a transformation strategist for the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. Working with local churches interested in retooling for future ministry, LaBarre has been responsible for a number of turnaround churches, including:
• Delmar Baptist Church, St. Louis, Mo., a historic church that built a new worship center, doubled in attendance and re-established Sunday school for all ages
• Hope American Baptist Church, Phoenix, Ariz., which transformed itself from being a self-contained church to one with missional goals. The church's ministry extended to sustaining church plants among Romanians, Hispanics, African-Americans and Anglo-Americans.
• All Tribes Community Church, Tulsa, Okla., where LaBarre developed a ministry training program for Native Americans which resulted in 11 tribal elders becoming licensed ministers
To date, more than 200 churches have participated in LaBarre's Missional Church Learning Experience (MCLE).
LaBarre holds an M.Div., Central Baptist Theological Seminary, in Kansas City, Kansas and is certified as a ministry coach by Valwood Christian Leadership Coaching.