Practical and Gospel-centered thoughts on how to have a fruitful
ministry by one of America's leading and most beloved pastor.
Many church leaders are struggling to adapt to a culture that values
individuality above loyalty to a group or institution. There have been
so many "church growth" and "effective ministry" books in the past few
decades that it's hard to know where to start or which ones will provide
useful and honest insight.
Based on over twenty years of ministry in New York City, Timothy Keller
takes a unique approach that measures a ministry's success neither by
numbers nor purely by the faithfulness of its leaders, but on the
biblical grounds of fruitfulness.
Center Church outlines a balanced theological vision for ministry
organized around three core commitments:
- Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes
everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It
completely reshapes the content, tone, and strategy of all that we do.
- City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we
learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic, and under-served
places for gospel ministry.
- Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the
prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy
Spirit.
"Between a pastor's doctrinal beliefs and ministry practices should be a
well-conceived vision for how to bring the gospel to bear on the
particular cultural setting and historical moment. This is something
more practical than just doctrine but much more theological than "how-to
steps" for carrying out a ministry. Once this vision is in place, it
leads church leaders to make good decisions on how to worship, disciple,
evangelize, serve, and engage culture in their field of
ministry--whether in a city, suburb, or small town." -- Tim Keller,
Core Church
