Steve Burt, Activating Leadership in the Small Church: Clergy and Laity Working Together (Small Church in Action Series). Judson Press, 1987. Referenced in: Small Church Leadership LifeandLeadership Summary This is a contribution to Judson’s Small Church in Action Series. Consult the resource guide on Small Churches for several other volumes in the series. The Resource
David Canada, Spiritual Leadership in the Small-Membership Church (Ministry in the Small Membership Church Series). Abingdon Press, 2005. Referenced in: Small Church Leadership LifeandLeadership Summary Canada’s themes are that the congregation’s spiritual growth is an outgrowth of the leader’s personal development, and that the two ways this most tangibly expresses itself are inclusiveness and hospitality.
Bill Sullivan, New Perspectives on Breaking the 200 Barrier. Beacon Hill Press, 2005. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary In this revision of an earlier volume, Ten Steps to Breaking the 200 Barrier (1998), Bill Sullivan builds upon the research of Dr. Kenneth Crow on the concept of “choice points,”
Kevin E. Martin, The Myth of the 200 Barrier: How to Lead Through Transitional Growth. Abingdon Press, 2005. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary This is perhaps the best book available on size transitions for smaller congregations. Lyle Schaller, a prolific author in church leadership, and the one whom the
Alice Mann, Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition. Alban Institute, 2001. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary This is one of Alban Institute’s contributions to the issue of congregational size transitions. Other volumes include the anthology edited by Beth Ann Gaede, Size Transitions in Congregations, and Mann’s The In-Between
Alice Mann, The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions. Alban, 1998. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary This is one of Alban Institute’s contributions to the issue of congregational size transitions. Other volumes include the anthology edited by Beth Ann Gaede, Size Transitions in Congregations, and Alice Mann’s more focused look
Beth Ann Gaede, Editor, Size Transitions in Congregations. Alban Institute, 2001. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary This is one of Alban Institute’s contributions to the issue of congregational size transitions. Other volumes include Alice Mann’s The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions and Mann’s more focused look at the one
William Easum and Bil Cornelius, Go Big: Lead Your Church to Explosive Growth. Abingdon, 2006. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary Anything written by Bill Easum will be unabashedly oriented toward growth and evangelism, and will show little patience with established-church mentalities that inhibit growth. So one should expect in
Michael Fletcher, Overcoming Barriers to Church Growth: Proven Strategies for Taking Your Church to the Next Level. Bethany House, 2009. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary This is perhaps the best one source available describing the internal structural changes churches must make in order to grow. Elder-led churches will benefit
Elmer Towns, C. Peter Wagner, and Thom S. Rainer, The Everychurch Guide to Growth: How Any Plateaued Church Can Grow. Broadman and Holman, 1998. Referenced in: Church Leadership – Size Dynamics and Transitions LifeandLeadership Summary This resource is broken down into three sections: C. Peter Wagner on breaking the 200 barrier Thom S. Rainer on
