Your guide to long-term growth

---

Product Description

There are many books for churches looking to start with a healthy beginning. But what happens after the big boom of a church's start? Today, roughly eight of ten American congregations are either static or in decline. Many of those churches started out with an outstanding start. But why didn't they succeed in the long run?

This book is about church growth and health from a different angle--long-term growth and vitality. Author Bob Dale writes from his more than 30 years of experience to show not just how to plant a church, but how to keep it healthy and always growing.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #830946 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 148 pages

Review
"Once again, Robert Dale strikes gold. After panning 7 church streams for gems, he then hits payload with a final chapter that brings them all together into one dazzling bracelet that every church will want to wear." --Leonard Sweet, Drew University, George Fox Evangelical Seminary

From the Inside Flap
"Bob Dale has created a new and needed phrase for those of us invested in the future of the local church. Perennial Churches vividly describes the kind of church any pastor would love to serve. Bob's engaging metaphor holds up as he unfolds a strategic model for church health and growth that mirrors the beautiful truths of the plant world. As a fan of perennials in my yard, I found myself convinced that perennial churches represent our best hope for God's kingdom in the twenty-first century. Using approachable and realistic churches as case studies, he vividly illustrates how his synthesis of experiences and sound theology combine to provide principles that make sense in the real world garden of local church life. Truly a "must-read" for those trying to grow a church that will last."
Bill Wilson, pastor, First Baptist Church, Dalton, Georgia

"Bob Dale `came to church.' Bob got to know us at Second Presbyterian Church and then explained us to ourselves. We felt understood and appreciated. We also were encouraged in our attempts to strive for excellence in ministry. Here's the funny thing about Bob's book, though. Even in reading about the other congregations profiled, my own congregation still was being addressed. In that way, by reading this book, all church leaders will know something of what it is like to have Bob `come to church.'"
George C. Anderson, pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Roanoke, Virginia

"The older I get, the more important sustainability is to me. That's why I recommend this book. Bob offers neither trendy prescriptions nor superstar church models. Here Bob presents real, live examples of consistent, life-transforming ministry done by congregations not so unlike your own."
Travis Collins, senior pastor, Bonair Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia

From the Back Cover
"What enlightening insights Robert Dale brings to our disciple-making endeavor. His assessment of a healthy church clarifies an important ingredient often overlooked in our fast food generation--staying power."
Charles Arn, president, ChurchGrowth.net

"Bob Dale harvests from the gardens of seven perennial churches principles by which leaders can plant and nurture congregations that thrive rather than simply survive over the years. Dale masterfully tills his newly-found seedbed of organic leadership with living organisms into a readable and practical handbook for "cultivating perennial churches." I recommend it to those who are tired of managing organizations and who are ready to get dirt under their fingernails in the garden of people's lives." C. Gene Wilkes, author of Evangelism Where You Live