What Jesus Started

Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year

Sometimes we get so caught up in the power of Jesus shouting from the cross, "It is finished!" that we forget that Jesus started something. What Jesus started was a movement that began small, with intimate conversations designed to build disciples into apostles who would go out in the world and seed it with God's kingdom vision. That movement grew rapidly and spread wide as people recognized the truth in it and gave their lives to the power of it. That movement is still happening today, and we are called to play our part in it.



Steve Addison (DMin, Fuller Theological Seminary) has a calling to fuel movements that multiply disciples and churches—everywhere. He and his wife Michelle lead MOVE, an Australia-based mission agency dedicated to making disciples and multiplying churches around the world. Steve began his research into Christian movements in the late 1980s while serving as a church planter in Melbourne, Australia, and he is the author of Movements That Change the World: Five Keys to Spreading the Gospel and What Jesus Started: Joining the Movement, Changing the World.

Preface


In the Beginning Was Jesus
Part One: What Jesus Began


1. Why Jesus Came


2. Let's Go Somewhere Else


3. Jesus' Gospel


4. Follow Me and I'll Teach You


5. I Will Build My Church


6. Time to Go


7. Church on the Porch
Part Two: What Jesus Continued to Do: The Twelve and the Early Church


8. Acts of the Risen Lord


9. Missionaries Without Borders


10. Eyewitness News


11. Obedience School


12. Life in the First Church

"When it comes to church health, the single greatest indicator is healthy, replicating disciples of Jesus. Addison thoroughly establishes a framework for discipleship by analyzing the ministry methods of Jesus, the early disciples and Paul, while interweaving several real-life stories of multiplying disciples and churches. What Jesus Started is an excellent, practical resource to help your church take significant steps toward becoming an effective movement of disciple-making disciples, which is what a healthy church is all about. The application of the ideas contained in this resource, empowered by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, would do wonders for cultivating a vibrant community of Christ followers!"



"Pointing back to Jesus at every turn, the evangelism principles outlined in What Jesus Started are highly applicable to everyone who calls themselves followers of Christ, especially believers young in their faith."



"From the pen of Steve Addison we hear the spirit of Roland Allen speaking to a new generation. Addison draws on biblical insights and illustrates them with modern case studies to challenge existing paradigms to return to the New Testament ethos. Fortunately, Addison does more than challenge paradigms; he offers a practical guide to begin implementing this in your community."If you prefer to enjoy the comfort of your current situation, do not read this book. However, I encourage you to read it, implement the biblical principles and join the growing global community of disciples through whom the Master delights in starting fresh movements of God!"



"Do you want to plant a church, or do you want to allow God to use you to ignite and fuel a movement of churches? If it is the latter, then you need to wrestle through this book--with the Scriptures, the help of the Holy Spirit and some other disciples of Jesus."



"Among all the important writings about Jesus movements available today, this one contributes a strong focus on the patterns shared by both Jesus and Paul in the New Testament and is illustrated by Addison's aptitude for research with helpful examples of what God is doing today around the world. It therefore stands at the heart of what is essential and provides a helpful starting place for us all."



"In What Jesus Started, Steve Addison traces God's redemptive movements back to their source, Jesus of Nazareth. This is a readable, informative and inspirational resource that should guide the Great Commission community for years to come."



"In this highly accessible book, my old comrade Steve articulates something of the genius of Jesus' apostolic ministry in founding the movement that claimed his name. Jesus is the prototypal missionary. Therefore not only is his life worthy of moral and spiritual emulation, but his methodology is as well." weniger anzeigen expand_less