Reconnecting the Church

About the Book

Reconnecting the Church is offered as a practical guide to assist pastors and laypeople in understanding the city, engaging, and serving the local community in which the church is located. The book’s purpose is to come along side the local church that wishes to reconnect to its local community, and offer practical ways to accomplish that task. There are 25 chapters each of which describes briefly an aspect of life in the city. At the end of each chapter are practical action/reflection projects. These projects are designed to give the reader first-hand experience of their church’s immediate neighborhood. They are specific tasks, most of which will be done outside the church. Each action is described, and guidance is given for reflection after each project.

About the Author

Dr. J. Timothy (Tim) Kauffman was a pastor and urban church planter for twelve years in West Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany. While in Frankfurt, he mentored young German pastors and church planters. Most recently he served for eight years as pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Cambridge, MA. It is a multi-cultural church near bustling Central Square. Three additional congregations worship in the building: Cambridge Community Fellowship Church (an international church), a Haitian, and a Cape Verdean congregation. There is also a large Chinese Bible Study Group (Cantonese and Mandarin) that uses the building every Friday evening. In addition to pastoring his congregation, he also coordinated the scheduling of time and space for the multi-congregational community. In 1996, he earned his Ph.D. in Inter-Cultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. His doctoral studies sought to outline the contours of theological education and ministry formation for contextually appropriate ministry in the city. His dissertation is entitled, Wesleyan Pastoral Effectiveness in Urban Culture from a Trait and Value Perspective. He has taught graduate courses in pastoral formation, urban studies, and leadership as an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University’s Haggard Graduate School of Theology, Gordon-Conwell Seminary (CUME), and several additional colleges and universities. He has also taught and consulted in Armenia, Korea, Guatemala, and Ecuador. He co-authored with Edgar Elliston, Developing Leaders for Urban Ministries, and contributed a chapter in the book, God So Loves the City. He has also authored numerous articles on related subjects.