Book Review: Leadership for Growing Churches

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Leadership for Growing Churches

Book Author: Clarence Bouwman
Review Author: John K Bruning
Mundijong Free Reformed Church
Pro Ecclesia Bookshop

2016, 193pages

There are plenty of books on successful business leadership available, but can one impose a business model on the leaders of the Church and expect it to flourish? 

There is a thought-provoking book called Leadership for Growing Churches, Paul’s recipe for prospering the Church in Crete that addresses just this.

In order to determine if a book is worth reading, it is good to take a quick look at the beginning of the book; who wrote it, when was it written, why was it written.

So, let’s apply that to this particular book:  Who wrote it? It is written by Rev Clarence Bouwman who received his MDiv degree from the Canadian Theological Seminary. He has faithfully served as Minister in several Free Reformed Churches in Australia as well as some Canadian Reformed Churches. Currently, he is serving in the CanRC in Smithville, Ontario, Canada (which is, by the way, a large congregation of nearly 600 members)!!

When was it written? The date found on the first few pages of the book state Copyright 2016, so it’s a fairly new book, written for current Churches.

Why was it written? This is where it gets interesting….. In His wisdom, God directed Rev Bouwman to preach and teach to a large congregation. It soon became evident that for such a large Church to flourish ‘all hands needed to be on deck’. How can a large, or growing Church remain afloat? How would all its needs be met? What kind of leadership would be needed and what would this leadership look like? What role are individual members to play? How does a Church prosper? How do we handle dissent in a Church? How does a Church survive in a culture of deceit? So many questions, so much to think about, especially when a Church is large and growing. As Rev Bouwman considered the needs of a large or growing Congregation, his thoughts were drawn to the Book of Titus, which in turn lead to a number of Sermons on the book. By using the inspired Word Paul wrote to Titus long ago, all these questions are answered, in depth and wisdom. The Apostle instructs Titus, and all of us, what he had to do to grow the church in Crete – and it was not to follow a business model! Tasks are laid out for all congregational members. Consistory members, older men, older women, younger men, younger women, employers and employees are all essential for the wellbeing of the Churches. This is a great resource for God’s people interested in the things faithful churches do to be faithful.

Warmly recommended.