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Lasting Impact: 7 Powerful Conversations That Will Help Your Church Grow
You've probably noticed ... Churches aren't growing. Young adults are walking away. Volunteers are hard to recruit. Leaders are burning out. And the culture is changing faster than ever before. There's no doubt the church is in a moment in history for which few church leaders are prepared. You can look for answers, but the right response depends on having the right conversation. In Lasting Impact, Carey Nieuwhof leads you and your team through seven conversations that will help your church grow and have a lasting impact. What if ... Having the right conversations could change your trajectory? There was more hope than you realized? The potential to grow was greater than the potential to decline? Your community was waiting for a church to offer the hope they're looking for? Your best days as a church were ahead of you? Maybe the future belongs to the churches that are willing to have the most honest conversations at a critical time. That's what Lasting Impact is designed to facilitate.
170 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2015
142 people are currently reading
343 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
May 4, 2018
Should be required reading for church leaders.
Both professional and lay leaders would benefit much from this book. Many times our churches are in trouble and we will often go to great lengths to ignore it or hope for better days. This book will give you sound insights on the culture and practical and profound thoughts about how to stay effective in the mission Christ gave the church to accomplish.
Both professional and lay leaders would benefit much from this book. Many times our churches are in trouble and we will often go to great lengths to ignore it or hope for better days. This book will give you sound insights on the culture and practical and profound thoughts about how to stay effective in the mission Christ gave the church to accomplish.
October 19, 2015
Strategic conversations for effective ministry
The church is often one of the most change averse organizations on the planet. This book provides some great handles, insights and suggestions for leading the church into healthy, organic growth. I'm looking forward to discussing this book with our leadership team.
Loved Cary's willingness to share principles, but then to put his opinion and ministry experience behind the "why."
The church is often one of the most change averse organizations on the planet. This book provides some great handles, insights and suggestions for leading the church into healthy, organic growth. I'm looking forward to discussing this book with our leadership team.
Loved Cary's willingness to share principles, but then to put his opinion and ministry experience behind the "why."
June 8, 2024
Required reading for senior leaders
In this brilliant book, Carey challenges established thinking on church practices, processes and habits in order to help build a church that will last and thrive in the coming decades. A must-read for senior leaders and any ministry practitioners who are thinking about the future and considering how to shake up stale thinking in a challenging, yet encouraging way.
In this brilliant book, Carey challenges established thinking on church practices, processes and habits in order to help build a church that will last and thrive in the coming decades. A must-read for senior leaders and any ministry practitioners who are thinking about the future and considering how to shake up stale thinking in a challenging, yet encouraging way.
August 20, 2018
Part of me dislikes the “business” of church. Sometimes I want to gravitate away from leadership books and focus on the simplicity of the Gospel and Jesus. But if you are in a larger congregation instead of a simple home church or small group, you probably have to at least consider these kinds of recommendations.
Nieuwhof repeatedly states that the US culture is changing to a post-Christian state. Europe has been there for awhile. Canada is now there. The US is closer to completing the change each day. So the book addresses how to deal with that as church bodies in addition to deciding how to deal with changes in technology, generational differences, attitudes, etc.
If you follow Reggie Joiner and Orange, much of what is written in this book will sound familiar. Nieuwhof credits Joiner and Andy Stanley for influencing him. They collaborate in various ways through the Orange organization. Joiner and the Orange staff, which includes Nieuwhof, have written extensively about leadership, volunteers, parents and young people. Kara Powell, author of Sticky Faith, is also referenced in this book. She works with them and offers her important research and ideas too.
I’ve followed Orange closely for the past few years because I wanted to learn a new approach to volunteers and leaders especially when it comes to teaching children and teens. As a parent, I’ve learned a lot about the importance of that role too and how the church should be supporting parents not supplanting them.
The chapter about high-capacity leaders in Nieuwhof’s book really hit home with me. Again, much of it repeats what these other people are saying, but I felt like I could have written it based on our family’s own experience. It seemed to validate what we’ve thought and said.
In approaching and considering any of the suggestions in the book, the biggest challenge will be a church’s willingness to have honest conversations about its current status. Will church leaders truly want to hear from volunteers, parents, visitors, millennials about their experiences? Will they be able to listen openly and honestly to hear what people are saying? Or will they filter any input to fit what they want to hear or even become defensive and shun these people?
If leaders truly listen and work with these volunteers, parents, etc., then there is an opportunity to make changes for the better. Most parents, volunteers, etc want what’s best otherwise they wouldn’t continue to walk through your doors, bring their kids, give hours and hours of their time. But they also know when they aren’t being heard or even when they aren’t welcome to speak up.
One of the things I didn’t agree with completely relates to the reason the church meets on Sunday. For many congregations, their purpose may be limited to singing, preaching, and fellowship. But for others who take communion weekly, there is a different purpose. However, he makes a good point about the lack of guilt people now feel about missing weekly worship. So even for those who attend where communion is the center of the weekly gathering, modern mindsets don’t feel guilt, remorse, or even loss if they only participate once a month or less just as others feel that way if they miss a gathering of just singing and preaching. How to address that is one of the challenges he presents in the book.
I recommend reading this along with Joiner’s “Think Orange” books. They go hand in hand. For churches to grow, they have to have a healthy, vibrant children’s and youth ministry. Vibrant doesn’t mean a place for parents to drop their kids/teens off and let the children’s and youth ministers teach while parents go to class. It doesn’t mean a place that has a lot of activities and trips for kids and teens to take part in. It’s about those ministers incorporating the parents into those programs/activities and supporting the parents as much or more than the kids/teens themselves. When you connect that with Nieuwhof’s suggestions, you have a much greater chance for genuine growth and improved health of the congregation. (I have no connection to Joiner or Orange. We don’t even use their curriculum. But of all the things I’ve read about ministry with children, teens, parents, and volunteers, theirs is the most well researched, thought out, logical approach I’ve seen as a parent and as a volunteer/teacher.)
Nieuwhof repeatedly states that the US culture is changing to a post-Christian state. Europe has been there for awhile. Canada is now there. The US is closer to completing the change each day. So the book addresses how to deal with that as church bodies in addition to deciding how to deal with changes in technology, generational differences, attitudes, etc.
If you follow Reggie Joiner and Orange, much of what is written in this book will sound familiar. Nieuwhof credits Joiner and Andy Stanley for influencing him. They collaborate in various ways through the Orange organization. Joiner and the Orange staff, which includes Nieuwhof, have written extensively about leadership, volunteers, parents and young people. Kara Powell, author of Sticky Faith, is also referenced in this book. She works with them and offers her important research and ideas too.
I’ve followed Orange closely for the past few years because I wanted to learn a new approach to volunteers and leaders especially when it comes to teaching children and teens. As a parent, I’ve learned a lot about the importance of that role too and how the church should be supporting parents not supplanting them.
The chapter about high-capacity leaders in Nieuwhof’s book really hit home with me. Again, much of it repeats what these other people are saying, but I felt like I could have written it based on our family’s own experience. It seemed to validate what we’ve thought and said.
In approaching and considering any of the suggestions in the book, the biggest challenge will be a church’s willingness to have honest conversations about its current status. Will church leaders truly want to hear from volunteers, parents, visitors, millennials about their experiences? Will they be able to listen openly and honestly to hear what people are saying? Or will they filter any input to fit what they want to hear or even become defensive and shun these people?
If leaders truly listen and work with these volunteers, parents, etc., then there is an opportunity to make changes for the better. Most parents, volunteers, etc want what’s best otherwise they wouldn’t continue to walk through your doors, bring their kids, give hours and hours of their time. But they also know when they aren’t being heard or even when they aren’t welcome to speak up.
One of the things I didn’t agree with completely relates to the reason the church meets on Sunday. For many congregations, their purpose may be limited to singing, preaching, and fellowship. But for others who take communion weekly, there is a different purpose. However, he makes a good point about the lack of guilt people now feel about missing weekly worship. So even for those who attend where communion is the center of the weekly gathering, modern mindsets don’t feel guilt, remorse, or even loss if they only participate once a month or less just as others feel that way if they miss a gathering of just singing and preaching. How to address that is one of the challenges he presents in the book.
I recommend reading this along with Joiner’s “Think Orange” books. They go hand in hand. For churches to grow, they have to have a healthy, vibrant children’s and youth ministry. Vibrant doesn’t mean a place for parents to drop their kids/teens off and let the children’s and youth ministers teach while parents go to class. It doesn’t mean a place that has a lot of activities and trips for kids and teens to take part in. It’s about those ministers incorporating the parents into those programs/activities and supporting the parents as much or more than the kids/teens themselves. When you connect that with Nieuwhof’s suggestions, you have a much greater chance for genuine growth and improved health of the congregation. (I have no connection to Joiner or Orange. We don’t even use their curriculum. But of all the things I’ve read about ministry with children, teens, parents, and volunteers, theirs is the most well researched, thought out, logical approach I’ve seen as a parent and as a volunteer/teacher.)
April 9, 2024
Enjoyed this book along with others the author has written. Great, practical advice. Below are some takeaways I gleaned from the book:
The world is better when the church is at its best.
Growth is healthy. But don’t go to the extreme thinking growth means you’re doing everything right, or the lack of growth means you’re doing everything wrong.
The greatest enemy of your future success is actually your current success.
Many leaders overthink and underact.
Activity does not equal accomplishment.
Focus on who you want to reach, not who you want to keep.
If you have a church that engages teenagers, it will most likely engage the church people as well. If your own teenagers do not want to grow, you cannot expect the church to want to grow.
If you are going to grow, you have to give it to your team leaders that will lead.
Identify your biggest obstacle to growth, and make a six-month plan to work on it.
Assigned responsibilities and accountability, then meet often to evaluate progress.
People admire your strengths, but they identify with your weaknesses.
Christian leaders can be tempted to depend more on substance than on God (food, entertainment, overworking, etc.).
In some circles, it is popular to brag about not getting enough sleep, but a leader needs 7–8 hours of sleep, as well as naps and downtime.
No one is impressed with your 20 hour workdays, not even God.
When it comes to trusting leadership, most people start out with suspicion, instead of trust. Trust is gained slowly and lost instantly.
Most people will not change because they like the status quo.
Our world is changing; history belongs to the innovators, those willing to change and make better.
You can embrace the past for improvement without erasing the past.
You can learn from the past without living in the past.
If you don’t become part of the solution, you will become part of the problem.
Those that are going to last the future, not only see the benefit of changing, but they will learn how to navigate through changes.
The world is better when the church is at its best.
Growth is healthy. But don’t go to the extreme thinking growth means you’re doing everything right, or the lack of growth means you’re doing everything wrong.
The greatest enemy of your future success is actually your current success.
Many leaders overthink and underact.
Activity does not equal accomplishment.
Focus on who you want to reach, not who you want to keep.
If you have a church that engages teenagers, it will most likely engage the church people as well. If your own teenagers do not want to grow, you cannot expect the church to want to grow.
If you are going to grow, you have to give it to your team leaders that will lead.
Identify your biggest obstacle to growth, and make a six-month plan to work on it.
Assigned responsibilities and accountability, then meet often to evaluate progress.
People admire your strengths, but they identify with your weaknesses.
Christian leaders can be tempted to depend more on substance than on God (food, entertainment, overworking, etc.).
In some circles, it is popular to brag about not getting enough sleep, but a leader needs 7–8 hours of sleep, as well as naps and downtime.
No one is impressed with your 20 hour workdays, not even God.
When it comes to trusting leadership, most people start out with suspicion, instead of trust. Trust is gained slowly and lost instantly.
Most people will not change because they like the status quo.
Our world is changing; history belongs to the innovators, those willing to change and make better.
You can embrace the past for improvement without erasing the past.
You can learn from the past without living in the past.
If you don’t become part of the solution, you will become part of the problem.
Those that are going to last the future, not only see the benefit of changing, but they will learn how to navigate through changes.
August 24, 2017
There are many good points regarding church leadership in this book. I am especially grateful for his input on handling "why" questions as opposed to "what" and "how" questions, and he also seems especially attuned to the public messages leadership can portray to a congregation. And the primary strength of this book is that there are several bullet points we can glean for use in isolation. However, there is one theological inconsistency in this book that drove me nuts: are we leading people to a personal relationship with Christ (as he often says it's the church's goal) or bringing them into community (as he often states as our end)? He does not establish any particular relationship between these two goals. Further, at times Nieuwhof doesn't claim to have a "silver bullet" then proceeds to offer us one as if he is overly antsy to just come out and state what it is that churches need to do. The truth is church leadership is messy and contextual (as I don't think he would disagree), and each congregation has a different mission in the body of Christ. The culture in which he serves in Canada is far different from the Deep South, where I serve (and where practically everyone is baptized). The nature of practically any book by a "church leadership guru" is that it will succumb to this pitfall. Finally, there is not a whole lot that is original and groundbreaking here. Many times I feel that I am reading a conglomeration of other authors' works (but he does cite them!). On the flip side, this could be seen as another strength of this book, namely that he complies these works into one place.
May 29, 2017
Late last year my pastor asked our Church Board to purchase this book so we could read it and delve into the conversations covered by Carey Nieuwhof. I found it to be very beneficial and insightful. As our Church Board works through the book in our monthly meetings, we are having some great conversations. I started out reading the chapter we would discuss at our next meeting but it was taking too long to suit me. I decided to read it all and will now review the appropriate chapter in preparation for each meeting. The material is well thought out and the discussion questions at the end of each chapter are great conversation starters. If you are trying to figure out what to do to get your church on a growth path, I recommend you read and study this book. The accompanying video series is particularly helpful in a group setting. The author starts by addressing why churches are not growing faster and moves into more in-depth questions about the health of the church, the leadership, the mission, and cultural trends. The concluding chapter brings the reader or group around to what we are willing to change in order to experience true growth. Just talking about it does not result in growth. We have to do something about it. In a sense, this is a call to action but the right conversations need to take place before acting.
August 24, 2018
In Lasting Impact Nieuwhof focuses on seven conversation areas: 1. Why Are We Not Growing Faster? 2. How Do We Respond As People Attend Church Less Often? 3. Are Our Leaders Healthy…. Really? 4. What Keeps High-Capacity Leaders from Engaging our Mission? 5. Why are Young Adults Walking Away from Church? 6. What Cultural Trends Are We Missing? 7. What Are We Actually Willing to Change? In each of these chapters, Nieuwhof provides numerous examples as well as suggestions for turning a challenge into an opportunity. Like Rainer, he believes that the culture in which the church operates is no longer friendly toward churches. As a Canadian, he is living in a country in which the church’s relevance to daily life may be more like Europe than the United States (but we’re catching up on this trend, too). Nieuwhof also strongly believes the church’s best days are in the future. We’re a part of God’s mission and Jesus is still Lord. Each chapter has a series of discussion questions and practical suggestions for improving a church’s ability to reach out in a changing world.
March 8, 2022
This is a great book. I didn’t find it terribly revelatory, but honestly most of the points in this book we have already tried to implement. We aren’t there yet. We aren’t even where Carey is with his church. So there are challenges he brings back up that are challenges my church needs to address. That’s always a good thing. None of the things Carey brings up in this book can be heard once and you get it all. Vision is a bucket with holes in it, so you have to keep pouring the vision in. However, if you always use the same book, or person to dump the vision in then people become callous to the action phrases. So despite hearing these things elsewhere first, it was good to hear it from a different source.
August 29, 2023
Carey Nieuwhof consistently finds a way to distill complex issues down to what intuitively feel like their core elements, and then to somehow consistently come up with a list of compelling applications for every insightful observation he makes. In fact, almost overwhelmingly so, on page after page. And I was amazed by how much his thoughts on cultural trends, written before all the upheaval caused by the pandemic, still felt so incredibly relevant. That's why I found it helpful to have Carey's thoughts in book form rather than his usual blog posts, so that I could underline and make notes in the margins for easy recall later. This is an immensely practical book with loads of thought-provoking, discussion-starting content that's worth pondering well after reading it through.
June 26, 2018
A thoughtful and challenging book which encourages its readers to look closely at the churches they pastor, to make considered judgements about how and why they're growing (or failing to grow)and to think through how they might set themselves up to be more effective in the future.
If you've experiences a lack of willingness to change, a increasing sense of disconnect between your church & cultural trends, or you feel like the leadership and broader culture of your church has entered an unhealthy phase, then this book might help you recognise and deal with your problems.
If you've experiences a lack of willingness to change, a increasing sense of disconnect between your church & cultural trends, or you feel like the leadership and broader culture of your church has entered an unhealthy phase, then this book might help you recognise and deal with your problems.
February 15, 2019
This is a how-to guide on how to have difficult conversations with a congregation. Many people in church say they want to grow, but do they really want to change to do so? This book helps you plan and lead conversations to help move a congregation forward and spur them into action.
I thoroughly appreciate that every section has talking points/questions for discussion, then attaches a time-oriented goal for you to help affect change. Not many books keep you focused on the steps to create change, so I really appreciate that detail.
I thoroughly appreciate that every section has talking points/questions for discussion, then attaches a time-oriented goal for you to help affect change. Not many books keep you focused on the steps to create change, so I really appreciate that detail.
May 22, 2017
It's more a three and a half. There are good things here for leading change and conversations churches need to have. And I believe that all churches can grow. But that being said I am not sure that all churches need to be mega-churches, and those are the examples he gives.
he pulls no punches and is honest about both the challenges inside and outside the church. The last conversation is perhaps the most significant, especially when he deals with the "why" of change.
he pulls no punches and is honest about both the challenges inside and outside the church. The last conversation is perhaps the most significant, especially when he deals with the "why" of change.
March 13, 2018
Nieuwhof offers simple guidelines for critical conversations in the church. The task of 'being church' is not complicated, and requires honest and engaged reflection with people who are willing to grow in the ways of Jesus, together. This is a good book and would be worthwhile for a leadership team to read through together, and attending to one question at a time. I like the questions and the integrity with facing up to how church exists today.
April 29, 2018
The author is both inspiring and challenging on the condition of today's Christian churches, offering clear and well thought through insights to those challenges with recommendations of what church leaders can do to address them. I found this book to be both very challenging and frustrating with there being so much to do in follow through to his discussions.
August 20, 2018
Good insights into the future of organisations. While intended for churches, I think it will also apply to other people based institutions such as schools. I appreciated the discussion questions at the end of each chapter and think organisations could use this book and its questions to generate honest conversations about growth and future direction.
February 13, 2020
Short but powerful.
This book is an easy read, but not shallow. It is also very practical. Each of the conversations may be considered in a stand-alone way but there is an obvious overlap in them. I will be using this with my church leadership team to guide our conversations and reflection on how we move forward.
This book is an easy read, but not shallow. It is also very practical. Each of the conversations may be considered in a stand-alone way but there is an obvious overlap in them. I will be using this with my church leadership team to guide our conversations and reflection on how we move forward.
January 15, 2022
Carey Nieuwhof does a great job of succinctly raising key questions facing churches in the transition to a post-modern culture, including the key question of whether we want to make a change or not! Concise, clear, direct, and gentle are words that describe his approach. This is a modern masterpiece!
October 29, 2016
this was a good "potty" book small short chapters and sub headings making reading it easy ...good book to read if your a leader or if you are not involved in church leadership but can get an understanding of how to better help your church leadership. it's why we do what we do not how or what
June 5, 2017
Great Starting Points for Discussion
I like the ideas presented in this book, because they are where many churches are at right now. The Points about online and mobile viewing of church are on point. Definitely need to be ready for what is coming!
I like the ideas presented in this book, because they are where many churches are at right now. The Points about online and mobile viewing of church are on point. Definitely need to be ready for what is coming!
September 23, 2017
This is an excellent book that will create conversations to be had with your leadership team. It also offers great information and tools for those who are not in charge and find themselves caught in organizational dysfunction. I highly recommend this book for church leaders.
October 24, 2018
Great read
A great book to read individually or as a team. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter were a great asset for us to generate powerful conversations about some deep things we need to be aware of.
A great book to read individually or as a team. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter were a great asset for us to generate powerful conversations about some deep things we need to be aware of.
November 9, 2018
A thoughtful book, mostly gleaned from Nieuwhof's blog, that addresses cultural changes and how churches should address them. A resource for leadership teams that are interested in evaluating the effectiveness of their mission and their systems.
June 29, 2020
Great for Church Leaders
Outstanding, thought-provoking leadership discussion concerning how to leave a lasting impact and ensure ministry methods are adapted to sustain ministry effectiveness.
Outstanding, thought-provoking leadership discussion concerning how to leave a lasting impact and ensure ministry methods are adapted to sustain ministry effectiveness.
November 19, 2024
It’s a scary little book that will up your game. Wish there was some more details in some spots, but overall it’s a great and inspiring… if not intimidating read for innovation in the church. I’m on board.
May 21, 2025
Nothing SUPER NEW here. But it’s good for what it is. I was looking for a book that would be a catalyst for conversations with my board and I think this’ll help us.
Nick and Doug would hate jt because it talked about the “L” word. 🤢…🤢…🤢…🤮
Nick and Doug would hate jt because it talked about the “L” word. 🤢…🤢…🤢…🤮
August 13, 2018
Practical, insightful, and to the point.
Great staff or personal read. Loved the insight from the author and the discussion questions at the end of each chapter.
Great staff or personal read. Loved the insight from the author and the discussion questions at the end of each chapter.
March 6, 2019
I thought this book had a lot of great conversation starters for leadership teams. As a common platform, it could be a great tool for an organization's self-examination.
June 18, 2019
Excellent read! Great conversations and practical advise, well researched. Superb resource for any growing church!
August 8, 2020
Powerful leadership book on effective change
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews