PASSION & PURPOSE: Believing the Church Can Still Change the World by Jimmy Seibert to Release April 7, 2014
Waco, TX (PRWEB) March 13, 2014 -- When a group of people commits to intentionally listening to God and radically obeying His word, it’s no surprise that an incredible story unfolds. Now, in the upcoming book PASSION & PURPOSE: Believing the Church Can Still Change the World (Clear Day Publishers), Jimmy Seibert, Senior Pastor of Antioch Community Church and President of Antioch Ministries International, tells the firsthand account of a church that is cultivating a global impact. With an intentional focus on intimacy with Jesus, discipleship, church planting and evangelism, Antioch Ministries International has become one of the fastest growing evangelical movements in the country as well as a common case study among students of church planting and mission work.
Based out of the Antioch Community Church of Waco, Texas, the Antioch Ministries International movement is spearheaded by Seibert. Seibert experienced a powerful encounter with God during his college years. The trajectory of his life was changed, and eventually the lives of thousands of people around the world.
After deciding to follow Jesus at any cost, Seibert started Antioch Community Church in one of poorest, most crime-ridden and drug-infested part of Waco. Along with a small group of like-minded believers, Seibert embarked on a journey to simply say “yes” to the next thing God was doing. The result has been an astounding adventure of walking with the Holy Spirit, building intimate community, and living with radical intentionality.
“God has called us to be a people who passionately pursue Him with all our hearts and are deeply committed to His purposes. Nothing more. Nothing less. Now after 26 years, we feel like we can tell our story with integrity,” explains Seibert, when asked about the timing of this book about Antioch and his personal journey. Seibert speaks with humility. A leader who has purposefully avoided the spotlight, Seibert prefers the role of teacher who seeks to encourage and motivate the church. “We have a heart for the body of Christ to believe in the church again, and to know that Jesus is enough.”
The once small gathering has turned into a network of 78 churches around the world in 24 nations, with 30 churches in the United Stated alone. At the original Waco, Texas home base, more than 3,000 people now attend regularly, with 170 Lifegroups meeting in members’ homes across the city.
Since its infancy, the church has focused on growing in relational and spiritual depth at home, and sending the message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The movement has inspired hundreds of Antioch members to leave their lives of comfort to proclaim the Gospel around the world, often in remote and even hostile environments. Currently, Antioch has more than 200 long-term missionaries who are active around the globe.
In 2001, two of Antioch’s missionaries who were in Afghanistan, Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry, were arrested and held prisoner by the Taliban. The captivity—and the missionaries’ miraculous rescue—became a major international news story after the 9/11 attacks, bringing Antioch’s evangelical intentionality into the international conversation.
PASSION & PURPOSE: Believing the Church Can Still Change the World chronicles the movement’s humble beginnings, shares testimonies of powerful encounters with God along the way, and inspires with its rock-solid belief that the local church is God’s “Plan A” for reaching the corners of the earth with the good news of Jesus Christ. The book explains Antioch’s vision to be a people with “a passion for Jesus and His purposes in the earth.”
Early responses to PASSION & PURPOSE have begun pouring in. Max Lucado has been acquainted with Seibert and the vision for Antioch Community Church for many years. In the book foreword, Lucado states, “To visit Antioch Community Church is to visit the book of Acts; To hear their passion is to hear the heart of God; To listen to their stories of global impact makes you realize…it can happen today!”
Many other luminaries are giving their endorsement as well:
“Passion and Purpose. Two words that resonate deeply with me and my love for the church. But this commitment and belief in the church is shared with amazing people like Pastor Jimmy Seibert. His endurance and loyalty to the local church has opened the door for many to hear the Gospel, receive salvation, and be empowered to impact their community, both locally and globally. My prayer is that his words equip and empower you to change the world through the power of the Gospel.”
Christine Caine, Hillsong Church, Australia, and Founder, The A21 Campaign
“At a time when many churches have become ingrown and are struggling for survival, Antioch Community Church has discovered the key to relevance and spiritual vitality. Reflecting the New Testament principle that the local body of Christ exists to reach the nations, Antioch is effectively mobilizing and discipling believers to impact a lost world for the glory of God. Hundreds of Antioch missionaries are engaging unreached people groups around the world; the Antioch movement has spawned dozens of church plants throughout the United States, primarily among university communities, replicating the evangelizing, discipling, sending paradigm that represents the cutting edge for fulfilling the Great Commission.” - Jerry Rankin, President Emeritus, International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention
PASSION & PURPOSE: Believing the Church Can Still Change the World
By Jimmy Seibert
In Stores and online April 7, 2014
Hard Cover Retail: $19.99 Publisher: Clear Day Publishing
ISBN: 978-0989727709
http://www.antiochcc.com
http://www.cleardaypublishing.com
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For more information, to receive a review copy of PASSION & PURPOSE or to schedule an interview with Jimmy Seibert, please contact:
Lori Lenz-Heiselman
714-553-5181
Lori(at)FrontGateMedia(dot)com
Lori Lenz-Heiselman, FrontGate Media, +1 714-553-5181, [email protected]
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