A study of the New Testament church in Antioch provides a biblical model of what healthy churches should look like today.

This is the fictional but true-to-life story of a missionary "John" and how he comes to the ministry-changing conclusion: "Missions is not what the church does for the missionary but through the missionary." The book also includes a manual and four-part plan for church missions committees or individuals.

The book explores the problems faced by the church in Antioch in the mid-first century CE once the decision was taken to welcome Gentiles into the church. Slee argues that a particular problem was the celebration of the Eucharist, since some Jewish Christians felt that the table-fellowship this involved inevitably brought the risk of contamination (because of Gentile contact with idolatry). She suggests this was the subject debated at the Jerusalem conference described in Acts 15 and Galatians 2, and it was the eventual decision of the Antioch church to hold separate Eucharists that led to Paul's break with the church (Gal 2:11-14). Thus even at the end of the first century CE the Antioch church was still divided on the issue.

There is an emerging realization within the Body of Christ that God is calling His bride to be holy and is preparing His Body so that every member is equipped, filled, anointed, and functioning in their calling. He is going to fill His temple with His fire and glory in these last days to purify, sanctify and cleanse it so that we might manifest His glory upon the earth. The world wide Body of Christ, or the Universal Church is called to manifest the kingdom of God in the earth as one Body, with one hope, and with one calling, but every member of that body is unique and every local church is unique. Although every local church is called to conform to the same heavenly pattern, we recognize just as believers have specific giftings and ministries, every local church will have a unique prophetic mandate and calling to their community and to the wider Body of Christ. This calling and its expression will reflect the vision and personality of those within the church. One such church in the New Testament that was distinct in its ministry is the Church in Antioch which functioned as a hub or centre that was apostolic in nature and became a model that the Ephesian and Thessalonian Church's then adapted.

More and more pulpits are occupied by motivational speakers rather than preachers. Church congregations are not being given a comprehensive, biblical understanding of the faith. Drawing on his own experience as a pastor in Zambia, Conrad Mbewe tackles issues such as the content of pastoral preaching, how pastoral preaching relates to church life, finding the time to prepare pastoral sermons, and dealing with discouragement. Throughout the book, it is clear that the author’s conviction is to see preachers grow strong churches, to build a people for God.