God is not done with the parish church
This Summer, Into All the Parish: Pioneering practices for every local church, will be published.
Artwork by Sophie Killingley
Church House Publishers approached Tina and me in August 2023 about writing a book.
by Rev’d Greg Bakker
We prepared a proposal for the editorial board and were delighted with the affirmation that what we proposed was a ‘hopeful, conciliatory and constructive contribution to contemporary church life and the church’s mission’. This Summer, after three years of work, Into All the Parish: Pioneering practices for every local church, will be published.
Mike Harrison, Bishop of Exeter, describes Into All the Parish: “A wise, accessible and practical guide to helping Christian communities discern how God’s Spirit is at work inside and outside the Church. Tools are provided helping congregations to ensure principles eclipse preferences, abundance mind-sets hold sway over scarcity narratives, and different ways of doing and being church are held together synergistically. All this wrapped up in a missional understanding of being caught up in God’s sacrificial loving movement towards the world – personified in Jesus and inviting our participatory involvement. Recommended!”
I was asked recently why we wrote this book. Tina will share her response in a forthcoming newsletter. I wrote because I believe God is not done with the parish church. I dare to believe God has more for congregations than can be seen from where we currently find ourselves. I believe God invites congregations to journey, to explore, to discover what God has for us.
God has shown me over many years that when engaged and generous congregations of all shapes and sizes redirect their energy, talent, and resources towards unconnected people and help nurture safe space for those on the margins to be seen, heard and valued, the thriving of local community and of Christian faith become possible. Into all the Parish is a reflection on the pioneering practices which transform the inner life of congregations through small but dynamic changes and cultivate an environment within and beyond the church walls for unconnected people to discover that they are seen, heard and valued by God.
Pre-order the book from Church House Publishing.
