Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too

by Ed Stetzer, Mike Dodson

Research shows that over time, most churches plateau and then eventually decline. Typically, they start strong and experience periods of growth, then stagnate and lose members. Since 1991, the North American population has increased by 15 percent while the number of "unchurched" people has increased by 92 percent. Large church houses that were filled in the 1950s and `60s now hold a fraction of their capacity. To counter this trend, authors Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson surveyed 300 churches from across ten different denominations that recently achieved healthy evangelistic growth after a significant season of decline. What they have discovered is an exciting method of congregation reinvigoration that is shared in the new book entitled Comeback Churches .

Endorsements

“As a successful pastor, church planter, researcher, and advisor to thousands of churches, Ed Stetzer speaks from a wealth of experience with all kinds of churches. Now, in one volume, your church can benefit from his wisdom. This book is a winner!”
— Dr. Rick Warren , author of The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church  

“First and foremost, it is biblical. Second, it is well researched. And third, it is immensely practical and applicable . . . this book should be in the hands of hundreds of thousands of pastors, staff, and church leaders. Simply stated, it is just that good.” — Thom S. Rainer , author of Simple Church , president/CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources

“Finally, a book of practical advice that is based on research. I have seen it both ways— endless research with little advice, or, much advice with little facts. This book strikes the balance with perfection.” — Elmer Towns , Dean of Liberty University

“This is the most helpful, practical book on church revitalization I’ve read this century.” — Leonard Sweet , Drew Theological School, George Fox University

“ Comeback Churches is more than a pep talk. It’s rooted in the ‘right stuff’ to bring a congregation out of the dismal into the vital.” — Jack W. Hayford , President, International Foursquare Churches, Chancellor, The King’s College and Seminary

“No one, to my knowledge, has done the hard research, presented the facts, and offered such sound advice as Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson… Comeback Churches is the number-one book on turning around declining and plateauing church ministry. — Gary L. McIntosh , D.Min., Ph.D., Biola University

“A refreshing book by authors who know how to make research exciting and instructional. Leaders and members of non-growing evangelical churches should read this book (it wouldn't hurt mainliners either)!” — Bill Easum , Easum, Bandy & Associates

Genres: Church, Leadership, Christian, Ecclesiology, Faith, Religion, Christianity

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2007

About the author

Ed Stetzer, PhD, holds the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair for Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and is the dean of the School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership at Wheaton College. He also serves as the executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton. Stetzer is a prolific author and a well-known conference speaker. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; holds two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and has written or cowritten more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles.

Stetzer is a contributing editor for Christianity Today and a columnist for Outreach magazine. He is frequently interviewed for or cited in news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. He is also the executive editor of The Gospel Project, a bible study curriculum used by more than one million people each week.

Stetzer cohosts BreakPoint This Week, a radio broadcast that airs on more than four hundred media outlets. He serves as the interim teaching pastor at The Moody Church in Chicago. Stetzer lives in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife, Donna, and their three daughters.



You can also connect with Ed on Facebook and Instagram.

Reviews

[Chris Risley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, research-based book

[Jared Segerstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read. No earth shattering information but a good analysis of how churches have grown and become healthier.

[Adam Callis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspiring and insightful. This is a great practical tool that I plan to keep within reach for a while.

[Chris Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

You've probably read several books by Thom Rainer that are similar to this one (Simple Church, Breakout Churches, etc), but this one is worth reading as well. Much of the findings are the same as those from similar studies, but there were at least a couple other worthy insights.

One of the most notable things I found interesting was that this book did not note a long tenure of a pastor as a common factor of growing churches. All the other studies I've read make this point. Comeback Churches, however, found almost just the opposite. Most of the growing churches that they interviewed had new pastors, and those that did not have a new pastor had a renewed pastor (in that he suddenly obtained a fresh vision and passion for ministry). I wonder how these findings mesh with previous findings.

Comeback Churches offers good research which shows what we've always known: things such as prayer, evangelism, and biblical leadership are essential for churches that want to be healthy and growing.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good basic information. If you do not know this information you need to know it. If you know it, that does not mean it is easy to implement. Actually this a book for every church, even if your doing well. Because it basically has you address real methods and metrics. It is for Christ Centered, bible inspired churches. If you have a minimalistic view of scripture, this book is still good information, but a lot of the methods will apply in different manners. My bias, Stetzer and Rainer are the best at getting true and accurate information about the church. They were both pastors and their research covers the breath of the church nation wide. They are not an individual pastor telling you their story, their methods, their experiences, and there is nothing wrong with that. however, I would rather read from a much more diverse and less individualistic point of view.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed Stetzer is a well-known church consultant who oversaw a study in the mid-2000s of what he called Comeback Churches -- churches who had plateaued or declined but who had turned things around and had begun growing again. Though a bit dated now, its findings and recommendations are still very relevant for churches in 2021. What makes this book work well is the wide variety of churches in Stetzer's sample of 300, and his continued exhortation that just because one thing worked in one context, it doesn't necessarily mean it would work in the reader's. But there are some common denominators (such as a renewed focus on prayer, focus on youth and children's ministry, a more contemporary and relaxed style without completely abandoning tradition) that all churches can work into their revitalization endeavours. Lots of food for thought that would be applicable to many churches today.

[James Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your Church Can Make A Comeback
In "Comeback Churches," Stetzer and Dodson write that for a church to grow, it must be missional. In other words, the church must be Biblically faithful, acting as the presence of Christ in the community at large, able to relate Christ to people in culture, and be on mission. One of the most important takeaways from their research is that most successful comeback churches first had a spiritual experience that redirected and re-energized their lives. This spiritual experience usually began with the church leader - men who had a sense that what God called them to do would be accomplished. This is an excellent and encouraging book for anyone working to replant a church.

[Robert Don Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished for 3rd time The fact that over 300 churches actually were successful in turn around. Indeed turning a congregation around is never easy but absolutely possible when done correctly with much prayer and commitment. I would commend this book to anyone who desires to see the church get back to a period of growth within this country. I am convinced that if this plan is followed quality results will be achieved.

[Dave Pettengill · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. It was written in 2007 but honestly felt like it was written in the early 90's. The solutions it offers in some areas such as the importance of prayer, leadership, preaching are important but much of the advice seemed to be lacking for 2022 and beyond. There is also a lot of language insinuating the focus of the leadership of the church has to be men and I do not agree with that understanding.

[Christopher Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this book twice so far. I mostly read it for hope for the church I pastor. There are many practical insights as long as the reader uses the general concepts rather than carbon copying what the churches have done. Each church is unique and requires unique methods to carry out the mission.

I highly recommend this book for any church leader whether staff or lay leader.

[Brayden Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid resource. This book was extremely helpful to me and gave me so many strategies and leadership principles to apply to my own ministry context! I highly recommend to any leader in the church -- no matter your role.

[Jeff Ragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not the shiniest literary gem, this book is an absolute "must read" for the pastor or leader who wants his church to make a difference in his community. Great insights; thought provoking!

[Darren Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info...outdated and a little dry. Underlying principles are good.

[Karl Dumas · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots of good information and suggestions, but then, I'm a fan of Ed Stetzer's writing.

[Philip Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Ed Stetzer.

[Ellie Sorota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two thumbs up. Five stars. Gold star. If you could Yelp books, I'd yelp the heck out of "Comeback Churches". Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson deliver a hands-down winner. The authors conducted a study of 324 churches that had been in decline or experiencing plateau and successfully turned themselves around to become thriving communities. ("Decline" and "plateau" were thoroughly defined for terms of the study. I'll let you read that chapter yourself, although I should note that the study churches represent all demographics, including: denominations, age, size, location, etc.) This book shows is the result of those studies. Each chapter examines important factors of what changes and fleshes them out - what worked, what didn't, how change was implemented, what factors influenced change, challenges to change, etc. It is filled to the brim with practical suggestions and quotations from survey respondents themselves. Charts, diagrams and percentages further help clarify study results while Stetzer and Dodson prove themselves invaluable communicators in evaluating the results.

This book stands high above many "how to do church" books because it does represent so many approaches. It is not pushing one model for one type of church in a particular place. There are multiple suggestions for all types of congregations. I feel confident in saying that ANY stagnant or declining church in the US would find valuable insight and practical take aways here.

Stetzer and Dodson evaluate the results in a thorough manner, providing suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter. There is a good balance of encouragement and kick-in-the-pants. This spells out exactly what our leaders have been trying to articulate for ourselves and our congregation.

I'm so pumped, I hope I can go to sleep tonight!

[Brian Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a mixed back. On the positive side, there are some good observations as to why many churches have declined. In particular, I found this quote to be quite true: "Our churches struggle with being evangelistically effective because they are locked into a self-affirming subculture while the larger culture continues to move in other directions. The cultural distance between our churches and communities continues to widen, making it harder and harder to communicate the gospel" (p. 7).

Reading the book also gave me some ideas of what I could do differently as a pastor of a church.

Yet the book often tends to pragmatism, and that's because Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson analyzed the responses of a number of churches that "came back" from decline. So they present "what worked," sometimes with little theological discernment. (A lot of churches went all Rick Warren, for example.)

I would like to see a book like this written by theologians I can trust.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book relied too much on statistics that are not so easily measurable as presented by the authors, with a high likelihood of outliers as well. Aside from that, this book is a good warning to churches everywhere of what the Church is rapidly becoming and provides suggestions for stopping and/or reversing the decline of the local church. I would add one thing: preach the gospel faithfully and passionately in your life and your sermons and the change you want to see in your church will occur. The pastor must embody what he seeks for his church to emulate. A passionless and gospel-less pastor who doesn't evangelize his people and his community will inevitably have the same in his church body.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a pretty good book. All of the information is based upon phone interviews and surveys done with 324 churches that have made a turnaround in their attendance and missional involvement. Some of the information will not come as a surprise. Adding a service, building a new building, refocusing the church's mission and changing pastoral staff are all included as activities that had positive results for most of the churches. You will find a heavy emphasis on the Willow Creek and Purpose Driven models throughout. A good book to add to a collection of books that deal with church revitalization.

[Randal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am pretty leary about church growth books. That being said I have enjoyed many parts of this book. I like the way the research is presented. I'm pretty skeptical. My problem starts after they all start to sound the same. They all contain truth, but they are not the "truth." Every situation is unique and I know this book tries to adjust for that by examining 300 churches but I'm still not convinced. I'm a hopeless skeptic. There is a lot of good confirmation in this book of things that I feel I have already read in other books.

[Lee Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives great practical advice for churches that are struggling or in the same old rut. Leaders of all churches should skim through this book to be reminded of areas of the church that could be forgotten or aspects of leadership that need to be revisited. Not a great book but a good easy read.

[Dennis Henn · Rating 3 out of 5]

90% of churches are plateaued or declining. "Evangelism must remain a priority or transformation will not occur." We have had two evangelistic efforts in eighteen years. We have been plateaued and now declining for three years. It's a wonder it took that long.
Stetzer interviewed 342 comeback churches to find how they turned things around.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A top notch book, and for me, more applicable than "From Embers To A Flame." It's filled with good ideas, well organized, and a good catalyst for creative thinking. It is not about church growth-- it is about church health. I found it to be both encouraging and challenging.

[Al Soto · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In my current context at Trinity Christian Center this has been a very good tool in helping me think about all the ways others have implemented change in a Churches Culture. His definition of what it means to be "Missional" is excellent!"

[Justin Barksdale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book will be helpful for pastors and congregations in the Bible Belt. Almost all of the statistics are from churches in the Mid-west and the South. Not immediately applicable for churches on the Left Coast.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a study of 324 churches in decline/plateau which were able to change into a sustained growth mode. "Change" is a key word along with prayer, preaching, evangelism. The book discusses obstacles to becoming a comeback church and gives numerous examples from the 324 churches.

[Dr. Jason Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that provides research results from churches that have come back from decline. The reader will find many practical elements throughout the book to help them shepherd churches who desire growth & vitality.

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good read...though it's hard not to get a little depressed by stats indicating that only 1 in 100 churches are experiencing significant evangelistic growth.

[Jeff Hoenshell · Rating 2 out of 5]

relied heavily on statistical data, but overall the observations were insightful, prophetic and helpful.
very useful for perspective and balance in ministry.

[Steve Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for those who are revitalizing/restarting churches. It does have a lot of data and statistics but it is very relevant.