One Of is a practical guide to transition your church into a movement of disciples who make disciples. It tells the compelling story of RiverTree (a church of more than 3,000 people), as they moved from a purely attractional model of church to become a missional church that is attractive.
One Of offers practical steps for every new or established church to begin the journey to missional life and church. In One Of you will discover:
- Simple discipleship tools to help followers of Jesus become disciples who make disciples.
- Thought provoking stories that will help you assess if you are genuinely For people, With people and One Of people.
- Steps to take to help you on the journey to becoming One Of.
- Principles of generosity, service and being “good enough” that will impact your neighbors and the communities in which you live and work.
- How to connect with networks of people that will enable you to share Jesus in a way that is non-threatening and life transforming.
"Here Alex and Greg team up to pool their hard won insights and long experience in leading the church in mission, laying out many of the practical steps they have taken in transitioning RiverTree into a discipling culture. It’s a great tool churches are advised to use it." –Alan Hirsch, Author of numerous books on missional Christianity, including Untamed and Right Here, Right Now (www.alanhirsch.org)
“This is a much-needed book about putting mission into practice! One Of: Beginning the Missional Journey by Alex Absalom and Greg Nettle is not more theory, but a practical handbook for how to live your life on mission. You and your team will want to read, discuss and live out these simple reproducible missional practices. This is the stuff of movements!” –Dave Ferguson, Lead Pastor Community Christian Church, Spiritual Entrepreneur of NewThing
"Absalom and Nettle create a visible threat to the kingdom of hell. Their example unfurls a wake of God’s love advancing with grit and tender authenticity. Anyone committed to making disciples of Jesus be warned 'these guys take it seriously and their example will compel you to take unhindered, honest, self-sacrificing, gut-stirring action.' Don’t just read One Of, crash the gates of hell by living it. Leaders who have the courage to do so will be used by God to ignite reformation-scale growth in the church. –Scott Todd, Compassion International and author of 58: Fast Living
Author(s)
Alex Absalom is a writer, thinker and above all practitioner on the art of leading in a disciple-making, mission-focused culture. He writes two or three times a week on intentional missional leadership at alexabsalom.com. He serves on the leadership of RiverTree Christian Church in northeast Ohio, where he has led the church into planting multiple dozens of mid-sized missional communities, along with the associated discipling structures. He also co-founded Synergy, which offers one-day conferences and learning communities for churches and leaders on the missional journey. Alex has been married to Hannah since 1994, and they have three naughty but charming sons. He is a passionate fan of Liverpool Football Club and is a connoisseur of both fine tea and good Scotch!
As President of Stadia—a global church planting organization—Greg Nettle has a God-given passion for the Church and its responsibility to plant new churches … churches specifically designed to reach out to children at physical and spiritual risk. He is an author, speaker and consultant as an agent of change in the global Church. For 25 years, Greg served as visionary leader of the RiverTree Movement in Ohio. During that time, the church grew from 100 to more than 3,000 people and from one to four campuses; helped plant 15 churches throughout Ohio and 13 in Latin America; and sponsored more than 2,000 children with Compassion International and involved more than 200 families in adoption. Greg came to RiverTree after beginning his ministry as a church planter in Dublin, Ireland. His sense of adventure has taken him around the world as he has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, Cotopaxi and Whitney among others to raise funds to bless children on the margins of society. Greg’s most important partner in life is his wife, Julie, as they lead their children, Tabitha and Elijah, to fall deeply in love with Jesus. He is the co-author of two books: 
One Of and Disciples Who Make Disciples, blogs regularly at gregnettle.com and tweets @gregnettle.
Sponsors
A special thanks to the sponsors of this eBook. This eBook is available to you thanks to their generosity. Please consider showing your gratitude to these sponsors by visiting their web sites.
Exponential is a growing community of leaders committed to accelerating the multiplication of healthy, reproducing faith communities. We equip movement makers with actionable principles, ideas and solutions. We are passionate about accelerating multiplication through movement makers!
Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults.
For the past few years, the term “Missional” has become commonplace – a Christian “buzz” word. Ironically, with all the people writing about what it means to lead or plant a Missional Church, there are not many resources to help with the practical nuts and bolts to make the theory reality. Synergy is a response to the growing need for a more missional approach to leadership development, making disciples and church planting.
The Provision Ministry Group is a family of non-profit ministries serving Christian churches and ministries across the United States and around the world. Provision was established in 2003 to provide direction, leadership and support services to a growing family of ministries that began with Church Development Fund in 1953.
Stadia Brings People and Churches Together to Transform Lives and Communities Through Church Planting.