Jump directly to the Content

Growing Edge

Advanced Strategic Planning by Aubrey Malphurs (Baker, 1999)

One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gary L. McIntosh (Revell, 1999)

If you want to grow a garden where I live in Arizona, you're in for a major construction project. Preparing the soil here means creating it. Enter the jackhammer, soil conditioner, and planned plant mortality rates.

Aubrey Malphurs and Gary McIntosh each offer helpful works for those aiming at green ministry in dry and misinformed times.

Many, when asked "So did you think you could just wow 'em with your personality, throw some seed at the ground, and raise a bumper crop?" would have to answer "Yup!" It doesn't work that way.

Malphurs and McIntosh call us to that aspect of ministry most difficult for lovers of spiritual beauty: planning. Those wanting the "buy-plant-enjoy" church model should give each of these a read, especially if current efforts appear wilted or brown.

The authors share common convictions regarding what's needed to grow ministry: an indigenous plan and ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
To Keep Dreaming
To Keep Dreaming
A pastor's questions for a veteran evangelist.
From the Magazine
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close