Breakout Churches: Discover How to Make the Leap

One of the top books on church leadership that I have read in recent years. This book confirmed a lot of what I had been thinking about "church" and the church I am currently ministering in. It was great to have such a wide variety of examples of church that had made significant changes in their impact. The principles expressed are not trying to have you jump on the latest fade, but rather has you honestly deal with your current situation and the calling God has for you and the church you are leading. It gave me hope that established churches that are experiencing decline can indeed change. The process of that change may be painful at times, but it is possible.

I couldn't get Rainer's first sentence - "It is a sin to be good if God has called us to be great." - out of my mind for several weeks after I began reading this book. While one might argue with the citeria used to select the 13 "Breakout" churches, the principles that Rainer and his team discovered in their research are practical and can be applied to churches of various sizes and types. Rainer also brings a balanced approach to his findings. He points out that there are no quick fixes or "magic" programs that can turn a church around. Only God can do that, and while we can't limit how and where God does that, the most significant and lasting changes seem to occur where there is a long-term commitment to becoming great. This book has been a catalyst in causing our church to look at what kind of changes we need to make to move beyond our addiction to mediocrity.

I've read several titles by Thom Rainer, and this one has a tone different from the rest. In this volume, Rainer's heart for the pastor is very evident, displaying a sympathy for the church leader who has struggled for years in a congregation that shows little if any signs of revitalization. He draws heavily upon Jim Collins' work "Good to Great," applying the secular insights of that title to the secular realm of churches. As a pastor who has served in one congregation over ten years, this book provides me with fresh insights and a sense of renewed hope for long-term church leadership. I have no doubt it will provide the same insights and hope for churches that long to "break out." For anyone struggling to see his/her church survive and thrive, this title is a must-read.

I must start by saying that I am not an advocate of what is typically known as the "Church Growth Movement." However, I believe "Breakout Churches" breaks all the molds of this genre of books. What the remarkable research of this book has demonstrated is simple and yet profound in our day: Church growth is directly related to the godly passion of its leadership and not to the promotion of pragmatic strategies. Several things struck me about the results of the research Rainer's team did. The churches that experienced phenomenal growth - not just adding new believers to its ranks in revival like fashion, but seeing these believers mature into stable godly Christians and functioning members of the body - they did so by being singularly focused on the fundamentals of NT Christianity. First of all, they did not grow over night. The average tenure of the pastors of the breakout churches was 21.6 yrs. vs. less than 4 yrs. for the average American pastor. Secondly, each church had to face a crisis within the church, overcoming obstacles from members who opposed the vision of the leadership. This often led to painful splits and left scars upon the pastoral leadership. The differences between these pastors and those found in comparable situations (note that research was done in comparison churches that experinced no growth but plateaued or were declining) was the "breakout" Pastors endured these difficult times, yet never lost their sense of God-called purpose to lead the church. In contrast, the comparison pastors sought to avoid conflict altogether or leave for greener pastures (which rarely turn out to be greener). Hats go off to these men who endured difficulties some times for years, yet did so with a determination to never give up but to trust God with their ministries. How sad that too many pastors bolt at the first sign of conflict. Several other characteristics were noted among the leaders of "breakout churches." They were men of great humilty. They rarely took credit for the growth of the church, and in fact several of them were quite reluctant leaders. None of them smelled of selfish ambition. However, they were extremely confident men. That is, they truly trusted God for the results of growth in the church. The corollary here is important. These were men of prayer. There are other shocking revelations in light of so much Church Growth blather today. These men took very seriously the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. They spent at least 20 hours or more in sermon preparation and prayer each week. This was opposed to the comparison pastors who spent as little as 5 hours in the same duties. These churches also emphasized theology and doctrine. The members of these churches could clearly articulate the doctrines and beliefs of the church. Furthermore, these churches are all considered Evangelically conservative (e.g. holding strongly and passionately to the innerancy of Scripture). The main difference between the

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and the research brought forth principles which many other books on church growth do not show, together with the reality checks that Rainer brought forth. In fact, some portions of the book would be difficult to write about, and even Rainer admits to it, because it shows the ugly side of church, and that most of the problems which prvents a church from being a breakout church happens internally. Rainer was careful not to make this book appear as a step-by-step approach for churches to break out, and despite the principles that are stated, there is a recognition that great churches are great only because of the power of a great God! This book also does not imply that great churches are always big churches, but great churches do grow. Churches are never plateaued, but are always either growing or declining, as the research shows. "Great churches were, in our study, churches that had broken out of the mediocrity of losing as many people as they were reaching. They were churches that had become outwardly focused, more intentional about evangelism than before." (pg. 189) Rainer also used the comparison churches who were not categorized as breakout churches constantly to show the difference in principles and perspectives. Even though the definition of breakout churches may be a bit narrow (e.g. that it has to be the same senior leader that leads the churches to breakout, meaning that if there is a change in the senior leader, it whould not be considered a breakout church), the principles apply the same. What is important in this research is describing some of the processes that senior leaders of stagnant and declining churches go through, what they realized and learnt from God and their circumstances, having a never-say-die spirit, and to forge ahead a dream that God had put in their hearts for a great church!