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User Friendly Churches: What Christians Need to Know About the Churches People Love to Go to
The apostle Paul shared that he was willing to use all means to win the lost with the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:22). Today's growing churches are putting Paul's words into practice as they reach out to their communities. And as they remain centered on the Bible and committed to spiritual purity, these creative, adventurous churches are consistently attracting people. With practical and challenging information, User Friendly Churches will encourage you to consider the principles behind the success of these extraordinary churches. And as you understand the principles that make these churches effective, you'll be better able to develop your own strategies for reaching people through your unique ministry.
191 pages, Paperback
First published April 26, 1991
28 people want to read
About the author
George Barna
151 books68 followersGeorge Barna was raised and educated on the East Coast before moving to California in the early 1980s. He held executive positions in advertising, public policy, political campaigns, and media/marketing research before beginning his own company, the Barna Research Group (now The Barna Group), in 1984. The firm analyzes American culture and creates resources and experiences designed to facilitate moral and spiritual transformation. Located in Ventura, California, The Barna Group provides primary research as well as developmental resources and analytic diagnostics. The company has served several hundred parachurch ministries and thousands of Christian churches throughout the country. It has also supplied research to for-profit corporations such as Ford Motor Company, The Walt Disney Company, Visa USA, and Prudential, and has assisted the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army as well.
To date, George Barna has written more than 40 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health. Included among them are bestsellers such as Revolution, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, and Pagan Christianity? Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bimonthly research report, The Barna Update, which is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm's Web site (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today" and is counted among its most influential leaders. In 2009, George initiated Metaformation, a new organization designed to help people maximize their potential. More information about his current projects is available from www.georgebarna.com.
Barna is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large multiethnic church, has been involved in several church plants, and currently leads an organic church. He has served on the board of directors of various organizations. After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two master's degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife and their three daughters in Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading novels, playing and listening to guitar, relaxing on the beach, visiting bookstores, and eating pizza.
To date, George Barna has written more than 40 books, predominantly in the areas of leadership, trends, spiritual development, and church health. Included among them are bestsellers such as Revolution, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, and Pagan Christianity? Several of his books have received national awards. He has also written for numerous periodicals and has published various syndicated reports on topics related to faith and lifestyle. He also writes a bimonthly research report, The Barna Update, which is accessed by hundreds of thousands of people through his firm's Web site (www.barna.org). His work is frequently cited as an authoritative source by the media. He has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today" and is counted among its most influential leaders. In 2009, George initiated Metaformation, a new organization designed to help people maximize their potential. More information about his current projects is available from www.georgebarna.com.
Barna is a popular speaker at ministry conferences around the world and has taught at several universities and seminaries. He has served as a pastor of a large multiethnic church, has been involved in several church plants, and currently leads an organic church. He has served on the board of directors of various organizations. After graduating summa cum laude from Boston College, Barna earned two master's degrees from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he was awarded the Eagleton Fellowship. He also received a doctorate from Dallas Baptist University. He lives with his wife and their three daughters in Southern California. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading novels, playing and listening to guitar, relaxing on the beach, visiting bookstores, and eating pizza.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 7, 2023
RESEARCH ABOUT CHURCHES THAT ARE GROWING
The Barna Research Group founder wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the vast majority of Christian churches in America are either stagnant or declining in size… But the good news is that there are hundreds of churches across the nation that ARE growing… churches that were determined to be relevant… In their preparation for and pursuit of growth, they have learned much about what does and does not work in church growth today. These are the user friendly churches of the day… a user friendly church… is a church that is in touch with the needs of those it wants to serve… None of the successful churches described in this book is interested in … compromising the gospel or the historic faith of the church just to make friends with the age… But they are equally firm in their intent to LISTEN to the audiences they target, and to meet contemporary felt needs as the gospel directs. This book builds on the fruits of these churches’ hard-won insights…” (Pg. 15-16)
He recounts, “A mid-sized congregation … was frustrated by its stagnation in numbers and attitude… The Willow Creek experience was chosen as the model for its renewal program… The congregation grew by 25 percent in less than two years. However, the pastor and staff concluded that the experiment had been a failure. Why? Because the newcomers were Christians from other churches. The saints had only been recirculated… Instead of finding the lost sheep, they had essentially stolen sheep from the pastures of other shepherds.” (Pg. 19-20)
He notes, “Several of the pastors at growing churches… had faced serious struggles trying to get people to focus on others instead of themselves… one pastor explained, ‘many of these people came here … because they needed help. We had ministry-minded laity who were waiting for the chance to help them. The dilemma is that this person-intensive solution becomes seductive. Once someone… makes you the center of attention, it’s hard to give that up.’” (Pg. 47)
He recounts, “A church … [notes that although it attracts an ample number of visitors, less than 10 percent return. Why? Because the people who invite those people are either too scare, too busy or too unaware to interact with their guest about their experience. They send an evangelism team to visit the guest… increasing numbers of people will not allow the team in the house… Why? Those intruders have no relationship, and therefore no credibility, with the visitors.” (Pg. 100-101)
He suggests, “Kids represent the highest potential for conversion… the churches… intuitively and experientially realized that a comparatively large proportion of the youngsters they encountered came to accept Christ as their Savior… Thus, ministry to young people was viewed as a means of efficient evangelism.” (Pg. 123)
He observes, “Today, both believers and nonbelievers are constantly watching Christian leaders, anxious to put Christianity to the test and see if it is real. In local churches, people are skeptical of pastors who talk about ministry, but are not actively engaged in ministry beyond the pulpit. Part of being a strong pastor is being an active minister. While the people may not share the same interest or passion as the pastor for his particular ministry focus, they ought to at least know that he is involved in forms of ministry other than preaching and administration.” (Pg. 150-151)
He reports, “‘It’s one thing for me to put in 8 or 10 hours a day on ministry,’ said one pastor. ‘I’ve been trained for this. I’m even paid for it. But think about what it means to work an eight-hour day … rush home and grab a dinner with the family, then run off to put in your remaining waking hours on ministry. They do it without pay… often without any real sense of reward for their effort. Now, that’s a heart for ministry… I can’t help but be in awe of them. Frankly, sometimes their commitment embarrasses me into renewing my own efforts.” (Pg. 164)
He points out, “In many stagnant churches, anonymity is next to ungodliness. The underlying assumption is that friendliness and Christian love can only be shown by showering attention on the visitor. The effort is meant to make the person feel welcome and special… however… such attention is generally undesired and often causes the visitor to feel violated… these churches unwittingly trample the line between a warm welcome and overwhelming, uncomfortable pressure. Anonymity for visitors was not perceived to be negative by the leaders of growing churches, They recognized that many people visit a church with trepidation, and with a desire to take things slowly. These cautious visitors often prefer to remain part of the woodwork for awhile… The leaders of these churches also believed that the … congregation could be relied upon to do what was reasonable and necessary to make the visitor feel welcomed, but not cornered.” (Pg. 177)
This book will be of great interest to those studying church growth, etc.
The Barna Research Group founder wrote in the Introduction to this 1991 book, “there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that the vast majority of Christian churches in America are either stagnant or declining in size… But the good news is that there are hundreds of churches across the nation that ARE growing… churches that were determined to be relevant… In their preparation for and pursuit of growth, they have learned much about what does and does not work in church growth today. These are the user friendly churches of the day… a user friendly church… is a church that is in touch with the needs of those it wants to serve… None of the successful churches described in this book is interested in … compromising the gospel or the historic faith of the church just to make friends with the age… But they are equally firm in their intent to LISTEN to the audiences they target, and to meet contemporary felt needs as the gospel directs. This book builds on the fruits of these churches’ hard-won insights…” (Pg. 15-16)
He recounts, “A mid-sized congregation … was frustrated by its stagnation in numbers and attitude… The Willow Creek experience was chosen as the model for its renewal program… The congregation grew by 25 percent in less than two years. However, the pastor and staff concluded that the experiment had been a failure. Why? Because the newcomers were Christians from other churches. The saints had only been recirculated… Instead of finding the lost sheep, they had essentially stolen sheep from the pastures of other shepherds.” (Pg. 19-20)
He notes, “Several of the pastors at growing churches… had faced serious struggles trying to get people to focus on others instead of themselves… one pastor explained, ‘many of these people came here … because they needed help. We had ministry-minded laity who were waiting for the chance to help them. The dilemma is that this person-intensive solution becomes seductive. Once someone… makes you the center of attention, it’s hard to give that up.’” (Pg. 47)
He recounts, “A church … [notes that although it attracts an ample number of visitors, less than 10 percent return. Why? Because the people who invite those people are either too scare, too busy or too unaware to interact with their guest about their experience. They send an evangelism team to visit the guest… increasing numbers of people will not allow the team in the house… Why? Those intruders have no relationship, and therefore no credibility, with the visitors.” (Pg. 100-101)
He suggests, “Kids represent the highest potential for conversion… the churches… intuitively and experientially realized that a comparatively large proportion of the youngsters they encountered came to accept Christ as their Savior… Thus, ministry to young people was viewed as a means of efficient evangelism.” (Pg. 123)
He observes, “Today, both believers and nonbelievers are constantly watching Christian leaders, anxious to put Christianity to the test and see if it is real. In local churches, people are skeptical of pastors who talk about ministry, but are not actively engaged in ministry beyond the pulpit. Part of being a strong pastor is being an active minister. While the people may not share the same interest or passion as the pastor for his particular ministry focus, they ought to at least know that he is involved in forms of ministry other than preaching and administration.” (Pg. 150-151)
He reports, “‘It’s one thing for me to put in 8 or 10 hours a day on ministry,’ said one pastor. ‘I’ve been trained for this. I’m even paid for it. But think about what it means to work an eight-hour day … rush home and grab a dinner with the family, then run off to put in your remaining waking hours on ministry. They do it without pay… often without any real sense of reward for their effort. Now, that’s a heart for ministry… I can’t help but be in awe of them. Frankly, sometimes their commitment embarrasses me into renewing my own efforts.” (Pg. 164)
He points out, “In many stagnant churches, anonymity is next to ungodliness. The underlying assumption is that friendliness and Christian love can only be shown by showering attention on the visitor. The effort is meant to make the person feel welcome and special… however… such attention is generally undesired and often causes the visitor to feel violated… these churches unwittingly trample the line between a warm welcome and overwhelming, uncomfortable pressure. Anonymity for visitors was not perceived to be negative by the leaders of growing churches, They recognized that many people visit a church with trepidation, and with a desire to take things slowly. These cautious visitors often prefer to remain part of the woodwork for awhile… The leaders of these churches also believed that the … congregation could be relied upon to do what was reasonable and necessary to make the visitor feel welcomed, but not cornered.” (Pg. 177)
This book will be of great interest to those studying church growth, etc.
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August 21, 20120056
November 30, 2012
This book provides a good review of successful churches vs. stagnant churches. There is a lot of helpful suggestions.
June 14, 2017
I first read this twenty year ago. Barna shares some worthwhile insights.
February 5, 2016
Good information. Cutting-edge at the time it was written.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews