The Best 5 Books on Church Growth

Living things grow. If something isn’t growing, it’s dying. This is why a church that is not growing is a cause for concern. ​A church should be alive and one way to know if a church is alive is to look at the numbers.

Numbers aren’t everything, but numbers represent people and each person has a story and every story matters to God (I didn’t come up with that, but I love it).

Every church leader should be intentional about positioning their church for growth. I’ve pulled together my list of the best five books on church growth. Each one of these books will give you strategies and actionable best-practices to help grow your church. Here’s my list of the best 5 books on church growth:

 5. Breakout Churches by Thom Rainer

Thom Rainer writes about the common factors that result in forward momentum for churches. What makes a church move from mediocrity to exponential growth? What are the best practices that churches can discover to break out of their plateaus and see movement in all areas including numerical growth? This book answers those questions.

4. Lasting Impact by Carey Nieuwhof

Carey Nieuwhof is one of my favorite authors and thought-leaders. His writing style is so conversational and easy to follow while profound and insightful at the same time. This book caused me to take a second look at some things we were doing in my church that I had assumed were working, but I may have been assuming too much! You need to grab a copy of this book for everyone on your team and go through it together!

3. Church Growth Flywheel by Rich Birch

Rich Birch is one of the top influencers in executive church leadership, and this book is yet another way he is using his influence to help so many church leaders grow. He has written a cogent book that will give you practical tools to implement systems that will grow you church. Theory is great, but a well-applied system changes everything! Pick this book up today to discover practical systems that will help grow your church.

2. The UnStuck Church by Tony Morgan

The first question you must ask before your church will grow is, “Are we healthy?” Tony Morgan and the UnStuck group have helped churches break through plateaus for years. Now he has written one of the best books on church health. Pick this book up, make sure your church is healthy then watch it begin to grow as a result.

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1. How to Break Growth Barriers by Carl F. George and Warren Bird

Did you know that every large organization had to break through several growth barriers to get where they are today? The same is true for churches. When you see a church of 5,000 people, you’re seeing a church that was likely once a group of 50 people, then 100, then 150, then 200, then 400, then 800, then 1000, then 1200 and so on. Every step of the way they had to break through the next barrier. But how did they? And how can your church? This book will give you the tools to break through your next growth barrier and beyond.

Bonus: Preaching Killer Sermons by Lane Sebring

Some studies indicate that as many as 90% of people decide whether to come back to a church for a second visit based solely on the preacher and his preaching. This means a crucial aspect of growing your church is ensuring that you are preaching at your best every week. In Preaching Killer Sermons,  I reveal how to deliver  your message with absolute clarity and preach with a keen understanding of your audience. Pick up this book if you want to discover how to create and deliver messages that captivate and inspire your listeners.

These are my top choices for books on church growth. If you click on my links and make a purchase I get a small affiliate commission. This does not affect your price whatsoever, and I only recommend products or services that love and have benefited from.

What books on church growth have made the most impact on you?