The new book Exponential by Community Christian Church pastors Dave and Jon Ferguson has a bold message: “You and your friends can start a missional church movement.”
For those daunted by the prospect of starting just one church, the mandate to start a movement may boggle the mind. But as the authors insist, movement-making isn’t the exclusive domain of ministry dynamos; it’s something ordinary folks can do.
The elegant model they prescribe almost makes you believe them. They map out the “Leadership Path” through which they take people. It consists of seven steps: Individual, Apprentice, Leader, Coach, Director, Campus Pastor/Church Planter, and Network Leader. The bulk of the book then illustrates these leadership levels by telling stories of regular people who moved along the path.
At times the whole enterprise feels a bit artificial, a sort of paint-by-numbers approach to church planting. But there is also wisdom in their system and, once you get past the business-borrowed terminology, strong parallels to the way the early church flourished.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the book is the fact that the authors have actually done what they’re describing. As fresh college graduates, these two brothers sat down and dreamed about reaching all of Chicago for Christ. Twenty years later they’ve planted multiple churches in the Chicagoland area, with thousands attending each week. And something tells me they’re just getting started.
