The Church of Jesus Christ in the 21st Century.
Jesus said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
What an amazing statement of purpose, the church becoming God`s representative on earth in every generation. A people filled with power and grace, their witness infused with love and compassion, their influence in community in particular and the world in general as potent and powerful as salt and light. A liberated community tasked to release the poor, the broken hearted and carry the good news to the ends of the earth.
If that is the divine purpose for the church then we must appreciate that continual growth both spiritually and numerically has to be its the driving purpose and passion. Yet honest assessment of the church in Britian and Europe may well bring us to other conclusions.
Ruth Gledhill, the religious correspondent for the "Times" newspaper comments that, "attendance in Britian is declinning so fast that the number of regular church goers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation."
If that is so, then all believers and church leaders must of necessity begin to look closely at the way they are doing church and begin not so much to ask the question, "what will make our church grow numerically and spiritually but what is it within our fellowships that is actually hindering that growth?"
To begin to answer that question it necessitates a clear and unambiguous assessment of how we understand church, its worship and witness, and how it can become an integral part of community. This study will include articles which are the outworking of both "theory and practice." Helpful titles authored by men and women who have experienced God`s blessing in their ministry and the various models of church developed through their service will be included in a seperate bibliography.