The Last Disciple: A Contemporary Primer on the Theology and Practice of the American Pentecostal Movement

In an era of religious mass production, so many church models invest their energies toward gathering a crowd, singing songs, and preaching good sermons. Much of the focus is on the shop window. While this is important, it is not enough. Doing church is not enough. Churches that grow disciples don't simply attract a crowd, they provide a strategic theological basis for what they do, and that requires serious thinking about the methodology of church life. The Last Disciple is a book for those interested, not simply in doing church, but in asking hard questions about why we do what we do. Answers to these hard questions are the very basis of the foundation of the local church's existence. Rather than simply attracting a crowd, have you evaluated why your church does church? Have you ever felt that your church tradition has lost the meaning behind its existence? What would it look like if you recaptured your church's meaning? Is it possible to do this while bridging the relevancy gap of common culture? There will be different answers for different contexts, but this book will give you tools for thinking it through by asking the right questions.

David Pafford is District Youth and Christian Education Director for the Assemblies of God churches throughout Northern Missouri. He is a graduate of North Central University, Fuller Seminary, and William Woods University.