In recent decades, parachurch organizations have carved out an important space in church life and ministry.

Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Angie Ward about why it’s important for ministers to take a closer look at what the church is, what parachurch organizations bring to the mix, and how we can move forward more missionally, even as the emphasis on institutions diminishes.

Dr. Ward is director of the Doctor of Ministry program and associate professor of leadership and ministry at Denver Seminary. She’s also the author of Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional Extension, which is the basis for this conversation.

Links:

• Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional Extension
• Beyond the Local Church: How Apostolic Movements Can Change the World, by Sam Metcalf
• The Church and the Parachurch: An Uneasy Marriage (A Critical Concern Book), by Jerry E. White
• Polycentric Leadership: Church as a Discipleship Movement, with Dan White Jr. (The Church Lobby, Ep 039)
• Uncharted Leadership: 20 Case Studies to Help Ministry Leaders Adapt to Uncertainty, by Angie Ward

BONUS TALK

The Five Advantages Of Parachurch Organizations, with Dr. Angie Ward

Every parachurch ministry needs to flow from and/or point to the local church. So why do we need parachurch ministries, at all?

In this bonus conversation, Karl Vaters talks with Dr. Angie Ward about the five benefits that churches can gain from partnering with parachurch ministries in productive ways:

1. Reach
2. Specialization
3. Lay involvement
4. Promoting unity
5. To call the local church to mission

Links:

Beyond Church and Parachurch: From Competition to Missional Extension

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