The Regions Beyond: Impacting the World From a Small Church in a Small Town

By John Gooding

Book Overview

This is a story of transformation. It is a story of evangelism, discipleship and church planting. It is a story of reaching the nations of the world with the gospel. It is an exciting story. In 1970 the Prescott Foursquare Church in Arizona was struggling. It had been morally violated and broken. It was a small abused congregation. At that time, Prescott was a rural town of about 17,000 persons in northwestern Arizona. Wayman Mitchell took the pastorate of the Prescott Foursquare Church in January. The addition of his family increased the size of the congregation to about two-dozen persons. From this small congregation in a small rural community God has raised a movement that has impacted the world. The Christian Fellowship Ministries (CFM), as it is now called, has birthed over twenty-two hundred churches located in one hundred and sixteen nations of the world. This story is meaningful to layman and minister alike. It is meaningful for the broader Christian community. This story tells how God can use common men and women and the common things of humanity to minister in the regions beyond.America in the 1970s was experiencing the Jesus People Movement (JPM). That movement changed America and impacted much of the western world. Principles from that movement became part of the CFM. The language of transformation was common to the Jesus people. When witnessing, they commonly cited Romans 12:1-2. The Prescott ministry picked up the importance of transformation for individuals and the church.The Great Commission also stirred Jesus people. There was urgency about wining the world to Jesus The biblical and theological foundation for evangelism, discipleship and church planting of the Christian Fellowship Ministry starts with this commission found in Matthew 28:16-20. The ministry of the CFM was not the plan of a man or group of people. It was by trial and error, a decision here and a decision there, and out of some things that seemed to work that the ministry of the CFM evolved. It was not the discovery of a new doctrine or the rediscovery of an old one. It was not the implementation of a program that transformed the CFM. It was the discovery of what God was doing and implementing that in the Prescott church. The deeper discovery was that God was restoring the dignity of the local church. The indigenous church principle and the making of disciples propelled the mission forward.This book is intended to provide an example of what God can do with people who simply try and follow God. Based on biblical and Christian principles it is intended to inspire persons to the work of God. And it is intended to inspire ministers to the possibilities of God when faced with the impossibilities of the world.This story uncovers the core elements that led a broken church out of brokenness to spiritual health and world impact. This is not a history, formula for revival, or step-by-step guide for church growth. It is an example of what God can do with a common people who seek to faithfully obey God.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1541040155
• ISBN13: 9781541040151
• Release Date: December 2016
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.4" x 6.0"