Sticky Church (Leadership Network Innovation Series) (Paperback)

~ Larry Osborne (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The greatest challenge facing most churches today isn’t getting people through the front door—it’s keeping them from leaving through the back door. In his new book, Larry Osborne reveals what it takes to cultivate a “sticky” church and reveals the strategy of sermon-based small groups to retain members while leading your church into even deeper levels of discipleship.

From the Back Cover

In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It’s a strategy that enabled Osborne’s congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church’s phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: Why stickiness is so important Why most of our discipleship models don’t work very well Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310285089
• ISBN-13: 978-0310285083
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Close the door!, October 18, 2008

By	Eric Nygren "returnedsheep.blogspot.com" (Williamsburg, IA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I knew I wanted to read Larry Osborne's new book Sticky Church as soon as I read the title. I would guess that that every pastor and every church has wrestled with the question about how to get people who visit their church to not only stay but how to get them connected. As Osborne points out we've tried just about everything but we still see too many of our people leaving through the back door.

The solution for Osborne and the folks at North Coast Church was to help people "stick" by getting them to be a part of their small group ministry. But the small groups at NCC were not your typical Bible study group or multiplying cell group. Osborne details the process that led him and his ministry team to focus on Sermon based small groups. As a result, those involved in small groups at NCC were given an opportunity to make application from what they heard the previous Sunday in the context of encouraging, accountable relationships.

I found Osborne's book to be extremely helpful in developing my own vision and strategy for ministry but probably not in the way Osborne would have imagined when writing this book. I pastor a rural church where we don't have small groups--we are a small group. I found many of Osborne's comments and principles to be very relevant to our situation and the ministry we are trusting God to develop. Osborne covers everything from preaching, to church health, to relationships, and leadership training. I imagine the principles I gleaned will be most beneficial to the way I give leadership to the local church.

My copy of Sticky Church is now marked up and well worn. My goal now is to go back through the book so I can process again the principles Osborne has shared. Let me share one principle that I found worth the price of the book (although thanks to the good folks at Zondervan I was given this copy to review for free!)

Just recently my kids have discover the joy of Legos, a toy that was a favorite of mine growing up as well. On pages 79-81 Osborne explains why we see such difficulty among people to "jell" with others when forming new relationship. The answer: people are like Legos. Like the little plastic bricks, there are only so many connectors to go around. When those connectors get filled up we find it difficult to make any new connections. When I read this and Osborne's further application (you'll just have to buy the book) I felt that both a light bulb went on and a weight was lifted at the same time. It's not so much that the church is full of cliques; it's that many of us already have our connectors filled (p.80). Brilliant!

Even if yours is not a church of small groups, or small groups are not yet on your ministry horizon this book is well worth reading. It will stay on my shelf and deserves a second read. Here's hoping that the Lord uses this book to help our churches become even "stickier".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile, April 30, 2009

By	J. Miller (LA, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is definitely worth a read if you are involved in church leadership and are concerned about growing your church and sustaining your present members through a process of discipleship.

The book is really about small groups, and Osborne's advice on the subject is worthwhile and well said, but not particularly novel. He believes that ultimately people will come to your church because of word of mouth without a lot of advertising or big events. Then small groups will retain them. He puts all of his eggs in that basket, and says that explains the growth of his megachurch, which now has 7500 in multiple venues.

I'm not sure that Osborne is correct in his self-analysis, though. I suspect there are a lot of things contributing to the growth of his church, and I don't think he has adequate data proving that his small groups were the key factor.

Still, the book is definitely worth a read, and should be read alongside Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church, which recommends something completely different to the same end.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nobody Does It Better, September 30, 2008

By	Dr. David Frisbie (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) - See all my reviews

Dr. Larry Osborne, among many other gifts, is an established expert on how to help churches get 'sticky' --- that is, keeping and including the adults and families that they initially attract through programs, events and ministries.

Simply put: Nobody does it better!

Osborne is the senior pastor of North Coast Church in Vista, California (7,000 plus attend each weekend) and has led the church for three decades. Always good at drawing new people in, North Coast was not originally strong on incorporating and including.

Fast forward to right now --- North Coast does "sticky" better than any other church in North America. One key factor is a dynamic small group program that actually functions as the heart of the ministry.

In this excellent new book Osborne shows you how, step-by-step, a congregation can intentionally become more sticky and thus more effective at long-term discipleship, equipping for ministry, and thus mission.

A must-read for congregations, church boards, church leaders, and anyone interested in long-term assimilation/incorporation/inclusion of those who attend a local community of faith.

Dr. David Frisbie
The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
Del Mar, California
Author ofThe Soul-Mate Marriage: The Spiritual Journey of Becoming One