What do you think?
Rate this book
Unchurched Next Door
This Silver Medallion Book award–winning national interview survey of unchurched people sheds insight on who the unchurched next door are, what objections they raise, and how to connect with them, taking into account their various faith stages based on the Rainer scale with rankings from U5 to U1.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2003
23 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Thom S. Rainer
132 books139 followersThom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers and Executive Director of Revitalize Network. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama where he received his degree in business administration. He received both the master of divinity and the Ph.D. degrees from Southern Seminary.
Dr. Rainer has served as pastor of four churches. He is the former president of Rainer
Group consulting. He served for twelve years as dean at Southern Seminary and for thirteen years as the president and CEO of LifeWay Çhristian Resources.
Dr. Rainer has authored or co-authored 33 books. Among his greatest joys are his family: his wife Nellie Jo; three sons, Sam, Art, and Jess; and eleven grandchildren.
Dr. Rainer has served as pastor of four churches. He is the former president of Rainer
Group consulting. He served for twelve years as dean at Southern Seminary and for thirteen years as the president and CEO of LifeWay Çhristian Resources.
Dr. Rainer has authored or co-authored 33 books. Among his greatest joys are his family: his wife Nellie Jo; three sons, Sam, Art, and Jess; and eleven grandchildren.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 5, 2017
The stats were interesting, but I found some of the theology gag-inducing (wanted to shout "not all who say to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only the ones who do the will of my Father who is in Heaven" every time he pop poo'd survey respondents' answers that mentioned doing things not just believing). It also got pretty repetitive.
From my days as an antagonistic-toward-Christianity person, I was surprised to find out that category is only 5% of unchurched people.
I'm sure the team MUST have spoken to some people who are Christians but work on Sundays or don't feel weekly attendance is important, yet there's no mention of that category. Devout followers of other faiths are mentioned in the intro but don't come up again.
From my days as an antagonistic-toward-Christianity person, I was surprised to find out that category is only 5% of unchurched people.
I'm sure the team MUST have spoken to some people who are Christians but work on Sundays or don't feel weekly attendance is important, yet there's no mention of that category. Devout followers of other faiths are mentioned in the intro but don't come up again.
Read
August 9, 2011Thom has once again provided an excellent examination of why we are not reaching the "unchurched." Though I understand the difficulties, it would have been even better if more surveys could have been included.
I did have a couple of problems with the book. First, it is hard to understand "church" in this book in any other fashion than a place of meeting/building. Just count how many times a phrase such as "going to church" or "inviting them to church" occurs in the text. My ecclesiology is such you can't 'go to church' since the "church" is made up of "the called out ones" who meet in a building (or a home, or even outside together).
Second, the book was inundated with statements that revealed Rainer's over-reaction to his perception of a "works salvation" problem; i.e., how the unchurched "seem blinded to the reality that salvation is a free gift from God." Maybe this helps explain the total absence of any questions regarding baptism.
I couldn't help but wonder how many of the "unchurched" would have answered "yes" to such questions as "Are you a Christian?", "Have you been born again?", "Have you prayed the sinner's prayer?", or "Have you signed the last page of a 'Roman Road' tract?" Rainer voices concern over why "the most commonchurch background among the unchurched is Baptist." Could it be that there is an over-emphasis on justification apart from sanctification? Could it be that with the "going to church" and "inviting people to church" emphasis of the study, these Baptist "unchurched" believe that are saved without having to do the 'work' of attending a corporate worship service? The author of James obviously understood that you are 'saved by grace through faith (faithfulness?)', yet he was emphatic that the way to demonstrate your faith was by means of 'deeds/works,' not some verbal cognitive affirmation.
I did have a couple of problems with the book. First, it is hard to understand "church" in this book in any other fashion than a place of meeting/building. Just count how many times a phrase such as "going to church" or "inviting them to church" occurs in the text. My ecclesiology is such you can't 'go to church' since the "church" is made up of "the called out ones" who meet in a building (or a home, or even outside together).
Second, the book was inundated with statements that revealed Rainer's over-reaction to his perception of a "works salvation" problem; i.e., how the unchurched "seem blinded to the reality that salvation is a free gift from God." Maybe this helps explain the total absence of any questions regarding baptism.
I couldn't help but wonder how many of the "unchurched" would have answered "yes" to such questions as "Are you a Christian?", "Have you been born again?", "Have you prayed the sinner's prayer?", or "Have you signed the last page of a 'Roman Road' tract?" Rainer voices concern over why "the most commonchurch background among the unchurched is Baptist." Could it be that there is an over-emphasis on justification apart from sanctification? Could it be that with the "going to church" and "inviting people to church" emphasis of the study, these Baptist "unchurched" believe that are saved without having to do the 'work' of attending a corporate worship service? The author of James obviously understood that you are 'saved by grace through faith (faithfulness?)', yet he was emphatic that the way to demonstrate your faith was by means of 'deeds/works,' not some verbal cognitive affirmation.
April 21, 2021
The greatest gift this book provides is that our greatest fears about reaching the unchurched are largely unfounded. The group who is militant against Christianity are the smallest fraction of those whom we will encounter in sharing the gospel. I would guess the militant are going to continue to diminish as our society--especially American society--falls further into pluralism.
The book does a great job of designating specific categories that unchurched people may fall in and gives us a healthy view of how to approach them. In general, the scale reminds me of the one Jesus uses in the Parable of the Sower.
I would like to see updated data. 2003 to 2021 will find the world in a substantially different mindset--especially in light of COVID.
I think the theology, though, should be the biggest criticism. Many of the unchurched respondents mentioned that being a Christian involves doing good. Rainer regularly denounced this as works-based salvation. We should never discourage anyone from wanting to faithfully serve God. I do recognize that there are complexities in how each of us understands how salvation works or when it works, but it seems unfruitful and unwise to denounce the compulsion to do good works.
The book does a great job of designating specific categories that unchurched people may fall in and gives us a healthy view of how to approach them. In general, the scale reminds me of the one Jesus uses in the Parable of the Sower.
I would like to see updated data. 2003 to 2021 will find the world in a substantially different mindset--especially in light of COVID.
I think the theology, though, should be the biggest criticism. Many of the unchurched respondents mentioned that being a Christian involves doing good. Rainer regularly denounced this as works-based salvation. We should never discourage anyone from wanting to faithfully serve God. I do recognize that there are complexities in how each of us understands how salvation works or when it works, but it seems unfruitful and unwise to denounce the compulsion to do good works.
February 14, 2024
This is a GREAT BOOK for those Christians who are hesitant to/reluctant/afraid to witness to or even mention their belief in Jesus Christ to family/friends/colleagues or neighbours. This is a surprising clarion call and an eye opener.
This is a book that is worth revisiting time and again (until you spur yourself into action).
I have only one caveat (which I sincerely hope is unnecessary), this is wholly geared towards a North American audience: its statistics and surveys were all North American based. Therefore, whilst the scale is Internationally valid, the reasoning and outcomes will be different and therefore the outcomes may vastly differ. However, I’m certain that the constant ringing advice of “Invite them to your church”, is sound. Solid. And the basis of The Great Commission. Share the Gospel. Many people don’t actually know the Good News!
This is a book that is worth revisiting time and again (until you spur yourself into action).
I have only one caveat (which I sincerely hope is unnecessary), this is wholly geared towards a North American audience: its statistics and surveys were all North American based. Therefore, whilst the scale is Internationally valid, the reasoning and outcomes will be different and therefore the outcomes may vastly differ. However, I’m certain that the constant ringing advice of “Invite them to your church”, is sound. Solid. And the basis of The Great Commission. Share the Gospel. Many people don’t actually know the Good News!
October 20, 2024
Target Evangelism
For "The Unchurched Next Door," Dr. Thom Rainer interviewed hundreds of unchurched people to find out how they respond to evangelism. He concludes there are five faith stages of the unchurched. Those are: U1 – highly receptive to the Gospel, U2 – receptive to the Gospel and church, U3 – neutral to the Gospel, U4 – resistant to the Gospel, and U5 – antagonistic and even hostile toward the Gospel. Rainer say to be effective, you should have a different presentation based on what faith stage the person is in you are trying to reach. "The Unchurched Next Door is an eye opening book that will help you with target evangelism.
For "The Unchurched Next Door," Dr. Thom Rainer interviewed hundreds of unchurched people to find out how they respond to evangelism. He concludes there are five faith stages of the unchurched. Those are: U1 – highly receptive to the Gospel, U2 – receptive to the Gospel and church, U3 – neutral to the Gospel, U4 – resistant to the Gospel, and U5 – antagonistic and even hostile toward the Gospel. Rainer say to be effective, you should have a different presentation based on what faith stage the person is in you are trying to reach. "The Unchurched Next Door is an eye opening book that will help you with target evangelism.
Read
June 5, 2023I don't know if there's an updated version of this book. It was written shortly after 9/11, and I think some of the statistics have changed by now. However, I enjoyed it overall, even if it became somewhat of a slog midway through when it started feeling redundant.
He had some good notes at the end that I enjoyed and actually took ideas away from, so I think it was worth it just for that.
He had some good notes at the end that I enjoyed and actually took ideas away from, so I think it was worth it just for that.
August 21, 2020
This is a great book about the different types of people you will encounter during evagelism. It contains lots of data and statistics from an extensive study carried out by the author and his team. In my personal evangelsim experiences, his results ring true and help me to be more bold.
April 14, 2021
The statistics and testimonials were helpful and thought provoking. However, it felt a bit repetitive. The points could have been made in half the page count.
September 17, 2021
Heavy on statistics which helps drive home the main point of the book: invite your unchurched friends, neighbours and coworkers to church.
March 13, 2012
This brought the different types of people that surround our churches in the neighborhoods and helped to understand what may lie behind the questions and sometimes antagonistic behavior. The fact that not everyone will react with disdain should help us a disciples to know that we don't have to be so afraid to go out there and spread the gospel of Christ. This book is recommended especially to those who wish to start a new outreach ministry or to those who have no idea how people will react. Thom Rainer brakes the average person in our average neighborhoods down into five distinct groups. These range from 1 being those susceptible and willing to listen, even waiting for someone to tell them the truth and care enough to invite them to the Lord. Then it goes up to five, being the person or persons that are completely angst to the thought of the bible, Christians or religion in general. This is the group that we meet and lump all those who are Unchurched that live right next door and under the guise of 'courtesy' we wind up not talking to anyone because we fear that all are like #5. Rainer helps with that by showing there are many who are willing and waiting to hear the gospel truth even today.
December 3, 2016
This book is a very insightful follow-up to Ranier's "Surprising Insights from the Unchurched." I appreciate his conversational and anecdotal tone. Something to keep in mind while reading this book and his larger statistics is his small sample size (compared to the number of unchurched in the US overall) and his method of finding those to survey. The statistical conclusions he comes to aside though, Ranier provides an excellent and helpful evaluation of the spectrum of the unchurched.
November 12, 2008
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a better grasp of how to go about evangelism today. I feel like this is one of the better books I've read on the subject. It is an easy read and very eye opening.
August 30, 2013
basicly just about people who have not been saved and how to reach out to them
Read
August 21, 20120576
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews