I've read a number of books that are derived from surveys and statistics on churches, and some are more helpful than others. This book was definitely one of the more helpful reads in that category. Stetzer and Rainer consistently write in an approachable and thoughtful manner as they examine what "success" looks like in a church. Their recommendations are heavily rooted in Scripture and include a variety of practical examples.

Worth a read for good reminders on the necessity of discipleship.

I like that this book doesn't give a simple formula for transformational churches, and that it doesn't limit itself to one denomination. Instead, it looks at what transformational churches have in common across denominations. There are no surprises in the book -- mission mentality, vibrant leadership, relational intentionality, prayerful dependence, a worship that embraces Jesus, community, and a church that lives out mission. These are the fundamentals that you see in an Acts 2 church and what

Transformational Church came out of the results of a survey conducted of many churches the authors considered successful or transformational. Their findings were boiled down to seven major areas in which most of the churches scored relatively high:1- missionary mentality2- vibrant leadership3- relational intentionality4- prayerful dependence5- worship6- community7- missionNotice anything missing? Something that you'd think would be #1 on any list of "must-haves" for a church? The issue that I ha...

This is a pretty good book. But I have to give a caveat. When reading the book I didn't get a lot "practical" out of it. It goes over an outline of what the writers are getting at, it gives a lot of examples of things that can change and it dwells a lot on the writers accomplishments. However (and the book tells you that they don't plan to give "how tos") they don't help a lot on a practical level. Our church is going through this book also (well our ministerial group) and then we plan to have t...

When I first started listening to this audio I wasn't very impressed. I didn’t really know what it was about and thought it just was another ‘how to’ book about making your church the best! I was going to give up listening, but I decided to persevere and I’m glad I did. This isn’t a ‘how to’ book at all, so don’t buy it for that reason. Instead it’s the results of a comprehensive survey completed by Protestant churches across the States. The results are interesting, as there are many stories fro...

When I first started listening to this audio I wasn't very impressed. I didn’t really know what it was about and thought it just was another ‘how to’ book about making your church the best! I was going to give up listening, but I decided to persevere and I’m glad I did. This isn’t a ‘how to’ book at all, so don’t buy it for that reason. Instead it’s the results of a comprehensive survey completed by Protestant churches across the States. The results are interesting, as there are many stories fro...

Always like Stetzer. This is a significant contribution to church work.

Very challenging and a book that inspires the reader to press on into all that God has for the church.

This was a good diagnostic tool to evaluate whether your church is transformational or not. Some churches want to transform their people and culture. Some churches are intentional about transformation, while others desire it, but never feel the need to change anything. We should always desire transformation, both individually and as a church, but it will never happen doing the same thing over and over again. We all have weak spots in our lives and in our churches, and those weak spots need chang...

It was helpful for some practical ideas in doing ministry. It seemed to rely more on statistics & trends in transformational churches then on how God is working in and through those churches.

Good info and a lot of research to back it up. Also good for any type of church (plant, existing, traditional feel, modern, etc.) in our culture right now.

Excellent book!!! Most of the material is top-notch and great for discussion among pastors, worship leaders, and church teams. Below are some great highlights for me: Transformational ChurchFirst lesson we must learn, rely on God’s empowered mission more than personal preferences of the congregation. Zechariah Changing from our willpower to God’s strength.Churches do not change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change. It’s heartbreaking to admit that stubbornly hold...

A clear and succinct breakdown of what makes churches function at optimal levels...Ed Stetzer came into my classes a year ago and taught through some of this material. He and Rainer are both awesome missiologists to say the least.If you are picking up this book looking for a 'how-to' book on transforming your church, look elsewhere. This is less about method and more about character in churches. Something that most overlook in their own churches.I loved the chapter on community. They authors bre...

Good book to stimulate thinking. At times, it was difficult to see how the conclusions were informed by the research, but that may be because they were trying to write a book for popular consumption and not for geeks like me. I appreciate the fact that the authors were more descriptive of Transformational Churches than prescriptive about how to make your church transformational.

"Transformational Church" is a very practical book which expresses tangible ways in which we must "do church" if we are to be "Transformational Churches." Prior to writing the book, they did extensive research on churches in America and came up with common characteristics of those churches which are the most in-sync with what the church should be doing--drawing people into transformative faith in Jesus Christ. While much of what Stetzer & Rainer write in "Transformational Church" is insightful,

Tough read otherwise would have received five stars. To me it was a tough read because of all the statistics given. But once you get below that you find a lot of practical information, to turn your local church into a community of transformation.

When I was a child I had a book of insults.  I can still remember them.  One said, "You're so stupid, if you shot into the air you'd miss!".  Well, if you're not sure what you're aiming at, there's no doubt you'll miss.  "Transformational Church" reminds me of the goal.  It is always Christ.  It is always the gospel.  The church that isn’t being transformed has missed the point.  Such a church cannot be salt and light, and we see this reality all too much these days.  Notes:  The goal of the tra...

Rainer and Stetzer conducted extensive research on churches that were 1) seeing converts and 2) doing a good job of discipling converts. Eschewing the traditional "budgets, bodies, and buildings" measuring sticks, they wanted to look for churches that were bringing Gospel transformation to the lives of individuals.Normally, I ignore 'church research' books like this. Perhaps I'm cynical, but I find many of them simply come to the same conclusions (have dynamic worship, relevant preaching, friend...

I thought that this book was worth the read and took some good points out of it. I like the heart that Ed had and has some good challenge questions and helping a person process.