Review - Share the Well

Share the Well is a gem of a book - a wonderful collection of stories, inspiration of a movement of God's people, and some stunning and unique photos that speak as richly as the words in the book. It has the look of a coffee table book (and a good one at that), but it's much more. The story of Share the Well is not one story, but many intertwined. It is the story of a passionate and loving family who, simply put, want to change the world. It's the story of a people who are receiving and sharing the Living Water of Jesus with a people who need to know God loves them. It's the story of pastors and missionaries who are laying it all out there. Most of all it's the story of a movement, not just of churches planted, but a growing network of people committed to living out the Great Commission - in the great country of India and around the globe.

Share the Well is a new book, written by Rob and Michelle Wegner of Granger Community Church. The Wegner's story sprang out of reading the Gospels and the book of Acts and yearning deeply, "I want to give my life to a movement like that." In Share the Well, we see that they have :) The approach in this movement is not simply to plant churches, but to train leaders, to instill purpose, to develop pastors and leaders to be capable trainers themselves, and to go beyond all this and train people about community development. 'All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.' This quote (by John Gardner) sheds some light on their approach both on meeting physical needs and on seeing exponential church growth occur through leadership development. All those involved are in for the long haul, and they're making a difference. 

As one who spent a year in India myself, I can echo the comments of other reviewers that this book will stir your emotions and bring back memories of a wonderful people. Whether your interest in the book is out of a love for India, and appreciation for stunning photography, or a love of simple yet rich stories that bring honor to God, you're going to love Share the Well.

(While I've not met Rob and Michelle personally, I feel like friends as I've prayed for their family and ministry for a while now, and we share a love of India and sharing the good news there. Rob is the Pastor of Life Mission at GCC and blogs at Entermission; his wife Michelle has a great blog Living on Purpose - check 'em out.)

Share the Well (Promo) from maustcreative.films on Vimeo.