Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-202).

From maintenance to missional : the church in a world of change -- Be church and be changed : how missional churches live their passion -- The nine essential practices of missional churches -- Missional practice #1 : have a high threshold for membership -- Missional practice #2 : be real, not real religious -- Missional practice #3 : teach to obey rather than to know -- Missional practice #4 : rewrite worship every week -- Missional practice #5 : live apostolically -- Missional practice #6: expect to change the world -- Missional practice #7 : order actions according to their purpose -- Missional practice #8: measure growth by capacity to release, not retain -- Missional practice #9 : value sectarian accomplishments but value kingdom more -- Structures and strategies for becoming missional -- They run rapids in rubber rafts : church structures that can survive the rapids of cultural change -- Seeing beyond the horizon : new leaders for new times -- Moving to missional : becoming a new kind of church.

Discover the tools to create a new kind of church and move from merely surviving to thriving. Drawing on an extensive two-year field study of 200 churches from a variety of denominations and geographic regions, Milfred Minatrea--a missiologist, urban strategist and practioner in ministry--presents the best practices for re-energizing Christian spirituality in a congregational setting. He provides readers with the tools for assessing their congregation's position on the continuum between maintenance and mission and for determining the actions that will move them toward becoming a missional community. He also outlines key strategies that successful churches have used to become relevant in a postmodern society without losing what is distinctly Christian in their spiritual practices.