Book samples The Vine Project (Contents and Introduction) - Page 16

How to make best use of this book
It should be pretty clear by this point that this is a book to use and
not just read, because answering the Big Question in your own
context will require a thoughtful process over time, not a silverbullet prescription from some ministry guru.
Here are a few pointers on how to make the best use of The
Vine Project.
Firstly, the process we outline is not just for churches. It’s for
any ministry that has the potential to have its culture changed in
the direction of disciple-making. For example, you may be reading
this as a youth ministry leader, or as the leader of your church’s
men’s or women’s ministry. You may be the leader of a parachurch mission group or fellowship of some kind. If you are
leading a group of Christians, and have the authority and capacity
to shape the direction and activities of that group over time, then
The Vine Project is for you.
In fact, even if you are reading this as the senior pastor of a
church, you may wish to run a pilot ‘Vine Project’ in just one part
of your congregational life (say, in the youth ministry or in one of
the congregations that make up your overall parish or church)
before rolling it out more broadly.
Secondly, The Vine Project is not just for existing churches and
fellowships. If you’re about to start something brand new—
whether a new church plant, or a new ministry of some other
kind—working through The Vine Project is an ideal way to establish
a strong disciple-making culture from the outset. Most of the
suggested exercises and activities in The Vine Project assume an
existing ministry in which you’re seeking to bring a culture
change—but nearly all of them are very easily adaptable to a new
ministry starting from scratch.
Thirdly, whatever your context, the first step for you as a
ministry leader of some kind is to read through the whole book
yourself to get a sense of its theology and message, and of the
process we’re going to work through. This first read through has
two main purposes:

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SETTING THE SCENE

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