The More-with-Less Church

Maximize Your Money, Space, Time, and People to Multiply Ministry Impact

by: Eddy Hall, Ray Bowman, J. Skipp Machmer

• Format

  E-Book

  ISBN

  9781441221117

  Pub. Date

  Oct 2014

  SRP

  $19.00

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About

Do more, spend less

In challenging economic times, it is no surprise that churches must get creative with their resources. In The More-with-Less Church, the authors of the bestselling When Not to Build propose that church leaders look on these times as opportunities to reconsider ministry practices that may be siphoning time, money, and energy from their churches. Drawn from time- and field-tested strategies, this practical resource will help you avoid costly mistakes and maximize the return on investment in ministries, staffing, facilities, and finances.

"The conventional church growth wisdom calls for bigger staff, bigger budgets, bigger buildings. The More-with-Less Church shows it's possible to impact more people without breaking the budget or burning out staff."--Drew Dyck, managing editor of Leadership Journal

"This volume is chock-full of practical insights on how church leaders can free up more money for the real mission of the church--our impact BEYOND the church in helping people live better lives. The counterintuitive suggestions are just spot on."--Reggie McNeal, author of Get Off Your Donkey!

"The problem with many churches today isn't a shortage of ministries, staff, buildings, or finances--but an abundance of all these resources that are overprogrammed, underutilized, or poorly managed. The More-with-Less Church shows how to maximize your church's resources to fulfill its mission. Don't start another program, hire another staff member, lay another brick, or raise another dollar until you read this book!"--Jim Tomberlin, author of 125 Tips for Multisite Churches

The relationship among this book's three authors is unique. Ray Bowman founded Living Stones Associates (LSA) in 1980. Eddy Hall succeeded him and now leads a team of ten consultants in addition to serving as head of staff at Hilltop Urban Church in Wichita, Kansas. Skipp Machmer joined LSA in 2011 and is being groomed to succeed Eddy. Skipp is executive pastor at Riverside Church in Big Lake, Minnesota.

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Endorsements

"This volume is chock-full of practical insights on how church leaders can free up more money for the real mission of the church--our impact BEYOND the church in helping people live better lives. The counterintuitive suggestions are just spot on."

Reggie McNeal, author of Get Off Your Donkey!

"This book speaks my love language! The old ministry paradigm--'find a need and fill it'--produces overextended and unfocused churches, diluting local church impact. The new mantra for church health is 'less is more.' The problem with many churches today isn't a shortage of ministries, staff, buildings, or finances--but an abundance of all these resources that are overprogrammed, underutilized, or poorly managed. The More-with-Less Church shows you how to fully maximize your church's resources to fulfill its mission and vision. Don't start another program, hire another staff member, lay another brick, or raise another dollar until you read this book!"

Jim Tomberlin, founder and senior strategist, MultiSite Solutions; author of 125 Tips for Multisite Churches, Better Together, and Church Locality

"As the new pastor of a church that was nearly seventy-five years old with a history of struggles, I was excited that the church was growing and good things were happening, but overwhelmed by the many voices about what next steps to take. Among our leaders there was no clear sense of what we needed to do when it came to our facility, finances, ministries, and staffing. Some wanted to build, but the church was still saddled with debt. Partnering with Living Stones was the most providential moment for our church, as they gave us tremendously helpful insight in all of these areas as well as how to help our church become even healthier. Our two planning processes with them helped us to more than double our attendance over the next eight years without adding one square inch of space, to eliminate our debt to free resources for ministry and staffing, and to set ourselves on a pathway to increased effectiveness in our ministries. The More-with-Less Church now makes available to a much wider audience the principles that have been so life-giving for Riverside. I thank the Lord for the ministry of Living Stones and how God used them to help us in an amazingly comprehensive way."

Tom Lundeen, senior pastor, Riverside Church, Big Lake, Minnesota

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