Breakout Churches: Discover How to Make the Leap

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Zondervan, 2005 - Religion - 272 pages
An extensive, groundbreaking study identifying factors that move a church from stagnation to growth Dr. Thom Rainer and his research teams have studied the local church for nearly two decades, but inspired by Good to Great, Rainer realized a "missing piece" from his previous research. In this latest book, he sets out to discover how churches that were once healthy but have stagnated in growth, have broken out to become significant churches impacting individual lives and entire communities. Rainer identifies "The Chrysalis Factor"--Which emphasizes the qualities of churches that have "broken-out." This book highlights the events, patterns, plans, strategies, crises, and other factors that took place when a church moved from from decline to growth. Many of his discoveries are counterintuitive and go against the grain of conventional wisdom. Rainer found thirteen churches that took the leap and became great churches among the over 52,000 for which data was available. Although based on massive research, Breakout Churches presents far more than numbers, graphs, and theory. Rainer answers the question, "Can a healthy but plodding church become a great church?" And this book provides the answer as a most definite "yes!" The book is written at a non-technical level and is designed to motivate pastors and lay leaders alike to utilize the information in their own local churches.

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About the author (2005)

Thom S. Rainer is the president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. He served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelve years where he was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. Rainer graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977. He earned his Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to speaking in hundreds of venues, Rainer led Rainer Group, a church and denominational consulting firm, from 1990 to 2005. Rainer is the author of twenty-two books, including Breakout Churches, Simple Life, Simple Church, Raising Dad, The Millennials, and Essential Church. His book, I Am a Church Member, hit #1 on the CBA best-seller list.

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