Remissioning Church

“The demands of ministry are such that it can be easy for an established church’s vision to be reduced to mere survival. In Remissioning Church, Joshua Hayden gives established churches a remarkable gift: an inspiring, practical, field-tested road map to rediscovering one’s calling as a community on mission.”

“Born out of Josh Hayden’s doctoral study and decades of pastoring, Remissioning Church shows what a true field guide is: expertise and lived out work. Josh’s invitation is simple: does the church matter to the community it resides in? The underlying sense woven throughout all of Remissioning Church is that Josh answers ‘yes’ because he steadfastly loves the church.”

“Here’s the book that is needed by about 90 percent of all churches and 100 percent of all clergy in North America. Josh Hayden’s book is an enthusiastic invitation to today’s congregations to refit themselves for vital participation in Christ’s mission. Practical, proven, biblical, and very wise, Remissioning Church is destined to help scores of churches find their way into the future.”

“This book is a must-read for church leaders grappling with the challenges of guiding a congregation into a future both faithful to the gospel and meaningfully engaged with the needs and longings of their community. Hayden offers a thoughtful and practical vision for remissioning, and his humility and lived experience bring heart and credibility to every page. Hayden doesn’t shy away from the difficulty of the journey but equips leaders with the tools and courage to embrace it. For those seeking to inspire and sustain meaningful change, this book is both a guide and a trusted companion.”

“Not a few pastors of plateaued and declining churches have asked with Ezekiel of old, ‘Can these bones live?’ In Remissioning Church, Josh Hayden responds to this age-old question with fresh, insightful, and actionable answers. I encourage you to have the courage and the care to read, reflect upon, and then act upon this wise, winsome, and practical book that enables us to see and to say again and anew, ‘Resurrection happens!’”

“Many today struggle to accurately address church decline and the need for a fresh approach to the mission of the church. With a passion for pastors to step confidently into a new day for their church ministry, Dr. Josh Hayden draws from his own research and pastoral experience to demonstrate a transformational process of resetting the missional direction of the church for the immediate ministry context and beyond. Through careful introspection of the church’s past and present journey, Dr. Hayden provides relevant and tested steps into a new vision for the pastor and the church.”

“Most churches in the West, including church plants of the last couple of decades, are in desperate need today of rediscovering their purpose in radically changed contexts and taking the necessary steps to restructure their lives together for the sake of God’s mission–the work of remissioning. I can think of no one better to guide us in that work than my friend and collaborator Josh Hayden. Here’s a work of hope and courage, filled with great love for the church and God’s kingdom and with grounded wisdom for the leadership needed for remissioning congregations.”

“In Remissioning Church, Josh Hayden masterfully calls the church back to its essence—a humble, vibrant community empowered by the Spirit to embody God’s transformative love. Through stories, wisdom, and prophetic challenge, this book invites leaders and congregations to confront fear, embrace vulnerability, and pursue authentic renewal. Avoiding quick fixes and shiny solutions, Hayden instead charts a path of intentional discipleship and courageous pruning. This book is a clarion call for churches to thrive in Christ’s mission—a gift to anyone longing to see the church reawakened.”

“I wonder where this book has been all my ministry? All my life? For decades evangelicals planted churches. Now the cool kids want to turn around failing churches. But it’s so much harder. Josh Hayden has the scars to show he knows it. And ‘revitalize’? I’ll never use the word again. Hayden’s ‘remission’? More of this, please, Lord Jesus.”

“Josh Hayden offers a terrific field guide to the work of the post-pandemic church that invites existing congregations to ministries of integrity and relevance in a changed and changing world.”

Josh Hayden is the cofounder and copresident of Iwa Collaborative, which helps leaders fly high and and live low as they lead through change processes in their community. He runs remissioning trainings through Iwa Collaborative across various denominational, non-denominational, and global networks. Hayden is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Ashland, Virginia. He has worked and led in nonprofit organizations, church plants, and established churches. He has a doctorate in leadership and organizational change from Duke Divinity School and is the author of Sacred Hope. He serves on the boards of numerous nonprofits, and he and his family live near Richmond, Virginia.