Building a Contagious Church

Rating:
Summary: Start reading today!
Review: Although there are shorter and perhaps more exciting books on the topic of evangalism, "Building a Contagious Church" is at the top of my list. Whenever possible, I research the background of the writer/s when reading a book to be sure that I can count on the information they are sharing. Willow Creek is doing many things right and it shows! This book is a very good start for those who have churches that are becoming too inward focused and isolated. Start reading today and be inspired!

Rating:
Summary: Evangelism Impact at its Very Core
Review: As a partner in ministry with Mark Mittelberg in my role at International Bible Society as National Director of the Becoming a Contagious Christian Live Seminars (presented by our professional team of 25 seminar leaders nationally) I want give a rave review of Mark's new book "Becoming a Contagious Church". I had sat under Mark's teaching 3 times related to the 6 ingredients for evangelism impact in the church and have been privileged to dialogue on a regular basis with Mark over the last year and a half. God wants to empower the church to reach those far from God and it does not AND should not happen through the "chosen few". Mark provides the structure for a practical, insightful and proven process to equip an entire church. May God sound the trumpet of outreach through Mark's book!

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Bandaids
Review: For those who long to see the local church organized and intentional about reaching the lost for Christ, Mark Mittleberg's new book will move them beyond merely placing bandaids on the ailments that are holding the church back.

Mark offers a six stage process that begins with the foundational elements that need to be in place in order for a church to effectively reach lost people. As an outreach pastor, I have always known that there were forces in the church keeping us from being as effective as I sensed we should be at reaching people. The result was that no matter what I tryed, I always felt like I was putting bandaids on an unknown disfunction that was holding us back.

Mark's book helped me see that before training will be effective, before our teams can be empowered, and before our outreach events will have the impact we hope they will have, there are three foundational elements that must be in place first. They are:

1. The leadership of the church must own and model evangelistic values. 2. The leadership must strategically work to instill those values in the people around them. 3. An evangelistic point person must be empowered.

With insight, Mark shares ideas compiled from his own experience, the expereince of other churches, and biblical examples, concerning how to actually accomplish these steps within our churches.

In addition, the book is formatted in such a way that it can be used to as a study tool for church leadership. Excellent questions at the end of each chapter are provided for teams to work through and help facilitate thought and planning.

I have been waiting for a book like this. To my knowledge it is the only one of it's kind because where many books focus on issues related to personal evangelism or revival, this focuses on the bigger picture of effecting an entire church system and culture to embrace evangelistic values. It will help us move beyond bandaids and give us insight into providing real help for our churches.

Brian Allen Outreach Pastor Central Baptist Church Sioux Falls, SD

Rating:
Summary: We Should All Read This Book
Review: From a fundamentalists perspective this book is 20% garbage and 80% gold. Too many of us are attempting evangelism by using methods that are not really producing fruit and our congregations are growing old and withering. Or, let's be honest, we are not evangelizing at all. I was so thankful to read a book by someone who was saying exactly what I had been thinking/feeling for quite some time.

That said, the 20% that is garbage is disturbing. The evangelism values that Mittelberg commends are fairly well presented except the one on cultural relevance. Mittelberg totally misrepresents 1 Corinthians 9. Moreover, he fails to see that sometimes achieving "cultural relevance" demands a lowering of our Biblically held positions. There is nothing more relevant than God's Word as it is properly exegeted and applied to the life. God is not glorified by evangelism that is fought with carnal weapons! I would recommend this book but with this caveat. Read Dr. David Beale's book: Pursuit of Purity along with it.

Matt

Rating:
Summary: Don't wait- This model is Revolutionary
Review: Hi, I have just concluded a one year evaluation (Masters Thesis)of Mark Mittelberg's six stage evangelsim model. It works! Not just in the mega-church, but in the church around the corner. You need to buy the book and spend time digesting it with the leaders and evangelists in your church. We found that once the leadership caught the vision- others joined quickly. For the first time, this model gives churches a well defined plan for evangelism. Now, evangelism becomes driven by values and vision rather than events and strategy. The model is practical and does not require complicated analysis. Mark Mittelberg has done all the work for you. Several benefits we have seen: 1. The senior pastor was energized. 2. Gifted evangelists were more effective 3. Outreach events were better and more numerous 4. More members were evangelisitcally energized 5. More people were praying for unbelievers 6. Leadership watched God work and relied less on human effort.

It's the best investment that your church could ever make. In Christ, Marc Harrienger (mch906@aol)

Rating:
Summary: Encyclopedic Work
Review: I have never read such an exhaustive and encyclopedic work on evangelism. The book is 386 pages long and you will not have a quick read but you will feel as you have been in school.

Nothing is left unexplained and there are many pertinent lists. The book is divided into 3 sections: 1. A Contagious Plan 2. A Contagious Change Process and 3) Contagious Diversity. Each section is an in depth study in the stages and steps that will challenge and explain how to be effective and efficient in leading souls to Jesus.

I personally found the 3rd. section the must liberating in understanding that there are 6 different styles of evangelism. Working together will give you a team that will not only be much more efficient but also you can relax in your style which will make you much more effective.

Though the book is long you will probably need to read it twice with highlighter and notepad if you want to get it all. You and your team will get greater understanding if it is discussed chapter by chapter.

This book asumes the Theology of Soteriology and therefore you will not find sections stating how you must depend on God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So if you need to see these types of words before sanctioning this book as Christian you're better looking somewhere else. This book is solid meat and leaves those basics to be assumed.

My final statement is that this book has excited me once again to become a better student of evangelism and I am anxious to apply all that I have learned.

Rating:
Summary: Yawn. . . I did not finish it
Review: I just could not quite finish this one. Too bad, I was looking forward to gaining some powerful insights on how to build an evangelistic, i.e., contagious church. Mittelberg lays out a step-by-step plan on how to build an evangelistic church. It is perhaps one of the most comprehensive books on evangelism I have read. But therein lies its weakness.

Very rarely does a step-by-step plan work. I don't even think they worked at Willow Creek. Life is not that easy. The author assumes that the bright-eyed pastor who bought this book has the leadership abilities to turn his church around. But in reality, even the most gifted evangelistic pastor will find it very difficult to motivate the flock as Mittleberg suggests.

A more useful book building an evangelistic church would be Thom Rainer's books Surprising Insights from the Unchurched. Nevertheless, you would profit from reading Mittelberg's book.

Rating:
Summary: Yawn. . . I did not finish it
Review: I just could not quite finish this one. Too bad, I was looking forward to gaining some powerful insights on how to build an evangelistic, i.e., contagious church. Mittelberg lays out a step-by-step plan on how to build an evangelistic church. It is perhaps one of the most comprehensive books on evangelism I have read. But therein lies its weakness.

Very rarely does a step-by-step plan work. I don't even think they worked at Willow Creek. Life is not that easy. The author assumes that the bright-eyed pastor who bought this book has the leadership abilities to turn his church around. But in reality, even the most gifted evangelistic pastor will find it very difficult to motivate the flock as Mittleberg suggests.

A more useful book building an evangelistic church would be Thom Rainer's books Surprising Insights from the Unchurched. Nevertheless, you would profit from reading Mittelberg's book.

Rating:
Summary: Every Church Leader Should Read This Book!
Review: I was blown away by this incredible book! Not only did it encourage and envision me to increase my personal evangelistic efforts, but it gave me concrete steps to take to make my church more effective in reaching spiritual seekers. Mark Mittelberg's six stage process to heighten the evangelistic success of churches is thoroughly biblical and field-tested at Willow Creek Community Church. He draws from examples from around the world in illustrating how this process can turn lukewarm churches into congregations that are on fire to communicate the Gospel. I am convinced that every church leader should read this book -- the results would be absolutely mind-boggling! I liked Mittelberg's upbeat writing style, his extremely perceptive view of the "secular landscape" in the world today, and his personal stories and anecdotes. Bill Hybels, the senior pastor of Willow Creek, which has a weekly attendance of 17,000 people, also contributes some key material. In summary, I give this book five stars only because that's the maximum allowed. Do yourself a favor: devour this book and put it into practice in your own life. Then get a copy for your pastor and encourage him to put its principles into action. The result will be the adventure of a lifetime!

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for Church Leaders & Church Planters
Review: I would recommend using reading this book with a highlighter and a notepad. I highlighted key thoughts on just about every chapter, and also wrote out new ideas for our evangelism program. I just placed an order for more copies last week, for the Evangelism Leadership Team at our church. Together, we will review and discuss several chapters in the book. You will be challenged to ensure that you have a well-defined evangelistic strategy with a clearly-known pupose. If you're a church leader, I know you'll agree - "There is always room for improvement". Do you want to be challenged? Do you want your creativity and motivation for reaching the lost, kicked up a few notches? Then get a copy of this thought provoking book. Are you and your church really doing all you can with His help to reach the lost? [e-mail]