The Prevailing Church: An Alternative to Ministry

Randy Pope; The Prevailing Church: An Alternative to Ministry. Moody Press.Chicago. 2002; price 32.95 pp. 256. Available at Leadership Centre. 1-800-804-0777
Randy Pope; senior pastor , Perimeter Church, Duluth, Georgia.

Ch. 1. The Church- Prevailing or Precautious?
The word that describes a church that is doing what it should be doing and being what it should be is prevailing. The opposite is precautious. "The prevailing church is neither a package or a model. Every prevailing church is an original."p.25.
Ch. 2. Four Marks of a Prevailing Church.
1. It is composed of people who live out the confession that Christ is Lord. 2. The people live out that confession in the world. This is a church on the offensive. 3. It is involved in the battle for the souls of lost people. (evangelism). 4. A prevailing church wins the battle against the gates of hell (Hades). Souls are being brought into the kingdom. This chapter closes with a few questions of "diagnostic evaluation". p.36-37.
Ch.3. What Makes a Church Grow? Six Widely Recognized Causes and an Often Overlooked Seventh Factor.
ICor. 3;7. God causes growth. Man has a part as the ‘gardener’. Churches need to have a strong theology and a healthy polity. Spiritual renewal has to be an ongoing characteristic for growth to happen. Gifted, commited, modeling leadership is basic to growth. Laity must take responsibility for their own spirituality and ministry. Adequate facilities are essential for growth. A prevailing church is not possible without financial resources. A church will not prevail if it does not have an effective ministry plan. It knows its purpose and where it is going. This is all about vision and mission.
Ch. 4. First component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A God-honoring Purpose.
This chapter is introduced with a discussion of the glory of God. The church exists for the glory of God.
Ch. 5. Second Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A Faith Oriented Commitment.
When considering an option or action for ministry the bottom line has to be, Is it God’s will? This commitment will still involve risk and sometimes apparent failure. Several accounts of how the faith commitment works are related.
Ch.6. Third Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A God-given Vision.
It is vision that explains what the church wants to accomplish. Receiving a vision is usually the result of spiritual discipline and leadership.
Ch. 7. Two Functions of God-given Vision. A Safe Home and an Effective Mission.
Effective ministry must come out of a safe home. More specifically this speaks about mature and effective believers. A church’s vision must be "God-given, well articulated in writing and cast before your people as often and in as many forums as possible."p.96.
Ch. 8. Fourth Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. Well Prioritized Values.
It is not easy to identify or alter unseated values. Values usually fall into two categories; who we are and what we do (as a church).
Ch.9. The Fifth Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A Well-Defined Mission.
Mission is the means by which the vision is reached. This calls for a deliberate well defined plan involving specific components.
Ch. 10. The Teams-Based Church.
TEAMS-based involves "a method of making mature an equipped followers of Christ (that) centers on the use of Truth, Equipping, Accountability, Mission and Supplication,"p.113, that will result in some identified goals. Some contrasts are made between this method and a program based method. The concepts of the gathered and scattered church are explored as they relate to a prevailing church.
Ch. 11. Implementing a Well-Defined Mission.
In the challenge of outreach the concept of geographically near but relationally far is a significant factor in doing city mission. The experiences at Perimeter church are used as an illustration for how city wide mission can function. One outcome of this plan was the formation of Perimeter Ministries International. In all this both mission and vision must be clearly identified and kept in proper perspective.
Ch. 12. Sixth Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. Biblically-Based Job Description.
"If the church is really to succeed in its mission of witnessing to the non-churched world in the Twenty-First Century, it must develop aggressive, dynamic and inspiring leaders." Robert H. Schuller. Deacons: (Acts 6:1-6) This is a position of service. e.g. Stephen. Deacons serve elders. Theirs is a hands on ministry especially to those in need. Elders: (Matt.16:13-19) This position(s) has to do with spiritual authority. e.g. apostolic authority. This includes discipline.
Ch.13. Key Roles. Pastor and Staff.
The pastor is referred to as the "leader equipper". p.153. (Eph. 4:11-12). The responsibility is two-fold. First to help believers discover and use their spiritual gifts and establish an environment in which this can happen. Teaching is a strong focus. A four-tiered organizational model is suggested. "Owner (God), Employer (Elders/Staff), Employee (Members), Customer (Unchurched and Members)." p.157. The leadership and pastoral responsibilities are discussed.
Ch.14. Key Roles. Laity.
The job description of laity focuses very much on spiritual gifts. They must be discovered, developed and deployed. "We need to give the work of God back to the people of God." p.167. The costs of being a lay minister are discussed.
Ch.15. Seventh Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A Strategically Designed Infrastructure.
"Designing a ministry infrastructure has to do with determining which functions in the life of a church get prime time and primary leadership." p.178. A biblical view of things should never be compromised. Infrastructure is there to accommodate mission.
Ch.16. Eighth Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A Culturally Oriented Strategy.
A strategy must be chosen to reach the unchurched and hurting people of the community. Assimilation happens when people feel connected and they feel that they are contributing. It is very important that church attendees actually learn the Bible. This can happen through preaching, small groups, classroom and personal study. Another important aspect of a positive church culture is shepherding.
Ch. 17. Ninth Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. Well-Documented Goals.
Goals give focus to life. They create motion which in turn make it possible for guidance systems to function. Goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. Goals should be set by those who have the responsibility to attain them, i.e. the leadership.
Ch. 18. Tenth Component of an Effective Ministry Plan. A Time Bound Shedule.
Of two things we can be quite certain, change is inevitable and resistance to change will always be present. The timing of change is a very significant factor in making it successful. Change sometimes goes more smoothly when the old and the new are allowed to co-exist for a time. A helpful technique in planning change is to focus on the date the goal is to be accomplished and then plan backward from that date to determine a schedule.
Ch. 19. Difficult Choices.
When choices are made they always come with advantages and disadvantages. These have to be weighed and usually this is where the difficulties arise. "Every strength on every continuum creates its own matching weakness." p.223. The battle between wants (consumerism) and unfelt needs (alignment) adds to the difficulty of choices.
Ch. 20. Strategies for Evangelism.
Effective evangelism is an outcome of solid discipleship. Eight specific suggestions are made regarding evangelism. Evangelism is the result of goal focused preparation.
Ch. 21. A Case for Two Sides of Discipleship.
"Evangelism and discipleship are the food and drink of the prevailing church."p.241. Four realities are presented supporting the need for discipleship. They have to do with the power and presence of sin and the equipping of the believers for growth and ministry. Discipleship is both ‘taught’ and ‘caught’. It is good to use curriculum that is proven and relevant to the people that are being taught.



Comment HD.
This book is introduced by four pages of personal powerful endorsements. I would certainly add my own to those. As the sub-title suggests it does come across as an alternative approach to ministry. The book is really a manual for developing and deploying an effective ministry plan. for a prevailing church. I would recommend it as a compulsory resource for any pastoral library.