I may be two years late in offering my feedback, but this book stirred some dreams in my soul - so much so that I've ordered a copy for markup and have told multiple church leaders about it - including our own pastor. While not all the ideas seem practical, Viars continually stresses to do what works within your own community and church versus offering a carbon copy of what has worked for them. It's not a manual on how to run a specific outreach pr achieve prescribed growth, but an encouragement and some stepping stones to reframe your own ideas about serving your community.

I love the practical tools found throughout Loving Your Community by Stephen Viars. Throughout each chapter there are different ideas of how you can impact your community for the Kingdom of God. This is a book you not only read but get up and apply what is found inside.

I found this book quite encouraging in reiterating the need to love those around you. There wasn't a lot of new information to me, but I still gleaned a lot of exhortation to love my neighbors.

Stephen Viars was one of my counseling teachers and I was eager to get his book to get to know what was the process they followed when his church started to get engaged with their community. I always think every church has a lot of space and resources with installations but no one uses them or just once or twice a week. I think this book would be challenging for pastors.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was SO GOOD. I love how it gave very clear, applicable examples for churches to follow. This right here is exactly what we want for our church plant! I think every pastor/ministry leader/member of a church should read this book.

This book did exactly what the title suggests, gave a clear outline of how to love our community. I found it to be very well written with scriptural basis and biblical examples of serving well and also practical applications for any leader willing to be creative in impacting their community for the kingdom. I felt some of the suggestions were more for a bigger church or at least a bigger community, however, there was still a lot that would apply in any context. This is a book I will most likely reflect upon in various communities we find ourselves ministering as I’m sure it will provoke creative and out of the box thinking with regards to serving.

I love to see churches that impact their communities. Stephen Viars, pastor of Faith Church in LaFayette, Indiana, calls churches to demonstrate love and service in their communities in Loving Your Community: Proven Practices for Community-Based Outreach Ministry. As often as churches get caught up in denominational politics, theological nit-picking, and cultural commentary, they (ok, we) miss their purpose of sharing the love of God with their community.



Viars's basic rule for churches is: "We ought to be guided by the principle "Say yes unless you have to say no." He writes that "wise churches look for every opportunity to share love and resources with those around them." He offers very practical ideas from his church's experiences.



I was surprised by his first recommendation. "One of the first ministries I would lead the church family to start would be a community-based biblical counseling ministry because of the wonderful opportunity it affords to love your community." I wouldn't have guessed this would be first priority, but it makes sense, in that it opens doors for relationships, personal ministry, and impacting individuals' lives.



In the bigger picture, Viars touts the idea of churches as community centers. Rather than a building that sits dark six and a half days a week, our churches should be hives of activity for people from the community. I love this idea. We might be too tied to our buildings being used for "holy" purposes, but what is more holy than bringing people in and creating opportunities to love and serve them.



Throughout the book, I kept thinking, Wow, these ideas will take a ton of time, personnel, and money to implement. That's partly true, but he offers some help there, too. And once a church catches this vision, it will snowball and grow.



While Viars's vision may seem out of reach to many in traditional churches, his presentation will force you to stop and think about the purpose of the church and the potential your church has for reaching your community. What higher calling is there?





Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!