great book

This is a great "must read" for any church planter or anyone desiring to revitalize a church. I use it as a textbook and as a reference tool.

This is a book all about the principles and practicals of church planting, specifically for North America, which he says repeatedly is now a mission field (contrary to history), and an invaluable instrument in God's Kingdom. Yet this book still only scratches the surface (which Stetzer acknowledges). He provides a list of suggested materials for further reading at the end of each chapter, which is great. He opens up the book quite appropriately with a chapter on why church planting is necessary

This is a good text book on how to plant a churchthese days. It is chock-full of resources, just in case you never get to go to a class. It is a text, so don't expect to be entertained. But since we intend to plant a few more churches, it would be nice if about 25 people read it.

Good Book for Understanding all FactorGood book for understanding the various needs and preparation for church planting - love the Gospel focus. I am however concerned with the way "ethnic" is used in the book and what seems to be an abiding by the Homogeneous Unit Principle as opposed to multicultural barrier breaking churches. This is a serious issue for me as I believe HUP isn't biblical. This isn't explicit in the writing but can see back drop of it. However, overall a helpful book.

It would be a challenge to find a more comprehensive textbook on how to plant churches. Stetzer discusses new cultural dynamics, theology behind planting, and then spends the last ten or so chapters moving through the finer "how to's" of planting such as incorporation, children's ministry, and building a core team. As sad as it is to say, to book is a bit dated. The author himself would probably agree. I believe this version is from twelve years ago. The main reason I offer this is because I'm n...

Extremely helpful guide for launching passionate, responsive, faithful, well-imagined communities of faith. Includes many how-tos and approaches while avoiding monolithic, one-size-fits-all solutions -- and ultimately identifying a vital connection to God as the source for fruitfulness.

This book is a very through book about church planting. Not always super interesting but a ton of great information. Everything from various examples, to Biblical references to how to do various things within a church plant. A lot of good information. I would recommend this to someone planting a church.

muito bom e prático! às vezes um pouco fora do contexto brasileiro, mas com muito coisa aproveitável.

This was not a book that I would like to give our church members. It was misogynistic in the sense of almost totally not acknowledging the roles of women in church-planting. It was also very ethnocentric, I had to filter through chapters of material that either simply did not apply or the numbers had to be drastically scaled to fit our non-USA/Canadian location.There were things in the book that I did find useful and by the end I started to like the author.

Ed Stetzer and his crew at Lifeway have provided an incredibly well researched and structure book on foundational principles for planting missional churches. This book is strategic, insightful and Gospel minded. It is a well crafted book that will help and encourage any would-be planter. It like many of Ed's other books is easy to read and contains excellent data and examination of data. It is a must for any would be planter.

This book should be the official manual for church planter's. It is comprehensive, practical and shocking all at the same time. I have never read a book with more research. Daniel and Ed are researchers and they know that content. The bibliography is worth the price of the book itself.

"Establishing a missional church means planting a church that's Biblically sounds and reaching people in culture." - Ed Stetzer.Stetzer nails it on the priority of the missio Dei. He has a good practical mindset and pushes a consistent, constant church planting agenda. The early chapters about missional churches and ch. 7 on Planter/Pastor issues are particularly solid.The book progresses into more nuts and bolts methodology. Some methods that Stetzer recommends seemed hokey or outdated, or tech...

Rarely have I read a book that presents so many contrasting opinions with such grace and broad-based acceptance, and yet unashamedly retains a firm conviction on the non-negotiables. In the world of church planting there seem to be as many different approaches as there are cultures, churches, and planters, and Stetzer lets them all speak while constantly affirming Scriptural authority. This book offers a refreshing balance of doctrine and preference, clearly labeling each. That it could also be

Stetzer gives important tools for planting churches, and in this regard the book does what it sets out to accomplish. I suppose I would have liked to have been painted a more biblical picture of what it means to church plant. It's easy to get caught up in what feels like doing church business rather than doing the business of church. That's obviously not reflective of Stetzer's heart, but it is reflective of the book in my opinion. Still, very helpful for these early stages and considerations of...

An oldie but a goodie. Despite the fact that it is now a little dated this little handbook is a must for those looking to plant a Church. Stetzer is a great researcher and always has practical insights for those in ministry.

I have really enjoyed this book. It holds a well-balanced theology, it is very practical and might work fine as a manual for church planters. It touches in various kinds of contemporary ideology or philosophy, such as postmodernism. I really do recommend it.

If you wanted to start a new chapter of any type of social society (like Moose Lodge, etc.), then read this. If you want a biblical church, look elsewhere. Stetzer brings up points from Scripture to make his case--and some are valid for churches--but he is too enamored with meeting felt needs with a "hat tip" to God and His Word, rather than preaching Christ and Him crucified.

a lot of good stuff in here, really lays it out well. I found it a little dry but then I'm part of the microwave generation and like a little creative flair to keep my interest.Still its apparently (according to my proff...and the back cover of this book) 'the' book on church planting. So if that is an area of interest to you pick this up and read. It's a complicated subject and fascinating in it's own way.

A decent church planting manual. Covers a variety of models and methods, citing research and personal experiences. References to advertising and internet show the book's age. There's probably something more recent that would be more helpful; Stetzer and others keep publishing updated stuff.