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BreakoutVital and ambitious churchesBREAKOUT This book is the latest chapter in the story of St. Andrew’s Chorleywood, well known for its past associations with the ministries of John Wimber and David Pytches. Stibbe and Williams (vicar and associate vicar at the time in view) describe how the church was transformed from ‘cruise liner’ to ‘lifeboat’ mode — from a ‘come-to-us’ to a ‘go-to-them’ model of mission. Essentially this was achieved by assigning church members to ‘mid-sized communities’ (MSCs) of about 40 adults which meet most Sundays in community and school halls, cafes and the like and only once or twice a month gather all together. These MSCs are mobile, flexible and able to engage easily and naturally with the community. The result has been an adventure for the church, much greater mobilisation of its members and significant growth in both numbers and discipleship. This review is no place to deal with all the tricky issues this book will raise — its assumptions about prophecies (what are the controls?), signs and wonders or positive assessment of the ‘Toronto Blessing’. For some, the authors’ stance on these issues will immediately invalidate their conclusions. But I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the story! I appreciated the sense of vitality and ambition; the confidence that God will work and build his Church; the candid descriptions of struggles on the way — the urgent quest for a successful evangelistic strategy, the well-run events to which no outsiders came; the straightforward and wonderful tales of people transformed by meeting Christ. I hope that any church leader interested in the dynamics of church growth, the challenge of transforming pew-fillers into ministering members and the practical methods we ought to consider, will read and appreciate the story too. Steve Wilmshurst, © Evangelicals Now - July 2009 |