Church That Works : Your One-Stop Resource for Effective Ministry

by McIntosh, Gary L.

• ISBN13: 9780801091612
• ISBN10: 0801091616
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: Baker Books

Summary

The expertise of veteran church consultant and best-selling author Gary McIntosh is now available in an easily portable format. McIntosh offers readers his invaluable insights on the church in order to help leaders make their churches more effective. It's just like hiring your own church consultant, but at a fraction of the cost. This at-a-glance practical guidebook helps pastors and church leaders with a wide variety of issues, including:-reaching different generations-assimilating visitors-following trends-designing worship-danger signs of decline-and many more. Short, to-the point chapters examine trends and ministry methods that can be easily adapted to fit every church's needs.

Author Biography

Gary McIntosh is a professor of Christian Leadership and Ministry at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He is editor of Church Growth Network and the Journal of American Church Growth. He has written or cowritten a dozen books. A former pastor, McIntosh now works as a consultant who has diagnosed more than 500 churches in 53 different denominations. He has conducted nearly 150 workshops for pastors and leads about 15 national seminars a year.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
Building Foundations
The Speed of Change	p. 10
A New Social Contract	p. 13
Prayer	p. 17
Changing Times
Sixty-Five Years of Television	p. 26
The Information Age	p. 32
1950s versus 2000s	p. 40
Church Visitors
Attracting Guests	p. 50
Starting Good Rumors	p. 55
How Do You Say Hello?	p. 59
People Flow
Is Your Church Friendly?	p. 66
What Guests See	p. 71
Pathways of Belonging	p. 74
Assimilation
Assimilating Newcomers	p. 80
Getting Ready for Company	p. 87
Visitor Follow-Up That Works!	p. 92
Worship
Celebrative Worship Services	p. 98
Multiple Worship Services	p. 102
Adding a Second Service	p. 106
Renewal
Turning a Church Around	p. 112
Coming Back after Disaster	p. 116
Relocating a Church	p. 120
Pastoral Compensation
Negotiating Salary	p. 126
Developing a Compensation Plan	p. 131
Supplements, Benefits, and Reimbursements	p. 135
Developing Ministry
Children's Ministry	p. 142
The Best Child Care	p. 145
Fifties-Plus Ministry	p. 149
Small Groups
Small-Group Ministry	p. 156
Starting Small Groups	p. 161
A Small-Group Life Cycle	p. 166
Personal Development
The Need to Read	p. 172
Personal Time Management	p. 175
Hooked on Learning	p. 179
Planning
Training a Church Board	p. 184
Faith Planning	p. 187
Look for Your Stars	p. 193
Management
To Count or Not to Count	p. 198
The 80 Percent Rule	p. 202
Managing Conflict	p. 206
Staff
Staffing for Growth	p. 212
Adding Pastoral Staff	p. 217
Nine Principles for Hiring Staff	p. 222
Service
A Culture of Service	p. 228
Putting People First	p. 232
The Needs of People	p. 236
Change
Bringing Change to a Church	p. 242
Systems and Change	p. 246
Managing Change	p. 250
Growth
Pioneers versus Homesteaders	p. 256
Keep Your Vision Alive	p. 260
Reaching Out	p. 263
A Final Word
Responding to Criticism	p. 268
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