Dennis Bickers, The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues. Beacon Hill Press, 2005.
Referenced in: Small Church Leadership
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Bickers, an experienced small church pastor, presents a health-based model of small church development, assuming that if a church is healthy, it grows and thrives as naturally as any healthy living organism. Chapters address how healthy small churches give deliberate attention to theology, vision, worship, change, conflict, spiritual leadership, community, stewardship, missions, long pastoral tenure, outreach, excellence, lay ministry. Bickers presents a series of diagnostic questions for assessing health, and suggests ways that each unique congregation may devise their own strategies for becoming healthier.
There is a disarming simple-yet-substantive quality to this book that elevates its usefulness for use in a leadership study session, small group, congregational retreat, or a series of Sunday School classes. While leaders of small churches may need additional reading to strengthen their own training, this volume is excellent first level exposure to growth principles for the members of a small congregation. See also his volumes, Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church and The Bivocational Pastor.
From the Publisher
Small churches can be found in every denomination and among every ethnic group, but often these churches struggle to survive in the shadow of the larger churches around them. And many of these churches are afflicted with unhealthy issues such as feelings of unimportance, a lack of vision, exclusivity, limited resources, and unbalanced leadership. It is because of these ailments that many churches fail to survive.
But it is possible for an unhealthy church to become a healthy church capable of experiencing growth—both physically and spiritually. In his new book, The Healthy Small Church, small church pastor Dennis Bickers diagnoses the issues that threaten the life of the smaller church and prescribes practical remedies for treating these issues. He reminds churches that transformation and healing are never easy but always worth it. He emphasizes that to maintain a healthy church one must be aware of the symptoms and act accordingly to prevent new problems from arising.
The Healthy Small Church offers pastors and church leaders a great diagnostic tool for small churches that want to be healthy and stay that way. It includes a number of diagnostic questions at the end of the book that they can use to determine the health of their church.
Become a healthy church that:
- Has a positive self-image
- Shares a common vision that creates a sense of purpose and unity
- Maintains community while still warmly welcoming new visitors
- Practices the importance of faithful stewardship and financial support
- Understands ministry to be the responsibility of all the members of the church
- Encourages everyone to serve according to his or her spiritual gifts – not by seniority or guilt
About the Author
Dennis Bickers has spent more than 27 years working with smaller churches. For 20 years, he was a bivocational pastor and currently serves as an Area Resource Minister with the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. He is the National Project Director of BivoNet, a ministry to the bivocational ministers of American Baptist Churches USA, and also serves as an area resource minister for ABC of Indiana and Kentucky. Bickers is a member of the advisory board for the Bivocational Ministry Center at Campbellsville University. He is the author of four books including The Bivocational Pastor and The Healthy Small Church (Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City). Bickers has an MA in Religion and is pursuing a DMin from Liberty Theological Seminary. He frequently leads workshops on bivocational and small-church ministry for various denominations and serves as a coach for both bivocational and fully-funded ministers. He lives in Madison, Indiana, with his wife, Faye. Bickers maintains a website and a blog on bivocational ministry.
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