Reimagining Church Outreach: Partnership Paradigms for Social Change

Are you a frustrated church or nonprofit leader with years of experience and yet fail to see real change in the lives of those you serve? Do you find yourself discontent with the status quo of how things are done but cannot seem to figure out what changes will really make the difference? Are your staff, partners, and volunteers feeling burnt out and disinterested in the work they once loved? Have your donors lost interest in your vision and failed to see any return on their investment?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you. You will learn why your efforts have only afforded you the thrill of seeing immediate, short-term gains. You will learn why many of your efforts fail and how to successfully reset yourself and your leaders to reimagine the way you have always done things. You will understand why your mental models serve as catalytic precursors for transformative social change to occur.

Sherita has a Kairos word for the Body of Christ concerning the failures of outreach and a collaborative and Servant Leadership approach to a solution. Her well-researched, biblically-based manuscript demonstrates that challenges and failures are systemic, and thus the strategy for a transformative solution must collaboratively address the systems.

Sherita addresses the biblical social role of the Church, church leadership, and Body of Christ and demonstrates how Servant Leadership is necessary for bringing about community and social transformation. "Long gone are the days where we could depend on the government to solve all of society's ills. Instead, we, as Christians, must recognize our responsibility to identify and participate in solving the many complex problems of our world." She even presents a case study demonstrating how lives transformed through discipleship can naturally flow into transforming an entire community. This furthers the credibility of the ideas and solutions presented in the manuscript.

The manuscript is framed from a belief of the author: "I believe God is calling His bride to join Him in higher endeavors that not only fill the belly but transform lives by guiding them out of bondage into the freedom of life in Christ Jesus."

Dr. Diane Wiater

Regent University