June 8, 2009
A professor of church growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, Gibbs catalogues the latest church trends, from so-called “missional” and “emerging” church formats to new monastic communities and alternative worship. The book is intended for a professional audience of ministry students and church leaders and provides short summaries of innovative churches in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. It calls attention to cultural and geographic changes that will challenge church leaders to adapt to new circumstances if they are to engage people in a 21st-century context. For example, Gibbs points out that preconceived church models, such as the big box megachurch, may not be culturally appropriate to today's ethnically diverse urban communities. In these settings, church members may be more eager to engage with social justice issues such as substandard housing and education in contrast to more self-focused, consumerist suburban churches. Still, Gibbs's book is intended more as a resource than an argument. He commends churches of all types that succeed in advancing the Christian mission.