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: 20 TVP-2016-txt-ART.indd 20 Review copy—not for distribution. SETTING THE SCENE 16/03/2016 6:46 PM