This may very well be the first time I have ever said to anyone (or any group of people) “You’ve got to get this book.”
When I finish a book on leadership in general or church leadership in particular, I usually put “Golden Nuggets” on my blog under “Book Notes.” But this time I am not going to wait to mention this book to you (even though I am not quite finished yet). Get it now and begin reading it tomorrow.
The name of the book is,
Make Or Break Your Church In 365 Days by Dr. Paul D. Borden
If you are the lead pastor in a church, are planting a church or are on the leadership team at your church, this book is a must-read. If you are reading this and have a longing and God-given desire to see your church become healthy and growing, get this book for your pastor.
Paul Borden has more wisdom to share in this book than in any book I have read in recent years. He is gospel-centered, mission-oriented and extremely practical with his wisdom and suggestions.
In this book Dr. Borden focuses on what it takes to get a church growing–especially if that church is dying or has plateaued (which a huge number of churches in the U.S. are!)
Dr. Paul D. Borden is an accomplished author, the Executive Director of Growing Healthy Churches (GHC), an international consultant, a professor of homiletics and has many years of pastoring under his belt.
Here Are Some Key Thoughts To Whet Your Appetite:
What competencies do pastors and their teams need to develop?
- Learn what it takes for a church to become healthy and grow.
- Become competent in gathering people.
- Become competent in understanding the nature of money, how to get more of it, how to spend it wisely and understand how money determines the effectiveness of ministry.
- Become competent in understanding the nature of church governance and how to have influence over the polity at your church.
- Become competent in how to relate to people in the church. In this area, EQ is far more important than IQ.
- Become competent in learning how to read, understand and adapt to the local culture.
- Become competent in how to fish for the souls of people in the 21st century in ways that fit their local culture.
What does a pastor need to learn and focus on in order to see the church grow?
- Get to really know the congregation you serve.
- Get to know the community you are trying to reach.
- Develop a one-year plan focused on growth.
- Learn to gather people.
- Create big events–events that scratch where people itch–and be sure to follow up with new people who attend.
- Improve curb appeal. What do first-time visitors see and experience when they walk onto your property and into your buildings–rented or owned?
- Energize worship. Worship styles from the 50s will not grow your church.
- Improve public communication. Learn how to be an excellent communicator
- Recruit leaders (which I loved reading).
- Be present in the community. Leaders need to live out in the community– not behind church walls.
- Evangelize. Key leaders (especially the lead pastor) need to see themselves as primary evangelists and developers of an effective evangelism strategy.
- Address money.
- How to arrange the weekly schedule, focusing on what will grow the church– qualitatively and quantitatively.
- PRAY. All pastors that Paul spoke with mentioned prayer. They all realized that if God does not build his church, it does not get built.
Don’t wait until you see “Book Notes” on this book. Get it now. Study it as a team. Identify application points. Expect your church to grow as God leads and empowers you.
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