Tired of following the latest church-growth fad? In many churches, building vision means embracing the ideas of the latest guru and jumping from one program to another. Ministry decisions are made according to the crisis of the moment or the pressures of the bottom line. Long-term planning can seem like an impossible dream. This book offers something different. Here are ideas that have stood the test of time--ideas from the most significant Christian leaders of the last five hundred years. Your church can implement key strategies from the lives and writings of the reformers:

• Gain a vision for truth.
• Renew your quest for holiness.
• See how delighting in God will inspire your worship.
• Bring renewal with a biblical model of revival.
• Build leaders with a time-tested plan for discipleship.
• Energize your vision for missions.
• Grow together with key principles of Christian community.

And who makes up the panel of expert consultants who will guide your vision for lasting change? None other than Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, William Carey, John Wesley, Richard Baxter, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and more. Each of the ten great ideas found in this book provides a biblically based and historically rooted vision for your church over the long haul. Do you want to revitalize the work of your church? Here are ten of the best ways in history to make it happen.

Mark Shaw is the director of the Centre for World Christianity at Africa International University in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the author of a number of books, including Work, Play, Love: A Visual Guide to Calling, Career and the Mission of God, Global Awakening: How Twentieth Century Revivals created a Religious Revolution and The Kingdom of God in Africa: A Short History of African Christianity. Mark and his wife Lois divide their time between the United States and Kenya, where they have worked for over twenty-five years. Mark studied world Christianity at the University of Edinburgh (MTh) and the history of Christianity at Westminster Theological Seminary (ThD). He enjoys speaking to churches and campus groups across North America on topics related to his books. He loves listening to Dylan, following the Red Sox and hanging with his grandsons.