Building a Contagious Church

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: 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: 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]

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Summary: Evangelism with Wisdom, Depth, and Intentionality
Review: Until I read this lively, resource-packed book, I had no idea of the depth and wisdom that Willow Creek Community Church pours out to help people find Christ. Now I really see how evangelism at Willow Creek works, and just how careful and intentional it is. Every ounce of evangelical effort put forth in this book is designed to teach pastors, staff and church members how to show lost people just how much they matter to God. From post Easter messages carefully designed to keep seekers coming back to church for more week after week, to the scores of ordinary Christians at Willow who are actually trained to lead seekers to Christ using their own personal style, to the loving modeling of evangelistic lifestyles set forth by church leadership, this book demonstrates hundreds of ways to make evangelism a force to be reckoned with in any community . Because of Willow's experience, expertise and above all, love, they've come to understand the needs of seekers probably better than seekers understand themselves. Mittelberg's book puts the theology, theory and strategy of Willow Creek evangelism and other seeker oriented evangelistic churches together in one place. This book tells why evangelism needs to be done throughout all of the ministries of your church, and how to do it. It clearly explains how Willow Creek, and dozens of other healthy, seeker oriented Churches, are bringing people all over the world to Christ. I am so grateful to God for all of the hard, careful, thoughtful work that Mittelberg and his many colleagues in the field of evangelism do to help make believers out of people like you and me. Read it, and make your church contagious!

Rating:
Summary: It works North and South...for New and Old
Review: While Canadians highly value their neighbours to the south, we can also be a bit reluctant to embrace ideas developed in the U.S. We wonder if they fit the Canadian context. Mark Mittelberg's Becoming a Contagious Church is a book that crosses the border with ease. The author communicates Biblical values that transcend culture. He does so not with lofty ideals and methods suited only for a resource-rich U.S. mega church...but with highly transferable and effective strategies that can be applied to various church contexts. I have been pleased to use Mittelberg's book to successfully train young pastors starting new churches on both sides of the border. I have also heard a variety of my Canadian colleagues in established churches comment on the book's effectiveness.

My highest recommendation, however, comes from the impact this book is having on our local church's evangelism planning. Our leadership is sold on the concepts the book teaches. Mittelberg's six-step strategy is a brilliant addition to our thinking and promises to be our strategic guide for years to come.