Customer Reviews

Grow Your Church from the Outside in: Understanding the Unchurch and How to Reach Them

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I hear a lot of people making comments like, "We don't need to reinvent the wheel, if it worked for Rick Warren..." and "People are looking for relevant worship" Do you know that practically none of the people I have met take research seriously enough?

Everyone seems content to just read a couple of books and to go with their hunches. But real (quantitative) research reveals a lot more than just hunches can. The thing unchurched people are looking for most these days may not be what you are thinking!

This book actually is a report on several studies done by George Barna (some explicitly for the SBC). You would do a lot better to base ministry ideas off this survey, than just on what someone found out in a California valley some 20+ years ago.

Take a look at some of the most common misconceptions about ministry to the unchurched

From the book:

TWELVE MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MINISTRY TO THE UNCHURCHED

Misconception #1. Successful ministry to the unchurched depends on following the right model
Misconception #2. Dealing with attitudes toward the church and Christianity is a big problem
Misconception #3. You must have a seeker service
Misconception #4. The best way to attract the unchurched is through large-scale events
Misconception #5. The route to success is to copy Willow Creek or Saddleback
Misconception #6. If you do it right, most people in your church will have been unchurched before they choose yours as their home church
Misconception #7. If you do a good job, most of your unchurched visitors will return
Misconception #8. Ministry to the unchurched requires a large staff
Misconception #9. The unchurched require anonymity. When they are ready to get involved they will tell you.
Misconception #10. If an unchurched person comes five or six times, he or she will stay for good
Misconception #11. Success in reaching the unchurched depends upon the Pastor's personality and preaching
Misconception #12. Once you start attracting the unchurched, the challenge is simply managing the flow of incoming people

The book was an excellent resource book and the research was extensive and thorough. I plan to purchase 12 of them to teach an evangelism team to each the unchurched in our community. The book helps to reduce the fear of evangelism by understanding the type of a person's needs and attitudes. I belong to a church whose average attendance is 90-110/Sunday and has declined from 175 in l986. Our city of 30,000 has had no rise or decline in population since l986. The book addresses many issues that are applicable to our situation. Thanks for this excellent book.
Dorothy W. Franks