Premise of the Book:
Congregations must be willing to assess themselves and be willing to discern their ability, willingness and commitment to accepting their unique call and season of ministry in their respective communities.

What the Book Does:
“Choosing the Faithful Path” is an excellent resource for congregations who need to examine viability of their ministry and future. The authors designed each chapter to incorporate worship, scripture, prayer, Christian conferencing and Holy Communion. Further, this resource uses Wesleyan heritage and “The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church” as a guide to undergird the process. They employ an acronym for the process called S.O.A.P., which stands for: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan.

Contents:

Introduction: Choosing the Faithful Path
Chapter One: Setting Clear Expectations
Part One: Assessing Ourselves
Chapter Two: How We Follow as Leaders
Chapter Three: At the Heart of Ministry
Chapter Four: Making Disciples who Make Disciples
Chapter Five: Serving Our Neighbors in Need
Part Two: Assessing Our Neighbors
Chapter Six: Who Are Our Neighbors?
Chapter Seven: Being the One Body of Christ
Part Three: Assessing Our Ability, Willingness, and Commitment
Chapter Eight: Choosing the Faithful Path
Part Four: Choosing the Faithful Path
Chapter Nine: Choosing to Re-Innovate
Chapter Ten: Choosing Transition to Legacy
Chapter Eleven: Committing with a Plan
A Service of Holy Communion
Worksheet for Survey of Neighboring Churches

What are the Important Insights:
The overall process developed by the authors is thorough, but not complex and could be facilitated by anyone. Part Three of the book, “Assessing Our Ability, Willingness, and Commitment” provides any congregation with questions and a process to see where energy and focus needs to be placed.

Possibilities as a resource for churches:
Persons who are interested in revitalizing or repurposing local churches will find this resource a valuable tool for assessment and planning for their ministry future.