In this practical resource Myrlene Hamilton challenges church members to stop going to church and start being the church, a transformation that will bring renewal to personal lives as well as to the congregation as a whole. Emphasizing the pastor's role as equipper of the laity, she recognizes that the members are ministers with unique gifts to use in the life of the church. As discover their gifts and begin to use them, they will live out the truth of what it means to be the body of Christ. Hamilton includes information on using a spiritual gifts inventory with your congregation, as well as study questions with each chapter and several workshop designs for using the program with grouns.

Myrlene L. 1. Hamilton, an ordained Presbyterian pastor, holds M. Div. and D. Min. degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary. She and her husband co-pastor Morning Star Presbyterian Church, an emerging congregation in Bayville, New Jersey.