Church leadership

What makes a church successful?

A challenge to the myths about what makes a church successful, drawing on biblical principles, years of observation, and the church’s influence on modern civilization.

Working title

Successful Church is a working title. More details will be shared as the book develops.

Cover concept

What makes a church successful? Before talking about how to build one, I want to define what success means for a church and what it looks like in practice.

Successful Church takes aim at the myths Christians repeat about what makes a church work. I expect it to offend the average Christian. It will question ideas we’ve accepted and ask whether they hold up to what Scripture teaches and what we can observe.

Drawing on biblical principles and observations I’ve made over the years, the book will examine the actual ingredients that make a church successful.

The study will also look at the history of the church and how it has affected modern civilization. I want to understand how that history connects to the churches we lead and belong to today.

Images and pieces from the making of Successful Church. Select an image to explore it.

A cover concept for the working title: a church, the foundations beneath it, and the town around it.

The book starts with the definition itself: what should success mean for a church, and how would we recognize it?

Biblical principles and observations from my years in ministry will inform the study. I want to examine the beliefs and practices behind what we call a successful church.

Church history and its influence on modern civilization are part of the scope, alongside the questions facing churches today.

By Tim James.

Successful Church is a working title. More details will be shared as the book develops.