Bringing Your Church Back to Life: Beyond Survival Mentality

By Daniel Buttry

Encouragement and practical, biblically based guidance for churches from a minister who successfully nurtured his congregation to a new vision of ministry This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0817011439
• ISBN13: 9780817011437
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Judson Pr
• Length: 159 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Best peace & justice perspective on church renewal available

As a missiologist, I have read tons of stuff on church growth theory, church planting, church renewal, etc. But Dan Buttry has written the best book that I have ever read that integrates church renewal issues with peace and justice concerns. I especially appreciated Buttry's strong focus on reconciliation between church members of different racial/ethnic backgrounds as I think it's a practical biblical alternative to Peter Wagner's "homogenous unit principle" that is so often advocated in church growth circles. Buttry's book primarily addresses the situation of churches in urban/inner city settings. Nevertheless, with a little creativity I believe the underlying principles of the book could easily be applied to dying churches in rural communities or suburban settings as well. While written from Buttry's own personal experience rather than an academic perspective, this book is certainly cutting edge missiology (despite the fact that he wrote it nearly 20 years ago) and I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a lay level treatment of church renewal.

A great book on the challenges of small church ministry!

The author accurately portrays the struggles and challenges that smaller congregations and their pastors face. His outline of five characteristics of churches with the illness of survival mentality is particularly accurate and helpful in understanding the mindset of church leaders in a congregation that has experienced decline. He doesn't end it there, however, he goes on to give the good news and point the way to renewal. His concept of the church leader as vision bearer has been helpful to me as I have recently begun my first pastorate in a struggling urban church. If you pastor a small church, or are involved with a church that is in need of renewal, read this book and share it with others. You will be glad that you did!