Transforming Church in Rural America

And we're off with book review #2.

As a pastor I'm interested in anything that will help foster growth in the church. And as a pastor of a church in a rural area, the title of this book was intriguing. The content was even better. I honestly can't remember the last time I read a better church-growth book. And the reason is that this isn't a typical church growth book. It isn't full of flow charts and diagrams (nothing wrong with those things-they can be useful tools); and it isn't just a rah-rah time for the author to pat himself on the back. This book is a challenge to pastors everywhere-a challenge to believe that God can use your church, in your community to do great things for His glory.

The book begins with the author's story, which is a fascinating, compelling account of how he was led from large church in an urban area to a much smaller church in a not-at-all urban area. And in a conversational style, he explains the things he did as pastor of his church-the things that worked great and the things that were spectacular failures. It's as though you were sitting down for a nice conversation with a friend who says, "This is what we've done; this is what worked for us. Take and use whatever works for you."

The author includes many specific ideas (always careful to state that he isn't recommending you do exactly what he did, but that you find what will work in your area), and several links to videos and documents that can offer further assistance.

There's tons of good stuff in this book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the www.booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. I did so because I liked the book!