OPEN ROAD: The Adventure of a Breakthrough Prayer Initiative

by Sue Nilson Kibbey, Kay Kotan (Contributor)

What’s gone wrong in a perfectly good faith-filled, well-intentioned, settled-in congregation that’s instead become plateaued or even started into decline? Maybe like yours, or a church that you know.Perhaps it’s happened gradually as the church has become comfortable and complacent over time. Or, maybe the rapidly changing factors of our current community and world environment have resulted in us church-goers hanging on even more tightly to each other, our facility and our budget to just survive? “What’s gone wrong?” we wonder. A better question might be to ask, “What is missing?” The answer to that question is straightforward and non-negotiable. In Open Road, Sue Nilson Kibbey seeks to help readers embrace and deploy the missing ingredient anew in their own personal lives and in the life of your church. Sue Nilson Kibbey has been a church pastor, trainer, consultant and author who has been following the Holy Spirit’s relentless leading to every part of the country. As a ministry practitioner Kibbey has been sharing with countless numbers of churches, leaders and members a set of simple, practical steps to guide their addition of this mainspring missing ingredient to church life and leadership. As the amazing stories from church after church keep rolling in, the author has also become a storyteller. Kibbey recounts the breakthroughs at churches large, small, rural, suburban, urban, historic, new, multiethnic, multicultural - all bearing witness to the endlessly creative ways God has invited them onward to actively deliver and fulfill the message and mission of Christ. The author’s intent is to inspire you about what is Divinely possible, provide you a practical path of steps you can take with ideas you could deploy to add this ingredient and recount a few of the many stories from your sister churches that may add to your inspiration. Testimonials Sue had me at movement. As a part of the district leadership, we have included breakthrough prayer in every initiative of the district and have seen a correlation between a commitment to breakthrough prayer and commitment to the initiative. I am excited to see Open Road as a part of the journey of The Greatest Expedition. Sharing the process and practical examples makes this accessible for every church and church member. This is a must have book! Michelle Holmes Chaney The United Methodist Church in Northern Virginia If it feels like your church is stuck in neutral and even your best efforts can’t seem to get you in gear, God has been preparing you for the Open Road. In this power-packed read, Sue Nilson Kibby invites us on a spiritual adventure. With deep truths, real life stories and practical applications, Sue shows us how any church can breakthrough spiritual and organizational blockades to once again become a movement of God. Ronald Bell, Jr. Lead Pastor, Camphor Memorial UMC Starting any new expedition on our knees is always recommended, but certainly we must do so when discerning next faithful steps in the life of the church. Sue provides a clear road map of how to wrap your next high adventure in prayer and allow God to lead and break through in incredible ways. Kay Kotan Director, The Greatest Expedition Open Road unfurls a map that isn’t reliant on trendy best practices, big budgets, large church staffs, or fancy technology. Instead, it presents the reader new ways to engage with the one essential element that we all have at our disposal - prayer. Jason Moore Midnight Oil Productions

114 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2021

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book had some good thoughts and I absolutely believe in the power of prayer, I found it to be a little gimmicky. The catch phrases used were just off putting for me.

[AngelaGay Kinkead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our visioning team read this, adopted the practice of praying our breakthrough prayer for a year. We're seeing breakthroughs and we're changing, even though we've not completed the process yet!
An easy read. Our team was enthusiastic about it.

[Andrew Ware · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots to chew on in this book, but eye opening as one discerns how a leadership group can work to build a Kingdom centered nature focused around breakthrough prayer.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on prayer.

[Shannon Blosser · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not a bad read, but it is another in a long line of “not a program, but is a program” church growth books.