Get Your Church Ready to Grow

You know that people are lost and that God wants them to be found. You also know that your church has the ability to meet the needs of those people. The question is, How do you draw in the people who need what your congregation has to offer? Beginning with a 12-question quiz to ascertain “How Ready Is Your Church to Grow?” author and consultant John Zehring goes on to offer a wealth of practical ideas and easy-to-implement strategies that are tailor made for your local church’s stage of growth and readiness. Emphasizing participation and engagement over membership numbers, Zehring urges church leaders to focus on meeting people’s needs—in the congregation and, even more, in the surrounding community.

JOHN ZEHRING, MA, MDiv, has served United Church of Christ congregations for 22 years as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine, and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts. Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education for more than two decades, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked at a seminary and at a college as a Dean of Students, Director of Career Planning and Placement, adjunct Professor of Public Speaking, and Vice President.The author of more than 200 published articles and more than thirty books and eBooks, including coauthoring Beyond Stewardship: A Church Guide to Generous Giving with Kate Jagger (Judson Press, 2016), Zehring has been writing and teaching about church growth and related topics for four decades. He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.