Transforming Church

Tim Monger

Description

The area of community development provides a unique opportunity for the church to partner with God in his mission to see the world transformed.
In Transforming Church, Tim Monger draws from over a decade of experience working in integral mission alongside local congregations in East Africa. Providing an overview of the current landscape of African community development, he engages the question of how the church can be truly effective in alleviating poverty and bringing hope to its communities. He explores the theological and biblical foundations for integral mission, alongside its practical realities, and casts a vision for what can be achieved when the church engages the development context in ways that are biblically grounded, culturally appropriate and practically relevant.
This book is an excellent resource for practitioners, students and Christian leaders involved, or seeking to be involved, in rural and urban community development, especially in Africa. Transforming Church calls readers to think biblically, theologically and culturally about their work, while inviting them to expand their vision of the church’s role in ushering in the kingdom of God.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Missions
• Christian Ministry
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• EAN13: 9781839737732
• Langue: English

Extrait

For those seeking to participate in God’s mission through community development, this instructive book is gold! Tim Monger offers the African church an invaluable resource packed with wisdom and real-life experience from his missionary work in Eastern Africa. The book provides an honest look at the challenges that face the church and African communities today. Grounding his missional approach in biblical exposition, Tim highlights opportunities and effective ideas for the church to be involved in community development, and in so doing equips pastors and lay Christians for integral mission in their communities.
Robert Falconer, PhD
Coordinator of Student Research,
South African Theological Seminary, Johannesburg
Tim Monger has gifted us with a powerful, inspiring book about the distinctive role of community transformation within the holistic mission of God and thus within the church’s holistic, integrated mission. Writing from years of experience, he offers a robustly biblical and highly practical perspective that speaks from and to the African context – and beyond. (The treatment of Genesis and community development, for instance, is brilliant.) As he emphasizes, the transforming church will itself be the church transformed. Highly recommended!
Michael J. Gorman, PhD
Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology,
St. Mary’s Seminary & University, Maryland, USA
It is relatively easy to make the case that local churches are called to participate in the upliftment of their communities as an expression of their participation in God’s mission. How this might happen is the more difficult question. Tim Monger helps us here. He has written a book that brings together his experience, study and thoughtful reflection on this question. It will be a great aid to students, church leaders and development practitioners of church-facilitated community development.
Deborah Hancox, PhD
International Coordinator,
Micah Global, South Africa
As one born and mostly raised in Africa, and deeply passionate for its church and its peoples, reading about the ministry in this book brought joy and hope. Its praxis fleshes out the very essence of mission as participation in the mission of the triune God – mission both deep and wide, and mission that includes evangelism, justice and human flourishing. Its culturally sensitive, communal, holistic, incarnational and pneumatic approach is a corrective for all dualistic, imperialist and unsustainable approaches to mission. I highly recommend it!
Ross Hastings, PhD
Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology,
Regent College, Canada
Despite the many challenges facing her, the church in Africa has been growing in numbers at a tremendous pace and for this we must give all the glory to the head of the church, Jesus Christ, who alone gives the increase. Evangelism and church planting have been the top two items on the agenda of the church in Africa. Much of the training that takes place in the various Bible schools and seminaries is designed to produce church ministers who shall do evangelism and church planting on the continent.
But God has a larger purpose and a wider mission than that – to transform holistically the society in which the church is planted. So will the church in Africa take up this mantle? That is the most important question posed in this book.
We must reset how we do church. We must rethink our current programmes so as to embrace God’s larger purpose and wider mission. Then we will plant community transforming churches that are salt and light in the community.
In this book, Transforming Church , borne out of real life experiences on the mission field in the twenty-first century and lots of research, Tim Monger has presented a great starting point for purposeful discussion for church leaders all over Africa with a view of changing the way we have done church and missions to date.
Africa, let us “take up the mantle” and “go for God’s larger purpose and wider mission” lest we become salt that has lost its saltiness.
Bishop John B. Masinde
Senior Pastor, Deliverance Church International, Umoja
General Secretary, Deliverance Church, Kenya
Africa’s time for playing a leading role in Christianity has come. Millions are coming to Christ and the centre of Christianity is shifting towards Africa. It is vital therefore that the church in Africa takes the good news of Jesus Christ into every sphere to bring about a thorough transformation of society. I commend Transforming Church as a book to help the church to fulfil this vision through its life, words and action, and be used by God to bring life in all its fullness to our communities. As the church in Africa lives out this vision, it will bring immense blessing to Africa and be a provocative example to the church in the rest of the world.
Barnabas Mtokambali, DMin
Archbishop of Tanzania Assemblies of God
Tim Monger has written an excellent book, that should be on every pastor, theologian, community development specialist and ordinary Christian’s bookshelf. It addresses the concept of integral mission in a very accessible yet well researched way. Integral mission in Monger’s understanding is the backbone for community development. The reality of poverty requires the church to develop the community. Monger understands the reason for poverty. He is aware of the complex issues behind why people are poor and it is with this background that he suggests how the church can carry out integral mission. The book strikes a balance that is both academic and practical, something that scholars rarely manage to do. Monger has learnt how to engage in integral mission in Tanzania where he has worked with the church to carry out some of the projects he offers as examples in this book. The ideas in this book are not ivory tower ideas; they come from a theologian with a heart for the community. Monger desires to see our theology lived out in the life of the church. It is from that perspective that he presents the practical guidelines on how to design a project and execute it, while at the same time partnering with God. There is much in this book that can help the church in Africa to fulfil God’s mission. I highly recommend this book and I hope it will be used by the African church in its quest to fulfil God’s mission on the continent.
Gift Mtukwa, PhD
Chair of Department of School of Religion and Christian Ministry,
Africa Nazarene University, Kenya
This challenging and informative book is deeply rooted in the biblical narratives reflecting God’s redemptive, healing and renewing passion for the world. It embodies the experience of the African church in being a sign and servant of God’s purposes, including in the restorative work of church-based community development. This book can serve as a profound resource as the church seeks to be God’s renewing good news in the world, bringing healing, justice, “bread” on the table, and peace in the community.
Charles Ringma, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Missions and Evangelism,
Regent College, Canada
Birthed in costly mission, and combining Scripture, Spirit and experience, this informed, accessible, practical and above all deeply pastoral book has something for all churches everywhere who are seeking to transform their communities with the life of God.
Rikk Watts, PhD
Research Professor of New Testament,
Regent College, Canada

Transforming Church
Participating in God’s Mission through Community Development
Tim Monger

© 2023 Timothy Monger
Published 2023 by Langham Global Library
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
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ISBNs:
978-1-83973-730-5 Print
978-1-83973-773-2 ePub
978-1-83973-775-6 PDF
Timothy Monger has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
Scripture marked (NASB) taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-83973-730-5
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
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“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
( Ephesians 3:20–21 )
Contents

Cover


Foreword