What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Try: Design Thinking and Church Innovation
What if tried and true methods from the corporate world could raise your ministry’s probability of success by a considerable margin? Lorenzo Lebrija, director of TryTank, a lab for church growth and innovation, has developed a fresh straightforward framework for experiments in new ministry based on research and interviews. With three clear steps, this framework can have a lasting impact on any church that uses it. You can even start innovating today, using this specific and actionable process within your church community. Scripture is full of examples encouraging us to try new works in the name of God. This book gives the exact tools and templates for how to do just that, and to find God in the failures as well as the successes.
128 pages, Paperback
Published July 20, 2021
10 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 18, 2021
A breath of fresh air
Books on church growth are myriad and often overwhelming. They can get bogged down in leadership speak, metrics and the desire to copy anything that grows, without any critical awareness or spiritual consideration.
This book is not like that. It is grounded and honest, simple and deep. It considers mindsets and possibilities, and most of all encourages trying and creativity, rather than simply expecting success. It does not encourage top-down implementation by an authority figure, but team and community buy in and decision making. It asks the questions ‘where might the spirit be leading?’ and ‘how can we join in?’
I enjoyed this book. It will remain to be seen how well I can implement it, but it has encouraged me to try and given me a framework to do so. I would share it with anyone as the start of a conversation, and know that they would be inspired by the examples and ideas it contains.
Books on church growth are myriad and often overwhelming. They can get bogged down in leadership speak, metrics and the desire to copy anything that grows, without any critical awareness or spiritual consideration.
This book is not like that. It is grounded and honest, simple and deep. It considers mindsets and possibilities, and most of all encourages trying and creativity, rather than simply expecting success. It does not encourage top-down implementation by an authority figure, but team and community buy in and decision making. It asks the questions ‘where might the spirit be leading?’ and ‘how can we join in?’
I enjoyed this book. It will remain to be seen how well I can implement it, but it has encouraged me to try and given me a framework to do so. I would share it with anyone as the start of a conversation, and know that they would be inspired by the examples and ideas it contains.
July 16, 2021
INNOVATION AND THE CHURCH
I am a design thinking aficionado who has taught the concepts of design thinking to students, teachers, and school administrators for the last 10 years. Fr. Lorenzo invites us to use the design thinking framework (which emphasizes curiously and empathy; as we partner with the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of God.
He unpacks the mindsets using examples from TryTank. (SPOILER ALERT: many of the examples are from failed experiments.) I could feel Fr Lorenzo’s enthusiasm as I read the book. It felt like I was talking with him in a coffee shop, after his second latte ;) .
I am a design thinking aficionado who has taught the concepts of design thinking to students, teachers, and school administrators for the last 10 years. Fr. Lorenzo invites us to use the design thinking framework (which emphasizes curiously and empathy; as we partner with the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of God.
He unpacks the mindsets using examples from TryTank. (SPOILER ALERT: many of the examples are from failed experiments.) I could feel Fr Lorenzo’s enthusiasm as I read the book. It felt like I was talking with him in a coffee shop, after his second latte ;) .
July 19, 2021
It's like Disney Imagineering for the church!
Instead of looking for one more book that offers a good next idea for your church to try, let this little handbook lead you and your team to generate, explore and implement your own ideas! Lebrija presents 'how to succeed in business' techniques with a simplicity and charm that church folks can follow. He's that excellent teacher who can not only do great things, but explain to others the actual steps he takes to do them. This is the book that will be the stuff of your creative team's retreats. You won't be sorry you started here.
Instead of looking for one more book that offers a good next idea for your church to try, let this little handbook lead you and your team to generate, explore and implement your own ideas! Lebrija presents 'how to succeed in business' techniques with a simplicity and charm that church folks can follow. He's that excellent teacher who can not only do great things, but explain to others the actual steps he takes to do them. This is the book that will be the stuff of your creative team's retreats. You won't be sorry you started here.
August 22, 2021
With a little over 100 words, Rev. Lebrija could change your church. This quick read emphasizes curiosity and playfulness, experimenting and embracing failure, and gives practical frameworks on how to identify real needs, generate insights into your communities, make plans to address areas of weakness, and more. It's also really accessible, something anyone in the church (and especially lay leadership) could and should read, and it's based on well-studied and clearly often-used techniques. I honestly cannot recommend it enough.
May 21, 2024
Short, concise and you walk away ready to try
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews