"If you want your ministry to reach its maximum potential--all that God wants for you--it is essential that you develop strong leaders. In Amplified Leadership, coach for pastors Dan Reiland gives you a proven process for developing new leaders who are established spiritually and trained practically."--Back cover.
According to the author, America has more unchurched people than the entire populations of all but 11 of the world's 194 nations! Based on research among several thousand unchurched people, the book discusses their values, attitudes, beliefs, religious practices, demographics, life goals, and spiritual expectations. Using additional research conducted among churches that have had great success in attracting and retaining unchurched people, the author also outlines perspectives and effective strategies for churches that wish to reach those who avoid churches. Understanding what makes the unchurched tick will give you a better chance of relating to them in meaningful ways.
All local churches experience a predictable life cycle of growth and decline. But if a church is on a downward trend, how can it turn around? Taking Your Church to the Next Level explains the impact of age and size on churches and outlines the improvements that must be made at each point for a church to remain fruitful and faithful to its mission. McIntosh deftly describes the cycles of fruitfulness and the importance of continual improvement to diminish destructive forces that keep a congregation from its mission. Church leaders, pastors, and all who care about the church and desire to see it experience biblical growth will benefit from the sage wisdom offered in these pages.
Is your church healthy and growing or stagnant and dying? If your church is afflicted with remnant theology, spiritual naval gazing, pastoral timidity, hyper-cooperativism, or terminal ethnikitis, changes are it's already dying on the vine. On the other hand, if your church is growing it's probably ad healthy church. "Healthy churches, like healthy people," says the author, "exhibit certain vital signs." Wagner has his own list of 7 "signs" that lead can be taken as leading to good health and gives many illustrations of churches that exhibit and/or don't exhibit those signs. - Back cover.
In this brief, practical book Harold Percy helps congregations answer critical questions about their mission and ministry. Percy lays out the four main groups of people that represent the congregation's best opportunity to lead people to become committed disciples of Jesus Christ. He offers solid, easy-to-follow advice on how churches can understand the needs of these groups and reach out to them.
What exactly is the Church Growth movement? This timely volume in the Counterpoints series addresses the history of the movement that has become such an enormous shaping force on the Western church today, and it explores--in a roundtable forum of leading voices--five main perspectives on the classic Church Growth movement: Effective Evangelism View - presented by Elmer Towns Gospel in Our Culture View - presented by Craig Van Gelder Centrist View - presented by Charles Van Engen Reformist View - presented by Gailyn Van Rheenan Renewal View - presented by Howard Snyder Each view is first presented by its proponent, then critiqued by the co-contributors. The interactive and fair-minded format allows the reader to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each view and draw informed, personal conclusions. Evaluating the Church Growth Movement concludes with reflections by three seasoned pastors who have grappled with the practical implications of Church Growth. The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.
Pastor Bob Russell shares the ten principles upon which Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America, was founded. He shares not only the story of one of the most amazing churches in America, but also what your church can become if you follow the principles and allow God to build your church. Can the church truly be the "city on a hill that cannot be hidden" that Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount? Can it grow large enough to attract throngs of seekers and yet be loving enough to care for each individual that comes? Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church—one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America—says that it most certainly can. But it can only be done when we are submissive to God's will and allow Him to build that church. In the pages of this far-sighted, uncompromising book, Bob Russell and his son Rusty share the ten principles upon which this remarkable church was founded. Throughout the book, you will see God's mighty power at work in a church that began in 1962 with only 50 members and has now grown to over 14,000 and has become a bustling "city on a hill" whose beaming faith powerfully impacts its community and the world. This book shares not only the story of one of the most amazing churches in America but also the story of what your church can become as you follow these ten time-tested principles and allow God to build your church.
Baffled as to why your church visitors never come back? Solve the mystery and get them to return again and again starting this Sunday. Rev. Tracy Barnowe is an ordained UCC pastor and a nationally-recognized expert in church growth. She has systematically created, taught, tested, and refined church growth methods with hundreds of churches in numerous denominations over 20 years, tracking the results to ensure they are reliable and replicable in any church setting by ordinary people. In Grow Your Church! Rev. Barnowe reveals the rich fruits of decades of data: the most effective, tried-and-true tools that will help every congregation turn its "church shoppers" into actively-involved church members. In this book you will learn: - how to get 85% of your first-time visitors to return the following Sunday - how to get first-time visitors actively involved in your church over just one cup of coffee - four big questions that will get your visitors halfway toward membership their first week - simple, easy-to-learn tools that cost nothing to use and that anyone can do Whether you are a minister, greeter, usher, or simply a member in the pews that loves and worries about your church, you can start being the change your church needs today. Even if your church has been in decline for years, this book will help you reverse the downturn, infuse new life into your congregation, and turn the arguments over "how come no one ever comes back?" into "what are we going to do with all these kids?!" Read this book today. Grow your church this Sunday. Don't let your next first-time visitor become another empty spot in the pew.