More Than Numbers: The Ways Churches Grow

by Loren B. Mead

Mead explores what church growth and evangelism really mean in a time when it is mathematically impossible for every congregation to achieve significant numerical growth. He argues provocatively that spiritual, organizational, and missional growth are just as important as numerical growth, and that all four are needed for a truly healthy and growing church. Case studies and discussion questions are included.

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for any church leader/group to read. Lays out simply the different ways of understanding growth.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

As suggested by the title, More Than Number, this book discusses various areas of church growth unrelated to new members being added, including maturational, organic, and incarnational growth.

The book had several strong points, including worksheets that could be used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a church in the various areas of growth. I thought there were some fairly decent analytical questions on the worksheets, although I didn’t use them. The sections on maturational and incarnational growth were also interesting, but I found the section on organic growth to be confusing – I’m not sure I ever exactly understood the idea behind it.

On the con side, overall the book could have been more engagingly written. It was a bit of a slog to finish after I got halfway through.

This book could be an interesting tool for evaluating church growth if a person was willing to put some time into applying it and sorting through the concepts that they agreed and disagreed with. For a casual read, it’s not so scintillating.

[Andy Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book that takes a look at the different ways churches can and should grow: numerically, maturationaly (or spiritually), organically (how people work together), and incarnation ally (how the church works in the world). The book contains a good analysis of the factors that affect each of these areas, with lots of ideas to think about. It also includes worksheets to help with a local church's analysis and discussion of the matters.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ JUN 2013

Excellent companion to Alban Institute's Once and Future Church trilogy. A must read for any church leader interested in dynamic church growth.