Why is the Church of England report Mission Shaped Church so profoundly influential? Most likely because it highlights a real crisis – evangelism is simply not working in today’s pluralist, post-Christian, capitalist culture.

Mission-Shaped Evangelism is a landmark book that will renew our understanding of what the gospel - literally ‘the good news about Jesus’ – is for today’s cultures. It begins with a key challenge – do we believe God speaks in the cultural context, or only in the Christian tradition?

Part One- Listening to God in the cultural context explores the radically changing culture in which the church exists today, the rise of new spiritualities, the secularisation of society and religion’s increasingly dubious public image.

Part Two- Listening to God in the Christian tradition looks at key periods in Christian history as responses to cultural changes, from the ancient pagan world to modernist faith. What can we learn from the lessons of the past?

Part Three moves from theory to practice and tells great stories where innovative evangelism is taking place – from supermarkets to festivals to the internet.

Steve Hollinghurst is Researcher in Evangelism at the Church’s Army Sheffield Centre and has written on new spiritualities.