Unreached

by Tim Chester

Think of the thriving evangelical churches in your area, and the chances are that they will be in the nice areas of town and their leaders will be middle class.

Unreached is about reaching deprived, urban, working-class areas, often estates or housing schemes. It offers us the combined experience of the Reaching the Unreached working group www.reachingtheunreached.org.uk, an informal network of Christian leaders from different parts of the UK.

This book doesn't claim to offer the final word, but it presents us with a vision of what can be done. We pray that it will start a vital process in all our hearts and minds.

Genres: Christian, Evangelism, Christian Living, Theology

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2012

About the author

Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

Reviews

[Mark Warnock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books on reaching poor communities are as rare as the efforts expended to do so. I loved reading this, especially for the insights on how the worldview and values of the poor are at variance with the middle or upper classes, and how that shapes how church might look. It especially opened my eyes to how the standard evangelical church is thoroughly middle class in orientation, and for that reason is off-putting to poor and working class people.

[Ruth Clemence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye-opening, challenging, and a needed and helpful resource. It has shown me some of my blindspots in church life and faith, as well as given me a deeper appreciation of the faithful ministry going on in deprived areas. I am particularly interested in this topic at the moment as my church is located in a city estate which is new to my experience and upbringing. We all have a lot to learn from one another. And we all need the gospel of grace found in Christ. A brilliant book.

[Pip Snort · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unreached is an excellent examination of some of the core issues and considerations for reaching lowsocioeconomic communities with the gospel. While it considers the English council estate setting, many of the ideas and principles are translatable into other similar circumstances such as the US and Australia. A timely and thought provoking read.

[Will Dole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful look at ministry among working class and lower income areas. Very UK focused in both the research cited and the anecdotes shared; still very useful for someone in the US looking for resources in thinking through what ministry looks like outside of the middle-class box. Refreshingly biblical and practical, which is typical Chester.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really helpful insight into the challenges of life and ministry in the place I work in. It's most helpful contribution is the way it challenges my more middle-class, university educated outlook on life; and got me to question whether that is what all Christians should look like or is that just what I'm comfortable with.

[Calum Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. 160 ish pages. There’s lots of practical wisdom and guidance here. I’ve only rated it 4 as some of the theology in one of the chapters seemed a bit ‘off’ - it was regarding wording but wrong words can change the meanings.

It is brief so I’d recommend buying as well as other books but a good read overall.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly to recomend for church planters, serving among the working class. Good insights in cultural differences between social classes and the relevance of the gospel in working class. Still I missed some more practical input. But still a really great book rarely found on such a topic

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful book to begin to consider the implications of working on council estates

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite easy to read.
Very insightful. Would highly recommend to all, not just if you're looking to be part of a church in a deprived area.

[Timothy Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book exploring the differences between Middle Class and Working Class cultures and how the church can respond effectively to them all.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful book from Tim Chester. Great mixture of stories, background and learning from experienced church planters and Christians in these contexts that is centred on helping people follow Jesus not conforming to a 'church culture'. Some of the insights have already changed how I interact with the teenagers I work with. This is an important contribution to an area that has very little written about it. Living in an inner city context in Ireland, this is one of the first books I've read that connects so well.

[Neil Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone interested in council estate and urban ministry.

[Mark Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10