Gospel DNA

I cannot imagine that any church serious about Jesus, his gospel, and his Word could not make excellent use of this short book that engagingly articulates old “ministry values” in fresh and memorable ways. Don’t be satisfied with one copy; buy a box of them and distribute them widely.

It is often said that gospel truth is not merely the means for conversion but is also a shaping power for all Christian life and ministry. But such a statement is often followed by generalities. Richard Coekin has developed a robustly biblical and eminently practical handbook for applying the gospel to the ministry of the local church. I recommend it!

Acts 20:17-38 summarizes St. Paul’s timeless apostolic wisdom for the vitality of the church. The gospel DNA of this classic text has been helpfully distilled by Richard Coekin, a pioneering church-planter and church-planting-movement leader serving in contemporary secular London. His biblically rich, Christ-centred insights will encourage you to bolder evangelism, greater care for the integrity of the church and more careful exposition of the Scriptures. Be warned, this little book may inspire you to plant a church as the Gospel’s DNA replicates itself in your community.

I have the highest possible regard, and gratitude to God, for the work of Co-Mission so faithfully led by Richard Coekin over these recent years. This book contains not only a faithful and masterful exposition of Acts 20, but also numerous helpful insights on Gospel churches and Christian leadership from one who has been greatly used by God in our generation. It will be a most useful study for church leaders, and leadership teams - I recommend it wholeheartedly.

One of our great needs is to have our hearts attuned to the heart of God. Richard’s book, "Gospel DNA", serves this need wonderfully. And it does this by going straight to a passage rich with the themes and values of a gospel heart, Acts 20. The book is clear, easy to grasp, but deeply profound in its simplicity—and hugely practical and useful. A book to read and share.

There can be no better teacher on Christian discipleship, ministry and church planting than the apostle Paul. And I can’t think of anyone who could do a better job of applying his principles to today than Richard Coekin. I highly recommend this book.

A gem of a book which takes us back to the heart of gospel ministry—compelling us to keep teaching God's Word, pastoring his flock, seeking the lost and standing firm for biblical truth in a hostile culture. Immensely practical, biblically insightful, very humbling, and packed with helpful, personal examples. Brilliant!

Richard Coekin’s ministry speaks for itself. Under Richard’s leadership over the past twenty years, God has grown Dundonald Church and the Co-Mission initiative to become a vibrant church-planting movement in London that has planted Anglican and Independent evangelical churches with a vision to reach the lost with the good news of the Lord Jesus. In this short but incisive book he explains the 21 principles for faithful and effective gospel ministry that have been embedded in the culture of Co-Mission. This is not a “how to” book, but rather a powerful challenge to keep preaching the unchanging apostolic gospel in the contemporary context, and to ensure that our ministries are shaped by apostolic priorities rather than mere pragmatism. These principles are applicable in every local church situation, which makes this book an ideal resource to help church leaders and church leadership teams re-evaluate their vision, programme and ministries. The immense gospel need in the UK today would perhaps begin to be addressed if every local church in the country were to reflect the gospel DNA outlined in this book.