Breakout Churches: Discover How To Make The Leap (Hardcover)

by Thom S. Rainer (Author) "It is a sin to be good if God has called us to be great..." (more)
Key Phrases: breakout churches, blind erosion, breakout growth, Jim Collins, Grace Church, Xenos Christian Fellowship (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
From the subtitle to the research methods, this is a book-length, church-focused homage to Jim Collins's business bestseller Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. Rainer, a dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and president of a church consulting firm, sent a Collins-inspired team of researchers to pore through previously collected data on "effective evangelistic churches." The team was looking for churches that had gone through a period of stagnation before experiencing a "breakout" period of vitality, measured largely through membership growth—while keeping the same pastoral leadership. These criteria excluded both churches that had grown consistently or churches that grew after changing pastors. Of the 50,000 churches in the seminary's database, only 13 qualified. Rainer seeks to identify the secret of those churches' success and draws some telling comparisons with similar churches that were in gradual decline (and persistent denial). But his conclusions are consistently tainted by what statisticians call "post hoc bias"—there is no way to prove that the factors he identifies, which track closely with Collins's conclusions, were responsible for these churches' growth. The real value of this book is the hope Rainer instills that even churches that appear moribund can see remarkable change—if their leaders are willing, in Rainer's words, to "confront reality." (Feb.)
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Review
"…a refreshingly candid overview….A great read." — enrichment

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; First Edition edition (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031025745X
• ISBN-13: 978-0310257455
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,346 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Character Counts, July 12, 2005

By	M. Christensen (Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I must start by saying that I am not an advocate of what is typically known as the "Church Growth Movement." However, I believe "Breakout Churches" breaks all the molds of this genre of books. What the remarkable research of this book has demonstrated is simple and yet profound in our day: Church growth is directly related to the godly passion of its leadership and not to the promotion of pragmatic strategies.

Several things struck me about the results of the research Rainer's team did. The churches that experienced phenomenal growth - not just adding new believers to its ranks in revival like fashion, but seeing these believers mature into stable godly Christians and functioning members of the body - they did so by being singularly focused on the fundamentals of NT Christianity. First of all, they did not grow over night. The average tenure of the pastors of the breakout churches was 21.6 yrs. vs. less than 4 yrs. for the average American pastor. Secondly, each church had to face a crisis within the church, overcoming obstacles from members who opposed the vision of the leadership. This often led to painful splits and left scars upon the pastoral leadership. The differences between these pastors and those found in comparable situations (note that research was done in comparison churches that experinced no growth but plateaued or were declining) was the "breakout" Pastors endured these difficult times, yet never lost their sense of God-called purpose to lead the church. In contrast, the comparison pastors sought to avoid conflict altogether or leave for greener pastures (which rarely turn out to be greener). Hats go off to these men who endured difficulties some times for years, yet did so with a determination to never give up but to trust God with their ministries. How sad that too many pastors bolt at the first sign of conflict.

Several other characteristics were noted among the leaders of "breakout churches." They were men of great humilty. They rarely took credit for the growth of the church, and in fact several of them were quite reluctant leaders. None of them smelled of selfish ambition. However, they were extremely confident men. That is, they truly trusted God for the results of growth in the church. The corollary here is important. These were men of prayer.

There are other shocking revelations in light of so much Church Growth blather today. These men took very seriously the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. They spent at least 20 hours or more in sermon preparation and prayer each week. This was opposed to the comparison pastors who spent as little as 5 hours in the same duties. These churches also emphasized theology and doctrine. The members of these churches could clearly articulate the doctrines and beliefs of the church. Furthermore, these churches are all considered Evangelically conservative (e.g. holding strongly and passionately to the innerancy of Scripture). The main difference between them and the comparison churches was profound. The "breakout churches" took their doctrine seriously; that is, they believed that doctrine is not merely a matter of orthodoxy ("right belief"), but orthopraxy ("right behavior"). While the comparison churches believed essentially the same doctrines, most of their members did not seem to be able to articulate that doctrine nor did they seem passionate about living it.

There are other notable insights in to these churches. The growth of each church came after some period of decline (often many years) a realization of the negative implications of the decline and the need to do something about it (see chapter on "The ABC Moment"). This renewed passion was often met with resistance, but once the resistance was overcome, growth began. The key to the growth was a intersection of the passion of the leadership, the passion and gifts of the members of the church and the spiritual needs of the community (see chapter on "The VIP Factor"). This of course was cultivated patiently over time. As the congregation grew spiritually, they captured the passion and vision of the leadership for the lost (note that the growth came form the unchurched community not transfer growth - i.e. they were fiercely evangelistic).

One of the most interesting insights into the book was the issue of expectations. The leaders of these churches all have high expectations for the members of their congregations. This contributed significantly to the growth of the church. But that was not what caught my eye. Rather it was that within this atmosphere of high expectations was the presence of a great degree of freedom in the accomplishment of goals. In other words, it was a freedom within a specific set of boundaries. It was within this unique combination that growth occured and spawned an atmosphere making it a joy to serve in these churches. By contrast, the comparison churches (that were not growing, but declining) had 3 different dynamics going on. First, there were leaders with high expectations of the congregation, but low freedom given to them. This led to legalism and a kind of "my way or the highway" mentality. Secondly, there were churches with low expectations and low freedom. This marked the majority of comparison churches. The leadership had no clear passion for the ministry so it had little expectations of its members. However, it also did not allow its members to venture into ministry with fresh ideas either. The churches had a stifling atmosphere. Finally, there were churches with low expectaions and high freedom. These were chaotic churches with competing ministries yet no coherent mission or vision supplied by the leadership; a sort of free-for-all with no accountability.

The godly, humble, confident, Biblical and God-centered passion of the pastors of these churches was contagious. It attracted other like-minded people. The culture of ministry in the breakout church was one of joy and unbridled passion for souls. My only caveat with the book is that there were not more Scripture references to back-up what was clearly in my mind a desription of Biblical pastors and churches. Nonetheless, "Breakout Churches" is a must read for every pastor who wants to see genuine Biblical growth in his church and is tired of the latest fads and fashions that are hawked about and sold with little or no return. What is needed today is good old hard work, longevity, passion and a commitment to the sovereign work of God to grow His Church in His time.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life-Changing, Church-Changing, November 23, 2005

By	David R. Bess (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've read several titles by Thom Rainer, and this one has a tone different from the rest. In this volume, Rainer's heart for the pastor is very evident, displaying a sympathy for the church leader who has struggled for years in a congregation that shows little if any signs of revitalization. He draws heavily upon Jim Collins' work "Good to Great," applying the secular insights of that title to the secular realm of churches.

As a pastor who has served in one congregation over ten years, this book provides me with fresh insights and a sense of renewed hope for long-term church leadership. I have no doubt it will provide the same insights and hope for churches that long to "break out." For anyone struggling to see his/her church survive and thrive, this title is a must-read.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great principles found in the research, April 3, 2005

By	Gerald Khoo (Singapore) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and the research brought forth principles which many other books on church growth do not show, together with the reality checks that Rainer brought forth. In fact, some portions of the book would be difficult to write about, and even Rainer admits to it, because it shows the ugly side of church, and that most of the problems which prvents a church from being a breakout church happens internally. Rainer was careful not to make this book appear as a step-by-step approach for churches to break out, and despite the principles that are stated, there is a recognition that great churches are great only because of the power of a great God! This book also does not imply that great churches are always big churches, but great churches do grow. Churches are never plateaued, but are always either growing or declining, as the research shows.

"Great churches were, in our study, churches that had broken out of the mediocrity of losing as many people as they were reaching. They were churches that had become outwardly focused, more intentional about evangelism than before." (pg. 189) Rainer also used the comparison churches who were not categorized as breakout churches constantly to show the difference in principles and perspectives.

Even though the definition of breakout churches may be a bit narrow (e.g. that it has to be the same senior leader that leads the churches to breakout, meaning that if there is a change in the senior leader, it whould not be considered a breakout church), the principles apply the same. What is important in this research is describing some of the processes that senior leaders of stagnant and declining churches go through, what they realized and learnt from God and their circumstances, having a never-say-die spirit, and to forge ahead a dream that God had put in their hearts for a great church!