Built By The Owners Design

Every church needs to reach out and bring in new members in order to remain a living, vital entity — yet there are many different ideas about what is the best way for Christian congregations to foster real growth. In recent years, what has been termed the “Church Growth Movement” (as exemplified in such best-selling books as The Purpose Driven Church and The Habits Of Highly Effective Churches) has come to the forefront with its agenda of meeting felt needs and targeting specific audiences. At the same time, there has been a less-publicized but pointed reaction to what some perceive as the church growth movement’s misdirected zeal. And while the church growth movement has been very successful with new churches, its methods often fall short of satisfying the growth needs of established congregations.

In Built By The Owner’s Design, Danny Von Kanel invites you into the drawing room of the Master Designer to examine His blueprints for evangelism and church growth. Employing the plumb line of God’s Word, he makes it clear that God’s way of growth and outreach is most effective. Von Kanel draws on a careful analysis of more than 50 churches in the Southern Baptist, United Methodist, and Presbyterian (USA) denominations to offer a viable alternative that charts a middle ground between overzealousness and declining attendance, identifying a proven framework that can support lasting growth in diverse situations. Several checklists are included that help you systematically evaluate your own congregation and develop a tailor-made growth plan based on your specific circumstances. Grounded in solid research and Von Kanel’s own experience in several growing ministries, Built By The Owner’s Design is an immensely practical resource that belongs in every pastor’s library.