Growing an Engaged Church and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Sell Back Your Copy
For a $2.77 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church  Again
 
 
Start reading Growing an Engaged Church on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again [Hardcover]

Albert L. Winseman D.Min. (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

List Price: $22.95
Price: $15.10 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $7.85 (34%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Tuesday, January 31? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $12.57  
Hardcover $15.10  

Book Description

March 28, 2007
What would a church look like if members of its congregation were 13 times more likely to have invited someone to participate in the church in the past month? Or if they were three times as satisfied with their lives, or spent two hours per week serving the community? Based on solid research by The Gallup Organization, Growing an Engaged Church appeals to both Protestant and Catholic clergy and lay leaders who are looking to create this kind of change — a way to be the church instead of just "doing church."

Frequently Bought Together

Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church  Again + Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community + StrengthsFinder 2.0
Price For All Three: $44.03

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community $13.96

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • StrengthsFinder 2.0 $14.97

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Gallup Press (March 28, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595620141
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595620149
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Meeting A Basic Human Need - Being Part of Something Bigger Than Mere Existance, November 24, 2007
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again (Hardcover)
Mainline Christian churches have been in decline for nearly 40 years, and increasingly are labeled as lifeless and outmoded. Albert Winseman's "Growing an Engaged Church" provides a thoughtful approach on how to turn this around and create a church that is full of life and in tune with the needs of all who seek to be part of something bigger than mere existence.

Winseman's work is based on the use of the Gallup Faith Poll and Congregational Engagement Index which is detailed at the end of the book. As his subtitle suggests, Winseman makes the case that most mainline churches insist on "doing" church (going through the motions) rather than "being" church, that is, building a parish of dedicated and energized members who are growing spiritually and, at the same time, are reaching out in concern and service to the world.

Humans are fundamentally spiritual beings, and that spirituality needs to find expression. Churches are ideally suited to meet this need but by failing in their task of "being," talents and strengths of members and prospective members go largely unrecognized and unharnessed. This translates to a vacuum for spiritual expression and a huge loss of human potential that otherwise could be tapped for the transformation of society.

Engagement describes the degree of belonging an individual has in his/her church. Engaged members drive the spiritual health of every church and the more engaged members there are in one's church, the healthier it is. A healthy church is the good soil that produces fruit in abundance.

Winseman destroys the myth that believing leads to belonging and establishes a new paradigm belonging leads to believing. He shows how the level of engagement provides the linkage to belonging and believing. He then provides a framework to engage members of a parish/congregation, the metrics to measure engagement, and lists the rewards that come with high level engagement.

There are three factors underlying the concept of engagement:

1. Feeling welcomed - "Am I valued?" and "Can I make a meaningful contribution?"
2. The value of membership - Does the commitment required for membership reflect the value placed on membership?
3. Emotions do matter - Engagement is how one feels about their church. Conservative churches have been doing a much better job at connecting with people at an emotional level than mainline churches. For the bond to have optimum strength, it must go beyond just the worship service or Mass.

And there are four outcomes that result from an "engaged church":

1. Members will be more satisfied with their lives.
2. Members will be more inviting - inviting others to "come and see.'
3. Members will be more engaged in serving others.
4. Members will be more inclined to give - engaged churches/parishes give more in terms of both percentage of income and actual dollars and time.

Church leaders - pastors, elders, deacons, pastoral council members, et al - will find "Growing an Engaged Church" provocative and useful in their quest to insure that their church fulfills its mission as a place to worship God, as way stations for rest and renewal in a broken world, as a place where fellow seekers can connect, and where all are empowered to reach out to a hurting society.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Understand the Nominally Religious, June 26, 2007
This review is from: Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again (Hardcover)
A well-written treatise on the current problem that American churches have in garnering an engaged membership. For lay leaders of the church, it offers powerful ideas on how they can be more effective in growing a committed membership. Having been to a church that used many of these concepts, I can attest that their concepts are powerful.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Research Proven Steps to Increase Member Engagement, July 22, 2007
This review is from: Growing an Engaged Church: How to Stop "Doing Church" and Start Being the Church Again (Hardcover)
Whether familiar with the Gallup Q12 from a corporate environment or new to this thinking, Albert Winseman gives a detailed overview, suitable to anyone, of the factors involved with a church member's choice to be engaged. He then presents strategic steps a church can take to measure and then increase engagement among the congregation. Growing an Engaged Church also has case studies of churches that have successfully turned around their church to become much more effective at doing God's work and meeting the needs of members. I have purchased copies for my church staff and we will be implementing several of the the practices.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews









Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Jeff and Tricia are like just about everybody else on the planet: They have a God-sized hole in their lives. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
congregational engagement, engagement items, actively disengaged, congregational events, engaged members, engagement level, spiritual commitment
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Huntington Ridge, Jesus Christ, Gerard Majella, Spiritual Gifts Assessment, Congregational Engagement Pyramid, Friend Sunday, Pastor Davis, Signature Themes, Covenant Renewal, Living Your Strengths, Northside Church
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:


Books on Related Topics (learn more)


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject