Contact: Lance Ford, Shapevine.com, 940-300-2495, lanceford@shapevine.com

CAROL STREAM, Ill., Feb. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- The clear buzzword in the evangelical church today is "missional." It's heard in every type of church and network--small, medium, and large. Shapevine.com, founded by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford, leads the missional conversation, and has partnered with Christianity Today International to distribute world-changing ideas to a wider audience, so they can be better understood and engaged.

Hirsch, author of The Forgotten Ways, says, "I believe that the most significant thing for the church in the dawn of the 21st century is engaging the ideas surrounding the missional church, and in fact, they provide the kind of matrix out of which the church of the future will be born."

He explains that "missional" is simply a group, whether it be a large church or a small group of Christians, that organizes around the mission of God, not only inside the church walls, but out in the world.

Shapevine.com brings people together around missional ideas, and specifically provides:

• A weekly video interview that highlights inspiring stories of followers of Christ engaging the culture from a missional mindset

• Formal and informal rich media-based training that helps Christians live, learn, and lead missionally

• A social network where people all over the world create groups, ask questions, and engage in conversations related to the missional church

• Web conferencing and webcasting that provides an affordable, democratic forum for anyone to stop to share ideas and stories via video

Alan Hirsch says, "Christianity Today International is an important and significant communications ministry that globally brings together a common voice for evangelicals. We're proud to be partnering with them to expand these missional ideas."

He adds, "When about 16 percent of any given population crosses the line to adopt an idea, that idea becomes pervasive. Today, we've crossed that line with the missional church. The idea is inevitable, and the conversation is pervasive among evangelical leaders. This is very encouraging for the future of the global church."

Christianity Today International, located in Carol Stream, Illinois, is a not-for-profit communications ministry with 11 magazines and print newsletters, more than 40 e-newsletters, and a website -- www.ChristianityToday.com -- visited monthly by over 2.5 million men, women, and teens.