| The current literature in the field of church growth emphasizes several topics ranging from spiritual dynamics, leadership development, and counseling, to marketing and pastoral training models. Five Trends Impacting Ministry Effectiveness In Your Church is written for practitioners in the field desiring a concise overview of the current trends and literature. First, to pastors and associate pastors and secondly, to consultants in the field who consult churches at the local and national levels including denominational leaders, superintendents, and mission executives.;Over the course of the last few years I have worked with a number of congregations as a consultant in Phoenix, Arizona. During this phase of ministry, I have taken careful note in the application of church growth principles. The ministry settings span the field: mega-church situations, pioneer work through church planting, and church renewal diagnosis. Denominationally the diversity represents evangelical to fundamentalist groups, charismatic to pentecostal groups, and mainline to liberal groups. From this experience I have identified five common trends impacting ministry effectiveness in the local church.;Five Trends Impacting Ministry Effectiveness In Your Church describes five strategic factors influencing the American church in the '90s. Spiritual formation is the first trend addressed. Addictive traits discovered in ecclesiastical structures are discussed under the second trend. Leadership development and mentoring combine for the third trend. "Narrow casting" the gospel and church planting formulate the fourth trend. The fifth trend concludes with a progressive model for pastoral development, based on the felt-needs of pastors striving to maximize their gifts in ministry. Practical illustrations gathered from case studies, along with solutions via current literature in the field, support the five trends. Finally, a complete bibliography will assist the reader for more in-depth study on a given topic. |
