Over the past year, the Connections Ministry Team has been slowly digesting the book, “Scrappy Church” by Thom Rainer. Throughout the book, the author explains what it takes for a church to make necessary changes to remain relevant and impactful to a world desperately needing to hear the message of Christ’s love.

    

He defines a “scrappy church” as one that has leaders and members who refuse to give up and believe the best days of the church are yet to come. Their leaders are excited about the present and future and don’t see limitations but see God’s possibilities.

    

To be a church that assimilates to reaching the lost and one that develops disciples in today’s world, there are some transitions suggested by Rainer:

• Move from excuses to ownership. We need to own the actions and decision needed to make changes, to make disciples more effectively and stop making excuses, including: we are not as big as the church across town, our budget just isn’t big enough, we don’t have the right people to lead, etc.
• Move from obstacles to allies. We need to work to convert critics, bullies, and undependable church members into thriving, encouraging, and unstoppable ministry partners through love explained in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5.
• Move from limitation to abundance. God has given PHBC the resources we need to carry out the ministry he has planned for us. We just need to release these resources from our tight grip and let him use them! Remember, “my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).