Transforming Church: Participating in God's Mission through Community Development

by Tim Monger

The area of community development provides a unique opportunity for the church to partner with God in his mission to see the world transformed. In Transforming Church , Tim Monger draws from over a decade of experience working in integral mission alongside local congregations in East Africa. Providing an overview of the current landscape of African community development, he engages the question of how the church can be truly effective in alleviating poverty and bringing hope to its communities. He explores the theological and biblical foundations for integral mission, alongside its practical realities, and casts a vision for what can be achieved when the church engages the development context in ways that are biblically grounded, culturally appropriate and practically relevant. This book is an excellent resource for practitioners, students and Christian leaders involved, or seeking to be involved, in rural and urban community development, especially in Africa. Transforming Church calls readers to think biblically, theologically and culturally about their work, while inviting them to expand their vision of the church's role in ushering in the kingdom of God.

200 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Tim Monger is CEO of Amigos Worldwide, a Christian NGO working to equip churches in Uganda and South Sudan for integral mission. He and his wife, Rachel, along with their two daughters, spent ten years in Tanzania, where he coordinated the work of a cross-cultural team and partnered with local churches in transformative and practical mission among disadvantaged communities. With experience as a research scientist, an educator and a pastor, Tim is passionate about the integration of theology and practice.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I am a personal friend of the author. This is an extremely unusual book in that it is about mission but combines profound theological thought about mission with and extremely practical and pastoral approach. The author sketches out a vision of mission as transformation of all aspects of life an creation - a far bigger vision of mission than we often hear in our churches. He also anchors that vision in the narrative of Scripture in a holistic way.
Having drawn a theological framework for holistic mission that thinks about the whole of people's lives, not just their souls, he goes on to talk about how the church can be involved in transforming communities around it, and gives examples of projects from his time in East Africa, sharing both successes and failures.
There is a whole lot of practical advice, rooted in godliness and integrity, that makes this a significant book on mission.
While the book describes mission in an African context, the theology, principles, and heart of this book can readily be transferred into a Western context, and I would recommend this over the books that present "silver bullet" solutions or methodologies to mission. It is a book that sets out a godly approach seasoned with a great deal of sanctified common sense and wisdom.
As a read, the book has been well written in a very readable style, runs to just over 200 pages, and the chapters are nearly all structured so that they can be read in about 20 minutes each. This made it a read that I found easy to cope with, and I didn't get lost in lengthy chapters. It is written to be understandable by anyone, and although it sets out profound theology, is also very relatable and approachable.
I heartily recommend it.