Church Growth Hero - Dr. Ralph Winter - Church Leader Insights

Yesterday was the memorial service for Dr. Ralph Winter. I only met Dr. Winter one time at a missions planning meeting in Irvine, CA, but his writings and speaking have had a great impact on my thinking.

I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that Dr. Winter was the most influential missiologist of the second half of the 20th century. He was the founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission, William Carey International University, and the International Society for Frontier Missiology.

Beyond all of that, perhaps his most notable contribution to world missions was his introduction of the concept of “unreached people groups” in 1974. This led to a shift in thinking from a country by country approach to a more Biblical, “all peoples” approach to reaching the world for Christ.

I hope you’ll take a moment to thank God for Dr. Ralph Winter and for using him in such a powerful way to stoke the fire of world evangelization.

Dr. Ralph D. Winter
1924 – 2009

Here are a couple of Dr. Winter’s most influential works:

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.