Church Is a Team Sport: A Championship Strategy for Doing Ministry Together

This book simply and excellently explains the role leaders within a Christian church should take; coach not star. Jim Putman does not offer a "new" church growth method. Using the analogy of sports, he offers what has been available for 2,000 years; the model of leadership exemplified by Jesus. The message is simple, every Christian is to be used and involved in Christian ministry. The pastor or paid staff are not the only players of the game. Everyone is to be a player operating in the areas of their giftedness. The pastor and leaders lead the Church and do not do everything for the Church. Jim Putman makes a clear call to Biblical discipleship and illustrates how this vital model has been overlooked and/or ignored by the majority of the Christian Church. If you want to learn how to organize and motivate your congregation to live like Jesus lived, read this book.

Great read. Well written, straight forward, insightful, practical... What else can I say - if you're a pastor, elder, deacon or in any leadership role in a church you should definitely read this book.

great book! Got it for my husband who is preaching a sermon series in our church with it now!

This book is the inspiring story of a church that God is using to reach the world one person at a time. Author Jim Putman, pastor of Real Life Ministries, uses his knowledge as a former wrestling coach to demonstrate strategies that work in revitalizing a church. The fact that they work is evident in the growth of his own church. Pastor Jim takes the responsibility for the nurturing of the church off the staff and lays it at the feet of the congregation. Whether you are a church leader or new to the faith, after reading this book, I guarantee you won't want to sit on the sidelines anymore! I recommend that you not only read this book, but get it into the hands of your own pastor or church staff.

I am a member of Real Life Ministries (RLM) and get to see Pastor Jim preach every week. Part of what drew me to the church was its leadership's willingness to be humble and honest about their lives--after all, the church's motto is "where Jesus and real life meet." I was very excited to read this book and see if the message I hear in church is the same message I would find in its pages. 100%--it was. RLM has made an incredible difference in the life of my family and in this community in which I have lived most of my life. This book is the story of an inspiring church that God is truly using to reach the world one person at a time, so that not a single soul should be lost. It is the kind of place where you find yourself asking, what can I do to help? Where all of us, without feeling how big of a group we are, have learned that "Church Is A Team Sport!--" And we would not have it any other way! [...]