A Vision of the Possible: Pioneer Church Planting in Teams

by Daniel Sinclair

We have long been aware of the challenge of reaching the unreached peoples of the world. For many this seemed a daunting and almost impossible task. However, with a clear biblical model of church p

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Theology

294 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[Keegan Collier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to a massive topic. I feel like any of these topics could be talked about in far more depth, but as someone who has no experience in this field, I really liked every part of the book and hope to apply it to my life.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of the best missions books I've read, out of those that are simultaneously theoretical *and* practical. It helps that it's one of the few missions books I've read that focuses exclusively on church-planting among unreached peoples (what the author identifies as "apostolic ministry") and that in the context of teams. It doesn't consider any other sort of cross-cultural ministry within its context of missions teaching, neither church-planting among Christian-background peoples, nor evangelism (exclusively) among unreached peoples, nor individuals working outside of teams. Instead this book is entirely about team ministry with the goal of planting reproducing churches among unreached (non Christian-background) peoples. For me that means this book hits on each of the essential points of ministry that I believe passionately in (which I am also personally called to) without spending time on any extraneous areas.

So, not only does this book hit all the best topics (and no unnecessary ones), but I feel like it does an excellent job balancing both the theoretical aspects, i.e. Biblical values and principles, and just the right amount of practical advice and examples straight from the author's extensive experience. To me that doesn't mean this book is perfect, and the author is plenty gracious enough to leave room for disagreement with him on one point or another. But I probably haven't read any other so-well-rounded missions book that I agree with in so many areas. That doesn't mean I already had nailed down everything he wrote about (with my limited practical experience of just 7 years on the field so far), but from a principled level I could see that he was hitting at the truth (as I understand it or have previously considered) in just about everything, and on a practical level he gave me much to learn from and consider for putting into practice going forward. And, having not yet arrived at much success on the field (not yet any believers or church among the people group we're currently working in), he gave me much to consider that I haven't yet. And he did it all in an inspiring way, very much a "vision of the possible".

I would highly recommend this book to any aspiring missionary who may not know which type of missions they'll be doing and I would especially recommend this (even as required reading) for any missionary, future or present, who has a heart for seeing the unreached reached. I don't think you can find a more well-rounded book full of solid Biblical teaching and practical advice.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb and authoritative analysis of the missiological challenges for those church planting among unreached people groups. A must read for anyone desiring to work among the nations.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable resource for anyone considering going overseas to plant churches or serve within a team to do so. Very practical and organizes well that gives the reader a framework on the steps, processes, and needs to see churches form in hard areas. However, this is done without being overly pragmatic or boring to read. It’s full of real like examples, personal testimonies, and stories of success and failure that makes the reader feel like it’s not a pie-in-the-sky ideal to plant church’s but rather something that any disciple of Jesus can be a part of.

[Ben Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Reference work. I learned a lot in the areas of working as a team and language learning. Perhaps the other stuff will apply to my work one day.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Much more of a hands on guide than other CPM books. It deals with practical issues that people should be aware of and discuss with their teams.

[Alfie Mosse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book some time ago. I read it after I had already been a field missionary and team leader for a number of years, but I wish I had read it before I left for the field. Sinclair give a lot of good advice - especially in the area of clarifying expectations among team members and partners. I don't think it is possible to completely follow his paradigm, but even including some of his suggestions would be helpful.