Breaking the Missional Code When Churches

Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman is a clarion call for churches in the United States to act among their local communities as missionaries would in a foreign land. For in fact, the message of Jesus Christ is still foreign to many who stand in the shadows of American steeples. As our approach to outreach changes, so can countless lives in our own backyards. Book jacket.

Ed Stetzer has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and transitioned declining churches in Indiana and Georgia. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Ed is a columnist for Outreach Magazine and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today's Building Church Leaders, and is frequently cited or interviewed in news outlets such as USAToday and CNN.

Ed is Visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has taught at fifteen other colleges and seminaries. He also serves on the Church Services Team at the International Mission Board.

Ed is currently interim teaching pastor of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN.

Ed’s primary role is President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence.

He has written the following books:

· Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age (2003), · Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church (w/ Elmer Towns, 2004), · Breaking the Missional Code (w/ David Putman, 2006), · Planting Missional Churches (2006), · Comeback Churches (with Mike Dodson, 2007), · 11 Innovations in the Local Church (with Elmer Towns and Warren Bird, 2007), and · Compelled by Love: The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living (with Philip Nation)

David Putman is executive pastor at Mountain Lake Church, which is located just outside Atlanta, Georgia.

Introduction

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1. The Emerging Glocal Context

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North America has changed and is a changing continent. As a result, new methods and models are emerging to reach new and emerging people groups. Understanding the people who live here will help us develop the kinds of churches that we need to reach them.

2. Breaking the Missional Code

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Some churches have been able to break the cultural codes and lead the people in their context to consider the claims of Christ. As this has occurred, their growth has exploded-even though these churches tend to look very different from each other.

3. Responding to the Commissions o1 Jesus

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Getting involved in missional ministry is not an option; it is tied to the commands of Jesus. He gives us a clear call with unfolding details.

4. The Missional Church Shift

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When churches become missionaries in their communities, they do not focus on strategies and formulas that have worked among people who live in other areas. Instead, they find strategies that help them connect with the people in their context.

5. Transitions to Missional Ministry

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Churches are beginning to see the value of being missional, and they are effectively reaching the people around them. However, they are different from the successful churches of the past. This chapter describes how some of these churches transitioned to missional ministry.

6. Values of Leaders and Churches that Break the Code

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Every church needs certain values and purposes that are transcultural and eternal. Those values are not part of breaking the code, but they provide the tools needed to break through.

7. Contextualization: Making the Code Part of Your Strategy

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Lots of books assert that you need to analyze and understand your community in order to reach it. This is easier said than done. This chapter helps you apply the process in your context.

8. Emerging Strategies

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Many churches are applying new methods to connect with the people in their context—and God is blessing new churches as they tell the story in new ways in new contexts.

9. Spiritual Formation and Churches that Break the Code

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Understanding the spiritual nature and function of a missional church enables the church to focus on its purposes.

10. Revitalization to Missional Ministry

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Churches need revitalization. Many congregations are finding renewal as they reinvent and reintroduce themselves to their communities.

11. Planting Missional Ministries

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Church planting has become a preferred vocational choice for many pastors, but they are not planting churches the way others traditionally have. They are finding new and innovative ways to launch churches within their unique cultural contexts.

12. Emerging Networks: New Paradigms of Partnership

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New ways of working together are coming to the forefront. Churches are working together in new ways to accomplish their God-given vision.

13. Breaking the Code without Compromising the Faith

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How to engage in missional code breaking without changing or compromising the faith.

14. Best Practices of Leaders and Churches that Break the Code

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How code-breaking churches function as they conduct missional ministry.

15. The Process of Breaking the Code

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A step-by-step process to understanding and strategizing to reach your community.

16. Breaking the Unbroken Code

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Missions is a hard task pregnant with breakthrough opportunities. Yet, in some cultures and contexts, those breakthroughs have not yet come. Our task is to be faithful to the core of our message as we seek new ways to communicate the gospel in each context. Churches are investing in younger leaders and intentionally broadening their view of missions and ministry into new frontiers locally and worldwide.

Epilogue

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Endnotes

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Breaking the Missional Code When Churches Become Missionaries in Their Communities

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials