Gaining by Losing is a call and challenge to return to what matters most as Christians—to go and make disciples. Whether a church or marketplace leader, sending and planting is in our job description as followers of Jesus. And J.D. is calling us to a higher standard and level of commitment. This is a challenge to leaders everywhere to take up the flag and mantle of going and doing, not just staying and sitting. Many of us need to be shocked from our comfortable church recliners and out into our neighborhoods, communities, and cities. Come on! Movements are about moving, and we are each part of the movement of God, the church, to scatter and be sent. I’m fired up after reading this book! And you will be too!
—BRAD LOMENICK, Speaker, leadership advisor; author of The Catalyst Leader and H3 Leadership; former president and key visionary, Catalyst and Catalyst Conferences
Faithfulness to the Great Commission means a commitment to church planting—both locally and globally. J.D. Greear understands this well. His new book, Gaining by Losing, argues on clear biblical grounds that healthy churches plant other churches, even at great cost to themselves and their resources. Church leaders who care about fidelity to Christ’s commission to his church will be encouraged and equipped by this book.
—R. ALBERT MOHLER JR., President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Gaining by Losing is a challenging and essential message for the church.
—LOUIE GIGLIO, Passion City Church/Passion Conferences, Atlanta, GA
J.D. Greear is my friend. I respect him, and I love the ministry of Summit Church. He’s done us all a huge favor by writing Gaining by Losing. Like J.D., this book is a theological, gospel-driven, Great Commission-shaped jewel. I can’t wait for you to read this book!
—DERWIN L. GRAY, Lead Pastor of Transformation Church, South Carolina; author of The High Definition Leader
With raw and compelling honesty, J.D. Greear shares with us his story of coming to terms with what Jesus considers “success”—namely, our sending capacity, not our seating capacity. He then helpfully walks us through the risky business of keeping our individual and corporate lives centered on discipleship, planting, and sending. Yes, it is a risky business, but it’s God’s business into which he invites us, and it’s a business that will produce a harvest for the fame of Christ and the good of our churches and our souls. Get it. Read it. Do it!
—STEVE TIMMIS, Executive Director of Acts 29
Wow! I rarely finish a book and feel like it took my breath away, but Gaining by Losing by J.D. Greear is nothing short of incredible. Healthy churches are sending churches. Healthy Christians are going Christians. I truly believe that all the concerns about the health of our churches could be alleviated if we practice the biblical truths in this book. It’s just that powerful.
—THOM S. RAINER, President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, www.ThomRainer.com
Christians are often tempted to forget that ...
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About Gaining By Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that SendPeople are leaving the church J.D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that’s exactly how he wants it to be. When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn’t how many people you can gather. It’s about training up disciples and then sending them out. The true measure of success for a church should be its sending capacity, not its seating capacity. But there is a cost to this. To see ministry multiply, we must release the seeds God has placed in our hands. And to do that, we must ask ourselves whether we are concerned more with building our kingdom or God’s. In Gaining By Losing, J.D. Greear unpacks ten plumb lines that you can use to reorient your church’s priorities around God’s mission to reach a lost world. The good news is that you don’t need to choose between gathering or sending. Effective churches can, and must, do both. |
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