Grafton – Grafton residents Rev. Jane Willan and Peter Dennis, authors of the book “Jump Start This Church!” will hold a book signing during Artisan Day at the Grafton Country Store, Grafton Common, Sunday, March 15, from 1 – 3 p.m.
In the book, Willan and Dennis alternate chapters in their first-person account, using humor to appeal to a broad audience and inspire an innovative approach to church revitalization. With Dennis’ expertise in sales and Willan’s passion for parish revitalization, the idea of a book collaboration emerged.
“We fused the religious perspective with the secular sales perspective,” Dennis noted.
With a slight measure of uncertainty how the sales perspective would be viewed by her pastor colleagues, Willan said she was determined that the message in the book could be easily read by church leaders as well as pastors looking for a fresh approach to the challenges facing churches today.
Dennis is the author of the book “The Golden 120 Seconds of Every Sales Call,” where he aligns the crucial moments to capture a winning sales call, elements he suggested could be parlayed to the spiritual work of growing a church. He is the executive vice president of sales at The Varallo Group in Worcester, a leading provider of management and operational services to court reporting firms in the United States.
Willan is the pastor of the Congregational Church of Grafton, a position she has held since 2013. Prior to moving to Massachusetts, Willan served two parishes in Iowa.
Copies of “Jump Start This Church!” will be available for purchase at the event March 15. More information can be found at www.newcenterforchurchgrowth.com.
