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Recommended Reading and ResourcesThe list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor imply that other resources are not available. Tell us your favorite so it can be added to the list (sobrien@ecbf.org). Church Building & Property ManagementA CONGREGATIONAL PLANNING PROCESS, by the Episcopal Church Building Fund. A process guide for congregations undertaking a building repair, renovation, or new building project. This workbook will help you to determine what you can afford, to organize your planning process, and to identify the architectural implications of your future ministries. Available from ECBF, $15.00, 50pp. (804-592-3512, www.ecbf.org, sobrien@ecbf.org) A CHURCH FOR COMMON PRAYER, A Statement on Worship Space for the Episcopal Church, by the Episcopal Church Building Fund. The statement on worship space design for the Episcopal Church, this document of text and photos provides theological as well as pragmatic insights for developing the space where we celebrate our faith as the people of God. Available from ECBF, $5.00, 32pp. (804-592-3512, www.ecbf.org, sobrien@ecbf.org) DVD/Video: CHURCHES FOR COMMON PRAYER, Buildings for the Liturgical Assembly, by the Episcopal Church Building Fund. A video tour of two church buildings, one new and one traditional building which has been renovated, which depict sound liturgical design, the benefits of flexible space, and how to make a building inviting to visitors. Available from ECBF, $29.95, 19 min., DVD/VHS. (804-592-3512, www.ecbf.org, sobrien@ecbf.org) ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR EPISCOPAL CHURCHES, by the Episcopal Disability Network. Downloadable PDF at www.ecbf.org, 2008, 57pp., FREE. REMEMBER THE FUTURE, Financial Leadership and Asset Management for Congregations, by The Rev. Gerald Keucher, Church Publishing. WHEN NOT TO BUILD, An Architect's Unconventional Wisdom for the Growing Church, by Ray Bowman. Designed to help churches avoid unnecessary building, this book discusses ways to assess real space needs, how to get more without building, and how to assess if building will solve your church growth problems. Baker Book House, $12.00, 150pp. THE GUIDE TO CAPITAL CAMPAIGNS FOR HISTORIC CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES, by Peggy Powell Dean. Overview of the capital campaign process for congregations. Step-by-step guide for planning a fund-raising campaign. Techniques to ask members for money and find support from outside the congregation. Process easily adjusted to suit buildings that are not historic landmarks. Available from Partners for Sacred Places, www.sacredplaces.org, $55.00, 188pp. YOUR SACRED PALCE IS A COMMUNITY ASSET: A Tool Kit to Attract New Resources and New Partners, by Forrest, LePera, and Peveler. A multi-format resource for assessing as indispensable community assets; for publicizing public value; identifying partners to help with capital needs; and for telling a story to raise money for building projects. Includes video, CD, CD-ROM, five printed books, fold-out timelines; and customer-only website access. Available from Partners for Sacred Places www.sacredplaces.org, 2002, $125 INSPECTING AND MAINTAINING RELIGIOUS PROPERTIES, by NY Conservancy. Addresses the maintenance of the roof, walls, and drainage systems; provides guidelines for organizing records and implementing a maintenance program. Available from the New York Landmarks Conservancy, www.nylandmarks.org, 1991, 83pp., $16. MANAGING REPAIR & RESTORATION PROEJCTS: A Congregation’s How-to Guide, by NY Conservancy. How to define the scope of work, solicit bids, execute contracts. Available from New York Landmarks Conservancy, www.nylandmarks.org, 2000, 72pp., $20. BOTTOM LINES MINISTRIES THAT MATTER: Congregational Stewardship with Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Technologies by the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program is a technical report on costs and savings by state for congregations investing in clean energy and energy efficiency, as well as the Christian and moral obligations to do so. www.interfaithpowerandlight. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT GUIDE, by the Diocese of Newark. Provides annual building maintenance checklist, insurance, samples forms for leasing church property. Downloadable PDF, www.dioceseofnewark.org/property.html , 2007, 122pp., FREE. Property Use Sample Leasing Agreements: Available from the Dio. of Newark www.dioceseofnewark.org/
NY Landmarks Conservancy Technical Guides. Available from New York Landmarks Conservancy, www.nylandmarks.org:
Property and Insurance publications, by the Church Insurance Agency. www.cpg.org/formspublications/propertycasualtyinsurance2.cfm, downloadable PDF’s, FREE
Building and Structure Resources, Diocese of New York, Property Support Program web site links to wide variety of building use and maintenance issues:
Greening Your Church – links to sites for resource efficient and environmentally responsible renovations, major projects, quick and easy fixes for congregations. www.ecbf.org Interfaith Coalition on Energy (ICE) - conducts energy audits, provides publications and advice on reducing energy costs in places of worship. www.interfaithernergy.com Partners for Sacred Places - dedicated to the preservation of historic religious properties. Provides consulting and resources. www.sacredplaces.org
Congregational Growth, Emergent ChurchPOWERFUL PERSUASION, Multimedia Witness in Christian Worship, by the Rev. Tex Sample. To reach the generations formed by electronic culture, churches must make use of new technologies and cultural expressions. The electronic generations receive and process the information by new media. Churches should neither avoid not uncritically embrace all aspects, but use it to communicate. Abingdon Press, 2005, $25, 209pp. THE SPECTACLE OF WORSHIP IN A WIRED WORLD, Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God, by the Rev. Tex Sample. A challenge to the church to share the Good News in the ways ‘electronic generations’ think feel, approach life, form relationships, and make commitments. Abingdon Press, 1998, $18.00. IGNITING WORSHIP: The Seven Deadly Sins by the Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes. Provides worship outlines, a DVD, and multimedia resources for creating multi-sensory worship services. $45 Church Ad Project, Produces advertising manual, posters, cards, direct mail ideas for evangelism using contemporary media. Catalog available, 800-331-9391 or www.churchad.com. THE EMERGING CHURCH: Vintage Christianity for New Generations. By Dan Kimball. Get ready to think out of the box with this book. It is challenging especially for those of us used to a more traditional approach to doing church. What’s interesting is that old things still have their place, but not exactly as we may always try to keep them in their place. Zondervan Publishing, 2003. 101 WAYS TO REACH YOUR COMMUNITY. Some amazing creative ways that your church can make an indelible and positive mark in the lives of your community. Intervarsity Press, 2001. $7. THE DEATH OF THE CHURCH, by Mike Regele with Mark Schulz. Posits that the church has a choice, to die as a result of its resistance to change or to die in order to live. Intended to provoke, using biblical, societal, and demographic analysis this book shows the barriers to faith embedded in old approaches to ministry and provides sacrificial but well-tested steps toward a rebirth in response to the disruptive challenges of the new millennium. Zondervan Publishing, 1995, $ 25.00, 280pp. GROWING SPIRITUAL REDWOODS, by William Easum & Thomas Bandy. Provides new metaphors for change to help congregations break out of outmoded attitudes and assumptions; Describes the nature of spiritual leadership necessary to grow spiritual giants that will change the face of the cultural forest. Abingdon Press. 1997, $12.95, 210 pp. HOW TO START A NEW SERVICE, by Charles Arn. A guide to starting a new style worship service. Baker Books, 1997, $18.00, 258 pp. THE INVITING CHURCH, A Study of New Member Assimilation, by Roy Oswald and Speed Leas. Based on careful research, includes inventories a congregation can use to improve its welcoming ministry and assimilation of new members. Alban Institute, $12.25, 113pp. MOVING OFF THE MAP, A Field Guide to Changing the Congregation, by Thomas Bandy. To answer the questions “Where do we begin?” And “Exactly how do we change?” this book provides practical tools for identifying a congregations strengths, weaknesses, and addictions. Abingdon Press, 1998, $18.00, 278 pp. ON THE ROAD AGAIN, Managing Evangelism and Stewardship for the Kingdom, by Keith Brown. For congregations that want to move from maintenance to mission, employing the best of business practices. Church Publishing, $13.95. RECLAIMING THE GREAT COMMISSION, by the Rt. Rev. Claude Payne and Hamilton Beazley. A model for transforming denominations and congregations. Jossey-Bass Press, $23.00. TWELVE KEYS TO AN EFFECTIVE CHURCH, by Kennon L. Callahan. Identifies characteristics of effective, growing churches and shows how these can be developed in any church. HarperCollins Publishers, $17.00, 127pp. WELCOMING THE STRANGER, A Public Theology of Worship and Evangelism, by Patrick R. Keifert. Asserting that many congregations misunderstand worship as a private family matter, this book grounds the practice of evangelistic hospitality in sound biblical exegesis. Fortress Press, $12.00, 170pp. RADICAL OUTREACH: The Recovery of Apostolic Ministry and Evangelism, by George Hunter. Shines his light on congregations that grow by reaching people outside the mainstream. Abingdon. 2003. CHURCH FOR THE UNCHURCHED, by George Hunter. Though published in 1996 this book should still be on the mandatory reading list for a course in evangelism. Hunter focuses in on the culture barriers that are both an invitation to some for church growth and which serve as a barrier for all the rest. Abingdon Press, 1996. THE LEARNING CHURCH, by Michael Slaughter. When a church is intentional about its growth, and when it actually happens, chances are the leadership has been through a complete relearning process. It is hard to learn new things, but there are rewards in doing so. Group Publishing, 2002. THE INTERNET GALAXY: Reflections fo the Internet, Business, and Society by Manuel Castells. A summary of his magisterial three-volume work on these issues and provides the busy pastor with the highlights of the work of a world class sociologist. Oxford University Press, 2001. ADVENTURES IN MISSING THE POINT: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel, by Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo. Explores how the institutional aspect of the Church and her teachings has interfered with the natural interaction between the Gospel and the culture. Zondervan, 2006, 304pp. THE CHURCH ON THE OTHER SIDE, by Brian McLaren. Looks at the vision of the church in the unfolding century. The critical question this book explores in terms of church growth is: restore, renew or reinvent. 2003, 224pp. POST-MODERN PILGRIMS, by Leonard Sweet. Explores what people are seeking as they pursue a relationship with a church in this post-modern world. 2000, 224pp. THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY, by Marcus Borg. "Must reading" for anyone venturing forth into Church Growth. 2004, 234 pp. ADVERTISING THE LOCAL CHURCH, by the Rev. Dr. George Martin. A workbook designed for “all those faithful Christian evangelists who desire to use all the tools available to throw open the door of faith to those God seeks” discusses the ins and outs of effective advertising. Includes free ad. Available from the Episcopal Ad Project (800-331-9391, www.churchad.com), $39.95 FROM DISCIPLE TO APOSTLE: A User Friendly Manual for Church Membership, by the Rev. George Martin. A tool for helping visitors to become members of the church includes a sample manual of membership. Available from the Episcopal Ad Project (800-331-9391, www.churchad.com), $14.95. 44 STEPS UP OFF THE PLATEAU, by Lyle E. Schaller. Defining a "plateau" as a stagnant holding point in the size and energy of a congregation, a level at which attention is focused on maintenance of past structures; this engaging book shows how to move a congregation from a plateau into growth. Abingdon Press, 1993, $12.00, 144pp. LOOKING IN THE MIRROR: Self-Appraisal the Local Church, by Lyle Schaller. An easy read and good introduction to understand congregational size and behavior. 1983, 200 pp. CESAR’S WAY, The Natural Way to Understanding and Correcting Dog Problems, by Cesar Millan. It may be about leading dogs, but its description of non-anxious leadership relates beautifully to leading congregations. 2007, 320 pp. Other ResourcesNational Staff: (www.episcopalchurch.org, search for ‘congregation vitality’) The Rev. Tom Brackett, Church Planting & Redevelopment tbrackett@episcopalchurch.org The Rev. Bob Honeychurch, Congregational Vitality bhoneychurch@episcopalchurch. Michael Schut, Economic and Environmental Affairs mschut@episcopalchurch.org Episcopal Church Foundation, Education for staff and volunteers through publications, workshops and consultants on the topics of
The Fellowship Partners Program offers academic and transformational ministry grants that enable Fellows to share their knowledge, experience, and best practices with the wider Church. 800-334-7626, www.episcopalfoundation.org. Episcopal Book and Resources, Books, parish resources, Episcopal Church signs; bookstore at the Episcopal Church Center , 800-334-7626, www.episcopalbookstore.org L.E.A.D. Consultants, Inc., Continuing education training in a wide variety of leadership areas: conflict management, facilitating change, neuro-linguistic programming, calling and caring ministry. www.leadplus.com. PERCEPT, Inc. Compiles demographic, ethnographic, and life style information within a defined radius of your church site. Useful to those wishing to reach the unchurched, plan a parallel development, or those planting of a new church, 800-422-6277, www.perceptnet.com. |
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