Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work - Expanded and Updated

by Jim Tomberlin, Dr. Warren Bird, Craig Groeschel (Foreword)

Thousands of Protestant churches are perplexed by plateaued or declining attendance, while other congregations nearby thrive. Is there a way for them to combine forces, drawing on both their strengths, in ways that also increase their missional impact?

In Better Together, Expanded and Making Church Mergers Work, church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin and award-winning writer Warren Bird make the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. This much-needed resource describes the range of mergers for strong, stable, stuck, and struggling churches. No matter what type of merger a church may be considering, the authors address key questions about the How can a merger help a church go forward? How will a merger process unfold? Where can a declining church find another congregation to join? What are the pitfalls that both pastor and congregation should avoid? How can "better together" lead to more, rather than fewer, life-giving, high-impact, reproducing churches? They provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches, so they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute mergers for church expansion and renewal--ultimately, so they can reinvigorate declining churches and give them a "second life."

No matter what your motivation for merging your church with another--to begin a new church life cycle, cross racial lines, reach more people for Christ, multiply your church's impact, or better serve your local community--Better Together will give you the tools you need to create a thriving new entity.

Genres: Church

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2020

Reviews

[Jonathan Brooker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a bit of an identity crisis itself. It's rich with detailed stories of specific mergers. Like, a lot of examples given. At times it would give easy to navigate lists of what needs to be considered, while at other times there would be expanses of paragraphs given to things that could've simply been listed.

All in all, I basically felt like this book could've been laid out as a reference book rather than a church leadership book and it would've been immensely more enjoyable and helpful to read. The reader would likely be going to the book for very clear reference questions like "What specific questions should these churches be asking each other?" (which it answers) or "How large should the merger committee of a church be?" (which it doesn't). And then having the various stories of mergers being moved to the margins would have made it more easily digestible.

All of that said, though, it was a very insightful read into a subject that is certain to have growing importance in the landscape of the American church. And the authors handled the topic humbly and with a good amount of biblical wisdom.

[J. Rutherford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better Together has many helpful and thought-provoking things to say for those considering a church merger, but it lacks theological depth for a book about the Church and churches. Jim Tomberlin and Warren Bird write in response to the growing number of church merges in North America (they are coming from an American context). Throughout the book, they seek to commend church mergers as a pathway for churches to flourish and achieve “kingdom growth.” As the subtitle suggests, “Making church mergers work,” they are not only commending church mergers but are seeking to guide those thinking about mergers through the process.

Better together is divided into three sections: “The first section is introductory, the second is informative (descriptive), the third instructional (prescriptive)” (xxiii). They use the term “lead church” throughout the book to describe the generally bigger church that takes the lead in the merger process and the “joining church,” which follows. They argue that all “healthy” church mergers have a lead and a joining church. They cover a lot of ground in the book, such as models of church mergers, the stages through which mergers proceed, why they succeed, why they fail, challenges facing those employed by both churches, and the contrast between business and church mergers. The final section contains many good questions to consider in the merger process. The description of successful and failed church mergers in the second section raises some important points of reflection for churches considering mergers. In these ways, Better Together will prove to be a helpful reference resource.

Though there was much helpful material in Better Together, the lack of theological reflection on the intersection of mergers and ecclesiology stood out most. The authors occasionally cite Scripture, but they do not demonstrate serious engagement with the meaning of the texts they use and the broader ecclesiology of Scripture. In the first case, for example, they cite Proverbs 29:18 in regard to church vision statements (pg. 102). In context, such a reading is indefensible: חָזוֹן is rightly translated as “prophetic vision” in the ESV. The parallel line confirms that revelation is intended. Their enthusiasm for church mergers also overshadows the deeper ecclesiological questions of why churches are failing in the first place and the appropriate remedy for this. It is hard to identify what exactly is wrong with the authors approach or engage with it because they do not wrestle with fundamental questions such as what identifies a church, what biblically constitutes a successful church, or what would constitute a successful or unsuccessful merger. The authors identify stability, growth, and multiplication as the marks of a healthy church in this context, yet I can think of dozens of scenarios where these may be found in an unhealthy church or where a healthy church lacks these things. It may well be the case that every merger they identify as healthy was and is so and that every unhealthy church was so, but they do not sufficiently unpack Biblical ecclesiology regarding mergers to justify such conclusions.

Though there is much practical use to be made of Better Together, the lack of a robust theological discussion of the matters at hand is a significant weakness.

[Thor R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never heard of any book like this, so just showing people are thinking about this and that other churches are successful is worth the read, especially for any church considering or going through the process.

The best part of this book are the checklists of questions and things to consider. These are in the last third of the book. The format of the book lends itself to an audience who is considering a merger so if you’re in the midst of one then you have to dig and jump around to the parts that are relevant. The authors should have written it more as a “choose your own adventure” so could skip to the elements that are more applicable.

Also, I don’t remember seeing an explicit section that says when a merger wouldn’t work or why you shouldn’t do one. They mention off handedly that three-way church mergers are the best/most successful but don’t provide much detail to how those are different from other mergers or even any anecdotes. The book was also heavy on anecdotes and would have benefited from some empirical evidence. Comparing notes between church mergers and business mergers & acquisitions would have been interesting.

The underlying assumption/value of the book seemed to be church attendance growth. I don’t remember reading how church mergers contributed to any increase in the fruits of the spirit, missions, conversions, marriages, funerals, baby dedications, or any other “sacrament” that is part of church life.

[Dennis Thurman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very practical help to church mergers. There are inspiring examples, but the presentation of templates, diagrams, and stats give immense help I what is becoming a growing option for churches.

[Andy Coats · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for pastors who are leading a church through transition or looking to bring churches together