Dr. Gerald Mast, professor of communication at Bluffton University, will present a program Thursday, Feb. 23, on his recently published book, "Go to Church, Change the World: Christian Community as Calling."

Beginning with refreshments at 3:45 p.m., the event is free and open to the public in the Musselman Library Reading Room on the Bluffton campus. Mast will sign copies of his book, which will be available for purchase. Its target audience includes Christian education directors, Sunday school classes and book clubs.

Published in January by Herald Press, the book asserts that going to church-not just personal virtue or ethics-is at the heart of Christian vocation. Mast outlines Christ's call to all believers to be the church, whether gathered for worship or scattered for service.

By exploring such practices as baptism, communion and singing, the author asks readers to consider how participation in the life of the church shapes their daily witness-how "going to church" transforms "going to work" in the world.

The book is the fifth either written or edited by Mast, who grew up in the Mennonite tradition and is a member of First Mennonite Church in Bluffton. The Holmes County, Ohio, native is currently vice chair of The Mennonite magazine board and editor of Studies in Anabaptist and Mennonite History. A Malone College graduate, he holds a Ph.D. in rhetoric and communication from the University of Pittsburgh.