Reach, Build, Send: A Pattern for Anglican Ministry

by Lee Gatiss, Kirsty Birkett, Mark Burkill

What is gospel ministry all about? How can we maintain it for the long term? In this book, a group of evangelists, bishops, pastors, and theologians try to unpack what the Bible says about a sustainable pattern of ministry, with particular application to Anglican churches today. United in their conviction that God’s Spirit works through his word, they look both theologically and practically at how to reach out with the gospel, build up the church, and send out gospel workers for the next generation—without losing momentum. “What a joy to read a book packed full of practical ministry patterns that flow straight from the Bible. It’s a book that will give you fresh courage, confidence, and creativity.” Lee McMunn, Mission Director, Anglican Mission in England “ Helpful, practical, full of biblical insight … this book feels like we’re eavesdropping on a lively conversation between a group of friends who are disciples, Bible teachers, and wise practitioners who care deeply about the church, the world, and the mission of Christ.” Mark Tanner, Bishop of Berwick “A power-packed little book which has been of real benefit to me, and will bless the church where I serve. Each chapter is a faithfully biblical, realistically practical, and inspiringly motivational.” Andrew Towner, Vicar, Houghton & Kingmoor, Carlisle

143 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2019

About the author

Dr Lee Gatiss is the Director of Church Society and has served in several Anglican churches. He teaches church history at Wales Evangelical School of Theology and in Cambridge where he lives with his wife, Kerry, and their three children. He is the author / editor of about a dozen books, including For Us and For Our Salvation, and The NIV Proclamation Bible.

Reviews

[Chris Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent little book for any Christian who is thinking through what a faithful, local church ministry should look like and what its priorities should be. In brief, biblical and everyday faithfulness by every Christian in the local church will result in churches that are ready and equipped to reach others with the good news of the gospel, build disciples, and send out gospel workers to take the work forward today and in the next generation. As Lee Gatiss puts it, "The theme of this book is 'reach, build, send.’ We want to reach out with the good news into our communities. We want to build up churches with the word of God, that they might be strong and flourish. And we want to send out workers into the harvest field, who will sow the seed themselves and pass on the gospel of Jesus. We call this "a pattern for Anglican ministry." But it's really just a biblical pattern for church ministry of any kind."

The first few chapters provide background and context, examining what we should look for in the next generation of church leaders, the relevance and importance of the great commission, and the pattern for ministry provided by Paul in his letters. In short, they need both ability and reliability; they should be faithful, and they should be able to teach. "They need to be trustworthy and reliable people, who follow Christ closely with honesty and integrity, manage things conscientiously, and be loyal to their charge." Helpfully, the authors counsel against rushing the able into paid ministry and positions of authority before they have demonstrated their faithfulness: "This seemingly slow and painful process is because we don't accelerate people into positions of significant leadership until they have shown that they can be trusted with that. You only know if someone can be trusted with a big thing if they have proven it in a small thing...We're not looking for stellar prospects, but steady Eddies. We're not seeking potential superstars and religious celebrities who can stand out and bring in the crowds or manage a big budget. Just people who can be counted on. Though to be faithful to this calling in the midst of all the opposition you will face from the world, the flesh, and the devil is, in actual fact, a rather extraordinary feat...This is true apostolic succession. Not some tactile laying on of hands, but a succession of true, faithful teaching."

The central three chapters of the book look at each of the main themes of reaching, building, and sending in turn.

First, reaching out. In this chapter, we unpack a vision for evangelism through the local church, with the central idea being a simple one - the church just needs to be the church. The church in the first Century transformed the culture by receiving the gospel and living it out together, and we should seek to do likewise. More than that, the fact that the church is a priesthood speaks to its outgoing, outward-looking nature: "A priesthood brings God to the people and the people to God. In order to be priestly, the priests must have that kind of outward focus. So when I say the church needs to be the church, the church needs to be priestly. It is not a private members club that exists only for its own sake. The church being the church is not just creating the so-called holy huddle. But if the church does understand its calling in terms of this priestliness, then we must return to our basic calling to be the church." For the church to be the church in this way, only three simple ingredients are needed. These are proclamation, prayer, and pastoral care, or "Preach the gospel, pray, and love one another." We are reminded that preaching is not merely to provide a running commentary on the Bible, but rather is actually delivering the living word of God to people. And very memorably, the author concludes that "Pastoral care is evangelising Christians and evangelism is pastoring non-Christians."

Second, and leading on from this, we look at a pattern for discipleship in the local church, or building up. This chapter begins by looking at the theological realities that underpin discipleship, summarised as "Our building activity is designed under God to establish a unique community which reveals God's purposes to an unbelieving world." This happens as Christians are taught to obey everything Jesus has commanded, rather than it being an exercise in us deciding what being a follower of Jesus is all about. Biblically speaking, this means providing biblical teaching that leads to people who are eager to do what is good. "When Paul says "these are the things you are to teach", he has in mind the biblical teaching mentioned in the subtitle of this chapter. And when Paul looks for a congregation "eager to do what is good", he is essentially looking for committed disciples who live fruitful lives in the service of the Lord and others."

Third, we examine what it means to send out gospel workers from the local church. Beginning with the two main blockers to sending out (busyness of existing church leadership and cost in money, time and leadership ability), the chapter moves on to emphasise the absolute centrality of having a sending mindset to a faithful ministry.

Two final chapters look at the idea of every member ministry from Ephesians 4 ("God wants a firm body. He wants us to be united and mature. He wants us all to be mobilised to serve. Bible teachers are God's gift to enable that to happen. But all of us have gifts to serve the church. So exercise your gift, in the appropriate way, for the good of the whole body: Speak the truth in love.") and the need to cultivate resilience for a ministry that will last.

Overall, the main strength of this book is the emphasis it places on the local church as God's appointed means of guarding, spreading, and passing on the good news of the gospel. In turn, this emphasises the importance of each of us having a faith that is vibrant and growing, and a preparedness for service rather than relying on a caste of professional ministers to do everything. Thinking through, praying for, and working at what is required for us to reach, build and send will prepare us to be steady and unwavering as Christians, mature, and united in what we believe and what we are to be about. This isn't a handbook or a formulaic '5 steps to ministry success'. Rather, it is a Biblical pattern and model that can be applied in any local church context. Everyday faithfulness over a lifetime is what is required of every Christian, and this book is a great encouragement to run after that worthy goal.