Does Your Church Have a Prayer? Leader's Guide : In Mission Toward the Promised Land

Does Your Church Have a Prayer? presents a model of revitalization, transformation, and discipleship for congregations to fulfill Jesus' prayer in John 17. Your church can move from maintenance to mission, from defending current realities to living into a joyful future.

The authors provide pastors and church leaders with a step-by-step planning guide that will equip them for the task of leading the church in a scripturally grounded visioning and strategic ministry planning process.

"Every church has a prayer," they write. "Envisioning a promised land of discipleship, Jesus prayed his followers would live in joy and unity to the glory of God. …Your church has a prayer for entering the promised reality for which Jesus prayed. People in your community of faith can live a vision of faith."

This Leader's Guide begins with biblical examples of spiritual leadership. Brown, Murray, and Briggs offer important thoughts on choosing, equipping, and encouraging leaders to collaborate in discernment. By applying biblical principles, churches will move from inward focus to ministry.

The time has come for your congregation to make intentional choices about its present and future. Live your way into transformation. As one reviewer says, "Implementing the learnings from this book will take a congregation where it has never been before. The promised land awaits."

Marc Brown is the Director of Connectional Ministries for the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. He served 24 years as pastor of small, mid and large churches in rural, suburban and urban settings. Churches where he served as lead pastor experienced 50 to 100 percent growth in attendance and giving. Marc served 7 years as Richmond District Superintendent in Virginia. He chaired the Virginia Conference task force to implement a plan for beginning 250 new faith communities.

Kathy Merry retired at the age of 42 from a whirlwind career in the health industry. She rose through the ranks to the executive level where her tenure encompassed several executive positions including vice-president and general manager for individual lines and senior vice-president for service operations. After a number of turnaround assignments, an IPO and 3 mergers, she retired to reacquaint herself with her family and see what else God has in store for her. She currently serves as a consultant to various small businesses and non-profit groups as well as on the Board of Directors for several philanthropic organizations.

After almost 20 years as a senior manager in various small to large companies, and several years managing his own businesses, John Briggs left this career to enter the pastoral ministry at age 49. John's expertise was in company "turn-arounds" and business expansion. This background provided a unique foundation for his interest in church renewal and growth. John presently serves a pastoral appointment in the Virginia Conference.