Move : what 1,000 churches reveal about spiritual growth /
Greg L. Hawkins & Cally Parkinson.
- Grand Rapids, Mich. : Zondervan, c2011.
- 286 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Foreword: Facts are our friends -- Preface: Is it possible to measure the heart? -- pt.1. The spiritual continuum -- pt. 2. Spiritual movement -- pt.3. Spiritual leadership -- Appendices -- 1. What is REVEAL? -- 2. What is the REVEAL spiritual life survey? -- 3. Who are the 1,000 churches? -- 4. Who are the best-practice churches? -- 5. What are the spiritual belief and attitude statements and where do they come from? -- 6. What is Willow doing in response to REVEAL -- 7. Research approach and methodology.
One of the church's primary responsibilities is to foster genuine spiritual growth in people's lives. Today's pastors bring tremendous effort and passion to this task, but they are often disappointed by people who sit in the pews for years, knowing about Jesus but never really knowing him. In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago undertook a three-year study to measure spiritual growth called the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Over the next six years, additional data was collected from over a quarter million people in well over a thousand churches of every size, denomination, and geographic area. Move presents verifiable, fact-based, and somewhat startling findings from the latest REVEAL research, drawing on compelling stories from actual people, congregation members of varying spiritual maturity, as well as pastors who are equally candid as they share their disappointments and their successes. It provides a new lens through which church leaders can see and measure the evidence of spiritual growth. The local church is uniquely equipped to foster spiritual growth and challenge people to pursue a life of full devotion to Christ. Move helps pastors and church leaders inspire and direct that challenge with confidence as they lead their congregations to move closer to Christ.
9780310325253 0310325250
2011008910
Spiritual formation. Christian life--Statistics.--United States