Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “What Church Can Be: An Optimistic Vision with Some Blueprints” as Want to Read:
What Church Can Be: An Optimistic Vision with Some Blueprints
by
Are you committed to building a strong local church in a post-Christian context, but unsure what’s possible, or how to go about it?
What Church Can Be was written for you.
Pastor and church planter Matthew Kruse’s deeply loved hometown of Boston is a decidedly secular city where the gospel is primarily met with disinterest or disdain. The average Bostonian – wounded by one o ...more
What Church Can Be was written for you.
Pastor and church planter Matthew Kruse’s deeply loved hometown of Boston is a decidedly secular city where the gospel is primarily met with disinterest or disdain. The average Bostonian – wounded by one o ...more
Get A Copy
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
What Church Can Be,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about What Church Can Be
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
Showing 1-37
Start your review of What Church Can Be: An Optimistic Vision with Some Blueprints
So good.
I may be biased because I lived and pastored with Matt through much of this book. But I have not ever read a book with this combination of pastoral theology and raw intensity. There's nothing theoretical here. A book to repent with, a book to get inspired with, and a book to work through with your team as you solidify your church's local mission.
A profound book that deserves a wide audience. ...more
I may be biased because I lived and pastored with Matt through much of this book. But I have not ever read a book with this combination of pastoral theology and raw intensity. There's nothing theoretical here. A book to repent with, a book to get inspired with, and a book to work through with your team as you solidify your church's local mission.
A profound book that deserves a wide audience. ...more
It’s important to learn biblical truth, but it’s even more valuable to see biblical truth lived out. We need more than principles; we need examples.
I’m grateful for books on church planting and pastoral ministry, and I’ve learned a lot from them. Some books lean toward the truth side; they’re helpful because they’re timeless. Some books lean toward the application side; they’re helpful because they’re practical. What we really need, though, is both.
In other words, we need a book like this.
A THEO ...more
I’m grateful for books on church planting and pastoral ministry, and I’ve learned a lot from them. Some books lean toward the truth side; they’re helpful because they’re timeless. Some books lean toward the application side; they’re helpful because they’re practical. What we really need, though, is both.
In other words, we need a book like this.
A THEO ...more
What Church Can Be will make you experience so many emotions; laughter, tears, heartfelt reflection, wondering and so much more. This book is about what church and life can be when everyone makes the choice to be on mission for making the gospel the center of their lives. The author is genuine, honest, Bostonian without apology, godly, and reflective as he pens for us the experience of planting a church in the heart of Boston. At one point he says, "tears are the language of 'this matters,'" and
...more
I’ve been in church planting for almost ten years now, and have met a lot of jaded, cynical, burnout, and weary church planters. So it’s rare when you read a book by someone in a really hard context for a really long time providing an optimistic vision for What The Church Can Be (and not telling the secret to their magachurch success story!). Matthew Kruse offers a unique contribution that is part exegesis of Acts 20:18-35 (Paul’s Farewell Address to the Ephesians Elders), part memoir and church
...more
This book was such a perfect blend of memoir, guide book and call to greater things. It is not just for church planters but anyone who takes Christ's call to go into all the world seriously. I felt encouraged, nostalgic (as a Bostonian) and inspired to repent. Well written.
...more
Incredibly helpful and insightful. Laced with stories of humility and God receiving glory. Every pastoral ministry leader and church planter should read this book with an expectancy of repentance, joy, and readiness as a result.
This is a ‘blue collar’s’ guide to church planting. It is direct, doesn’t hold back on the joys, difficulties and impossibilities. It’s written by a seasoned practitioner and will be helpful to elders who want to plant new churches or move their church to a new degree of biblical health.
The author uses Acts 20: 17-38 as the framework of his book. All of it was good, Chapter 6 was especially impactful for me.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Matthew Kruse is the founding pastor of Seven Mile Road, a gospel-centered church just north of Boston. He and his wife Grace have four sons and daughters whom you'd love. Along with a handful of locals, Kruse planted the original Seven Mile Road in 2001 and has seen it become a family of churches stretching from Maine to the Cape. His work has been featured by The Gospel Coalition, Acts 29, Advan
...more
News & Interviews
Why not focus on some serious family drama? Not yours, of course, but a fictional family whose story you can follow through the generations of...
182 likes · 64 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
