And: The Gathered and Scattered Church

It's time to stop asking the old questions about how to do church better and instead ask how churches can more effectively participate in and grow God's kingdom. AND helps Christian leaders recognize the best in different church models and see how to incorporate these values into a cohesive church movement.

By the numbers, the American church enjoys the resources to profoundly impact the Kingdom. But despite the rapid growth of these evangelical movements, the church in the West is in decline. A growing schism has emerged between the movement with a strong emphasis on attracting people and the more missional communities that focus on releasing people into ministry.

Church resource specialists Hugh Halter and Matt Smay have been observing these different church models, and they challenge the idea that churches have to choose between them—between the attractional and missional approaches to ministry.

With professional insight and practical advice, Halter and Smay dial in on how to bring together the very best of the attractional AND missional models for church ministry by exploring:

• The balance between gathering a community together AND scattering them into the world.
• The harmony between centralization AND decentralization in church structure.
• The mindset necessary to invest in both the traditional AND the innovative.
• The drive to maintain both a vision for the future AND a depth of community for the present.

As churches begin to develop these ANDs, they will be better positioned to influence the world according to the design of God instead of the whims of the people or the pride associated with production.

Hugh Halter is the national director of Missio, serving as a mentor to a global network of missional leaders and church planters. He is lead architect of Adullam, a congregational network of missional communities in Denver, Colorado (www.adullamdenver.com), and is the coauthor of The Tangible Kingdom with Matt Smay.

Matt Smay serves as the director of the Missional Church Apprenticeship Practicum for Missio, where he works directly with church planters and existing church pastors as a mentor, coach, and consultant, and he is also a leader of Adullam. Matt lives near Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Maren, and daughter, Maegan. He is an avid golfer, loves mountain biking and fly-fishing, and enjoys the outdoors with his family.