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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Planting Missional Churches, October 19, 2007
This review is from: Planting Missional Churches (Hardcover)
After finishing Ed Stezter's first book on church planting "Planting Churches in a Postmodern Age", I was looking forward to reading his second book on church planting "Planting Missional Churches". I found it to be an update of the previous book. There was new material and some of what had been in the first book is now on his web site. However, this is an excellent handbook for the mission planter covering theology and philosophy of church planting, but much practical advice including things like finances, facilities and personnel, among many other topics. Some are treated in a cursory manner, others in much more depth. There is some advice that other experts in the field would question, but overall it is a solid handbook. I recommend it highly.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, May 28, 2010
This review is from: Planting Missional Churches (Hardcover)
Very rarely do I take the time to write a review, but this book deserves it. If you are planting a church, part of a church plant, or seeking to gain a better understanding of church planting, you should defintely read this book.
This book is like several seminary classes combined into one volume. It is easy to read yet thorough in it's treatment of so many subjects. I have read many books on planting and this one tops them all. It is a book that forces you to think. It is full of practical suggestions. It has helped me clarify my vision, timetable and goals.
Read this book if you want to plant a biblical, missional, mature church. It would be a big mistake to ignore the advice found in its pages. This book will give you good ideas and save you from making many costly mistakes.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An important reference for church planters, July 15, 2010
This review is from: Planting Missional Churches (Hardcover)
If you tried to fit everything there is to know about planting churches into one book, it would probably look like this book by Ed Stetzer. This encyclopaedic work, which is an updated and expanded version of Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age, covers big churches, small churches and house churches, but predominantly from a relatively conservative Western cultural viewpoint.
The author provides useful chapters on the Biblical basis of church planting, models of church plants and planters, church structure, leadership issues, emerging culture, developing a launch team, small groups, handling finances, choosing a name and logo, finding a meeting place, children's ministry, and many other topics. These provide a comprehensive guide for the "normal" style of church plant. Other chapters cover "missional/incarnational" churches and "koinos" or house churches, but these are covered in less depth, and there is not much about non-Western churches and ethnic churches.
The book contains material gathered from numerous different sources, and various resources for further reading are listed at the end of each chapter. It was published four years ago and some of the content is a little bit out of date in view of rapid developments in culture and church planting trends since publication, but the vast majority of the content remains highly relevant. This book is an important reference for church planters and for churches which plant churches.
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