Let the Word Dwell Richly: The Vital Power of the One-Another Word

Since its publication, The Trellis and Vine – co-authored by Tony Payne and Colin Marshall – has been widely commended for its articulation of a clear ministry vision: every Christian committing themselves to the task of making and growing disciples.

However, The Trellis and Vine proposed something more than just the conventional mantra of ‘every-member ministry’. It proposed ‘every-member word ministry’.

Naturally, readers had questions.

• What’s the nature of this word ministry that all church members are expected to do? What does it actually look like?
• How does it relate to preaching? Is it doing a different thing?
• Is this just one option for growing a church? Or is it the right option? What does the Bible say?
• Even if we agree in theory, how do we make it a practical reality?

So Tony Payne set out to do more thinking and provide some answers. Nearly ten years and a PhD later, he has discovered two very surprising realities: firstly, how little theological reflection and writing there has been on this topic; yet, secondly, how extensively the Bible talks about it.

In Let the Word Dwell Richly, Tony Payne brings a new rigour and depth to the ministry mind-shift that will revolutionize the effectiveness of the ministry we pursue in our churches.

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“I doubt I’ll read a better book this year … a gift to pastors and churches that I pray is widely read.” – Mark Dever, pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC, USA

“The Trellis and the Vine was only the beginning … Tony Payne now takes us to the beating heart of biblical disciple-making.” – Champ Thornton, author and director of children and family resources at Crossway, Wheaton, IL, USA