Book Review : Simple Church – @ThomRainer & @RealEricGeiger

I just finished Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger and if you are looking for a book on the structure of how a church should be, this is a great book.

Often times, churches and ministers get caught up in the day to day ministries and in the many events that are commonly labeled as ministry. This often times leaves our church staff tired, worn out and frustrated while at the same time exhausting the church budget and volunteers. The go, go, go “ministry” of the church then transfers down to those who are not even a part of the church. Which gives the new comers an uneasy feeling.

Rainer & Geiger challenge the traditional thought of this go, go, go church model by examining the processes of growing and vital churches in different environments across the country. (Including Andy Stanely‘s church North Point Community Church.)

After examining the key features of these churches  and their focus on keeping their churches simple, Rainer and Geiger give practical advise on how to implement a similar strategy in your own church.

I personally found this book to be a wealth of wisdom. I knew some of it from business training courses and marketing courses, so some of it was refresher. But over all the book was a great read and I would encourage anyone in church leadership to read it. (This is not for pastoral staff only. If you are a Sunday School teacher or small group leader, this is a great book for you as well.)

Here is the Table of Contents so that you can get a feel for what all the book covers.

Ch1- The Simple Revolution Has Begun in America

Ch2- The Simple Church in Action

Ch3- Simple Church: An Extreme Makeover

Ch4- Three Simple Stories

Ch5- Clarity: Starting with a Ministry Blueprint

Ch6- Movement: Removing Congestion

Ch7- Alignment: Maximizing the Energy of Everyone

Ch8- Focus: Saying No to Almost Everything

Ch9- Becoming Simple