Any denomination, judicatory, or congregation that is serious about evangelism is serious about congregational development. Every missionary outpost, whether a start-up with a hundred members or an established congregation of thousands, has a congregational development challenge and opportunity. In the maintenance model, congregational development is not considered critical, and when it is implemented, it is generally limited to the starting of new congregations. In the missionary church, by contrast, congregational development is deemed critical and includes both start-up congregations and the growth of existing congregations. One of the contributions of the Diocese of Texas is its having tested the theory of the missionary church in its contemporary incarnation, providing proof that the model does work, that it does overcome the resistance of both clergy and laity, and that it is transformational for a diocese and its congregations.
Churches often wonder about the relevance of their denominational organization to their church.
This book shows a relevant model that churches can work to develop within their own denominational organization whether it is mainline or evangelical. Like the Episcopal Diocese of Texas has moved forward with the vision of a new missionary Church, local churches can be empowered to reach their full kingdom potential through a GlobaLocal vision of a new missionary church. This short-term successful model of a denominational organization that has transformed from a maintenance organization to a missionary organization should encourage mainline churches. They should also encourage their judicatory to observe and adopt the relevant portions of this model. Each church needs to wrestle with its own identity in a New Apostolic Age.