There's Hope For Your Church Summary

McIntosh, Gary. There’s Hope for Your Church: First Steps to Restoring Health and Growth. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009.

Biographical Information

Gary McIntosh earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Rockmont College. He pursued a career in the business world before being called by God to enter into ministry. He attended Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, graduating in 1982 with a D.Min. in Church Growth. McIntosh has served as Vice President of a church consulting company as well as accepting a call to teach at Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology. In 2005 he earned a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological seminary. He is the recipient of several awards, including one from American Society For Church Growth. McIntosh is a distinguished author when it comes to church growth, appearing in several journals as well as having authored over eighteen monographs regarding church growth.

Statement of Purpose

McIntosh desires that There’s Hope for Your Church would be used as reference guide for pastors and leaders who do not have anyone to coach them through the steps of revitalization. McIntosh clearly states, “As you consider the future of your

church…allow this book to be your personal coach” (13).
Book Summary
There’s Hope for Your Church is written for pastors who believe that their church is dying or plateaued. There’s Hope for Your Church begins with McIntosh encouraging his readers to see the potential for their church. He reminds readers that God is the one who builds churches, revitalizes them, and sustains them. He encourages readers not to give up on their church but to begin to look for the potential and possibilities that the future holds. Revitalization does not happen overnight and must be looked as a process, not as a program. Therefore, McIntosh discusses the importance of ones commitment to lead the work of revitalization. He discusses the difference between a revitalization leader and pastor. Readers come to understand that revitalization requires a man who understands that he has been called by God, not the church, to lead the church to where God wants it to be. This process is not easy and will be met with some obstacles, but the “leader” must press through these barriers to bring church to where God wants it to be, regardless whether the church wants to go there or not.
After assessing oneself, McIntosh discusses how one can perform an analysis of their church. He provides a simple discussion of certain things to look for in ones church. He reminds readers that one must correctly assess their church, making note of the morale and unproductive ministries, among several others items. This will allow readers to see the need and the speed with which they must conduct the revitalization. McIntosh notes, “the first thing that must happen before a church can begin a process of revitalization is an admission that there is a problem” (47).
McIntosh then discusses “essential principles of revitalization.” Readers come to understand, first of all, that revitalization is a spiritual matter. McIntosh challenges readers to assess their own spiritual lives, concerning their spiritual disciplines as well as un-confessed sin, not just of themselves but their church as well. These can become obstacles and stumbling blocks, causing the work of revitalization to be impeded. As barriers and obstacles are overcome, readers are encouraged to celebrate the small victories. As more victories are accomplishes, bigger obstacles will be taken on, building upon smaller ones. McIntosh walks readers through a simple process that will allow one to develop and implement a vision for the church. McIntosh discusses the difference between a vision and a mission. Through this discussion readers understand the need and importance for vision casting, as well as how to get other on board with the vision. McIntosh informs readers that objection to change will occur; yet readers are briefly informed how to handle certain matters. Readers will benefit from McIntosh’s discussion and explanation of conflict resolution.
There’s Hope for Your Church provides readers with the basic step and principles used in church revitalization. It is not intended to answer every question or to address every problem. Therefore McIntosh has provided resources that will take readers deeper into the topics of Church Growth and Revitalization. He himself states, “When you finish reading the book, continue immersing yourself in the literature of revitalization” (14). In all There’s Hope for Your Church accomplishes it’s purpose of being a coach, walking one through the basic steps of revitalization.
Strengths and Weaknesses
There’s Hope for Your Church is not without weaknesses.

To begin with, McIntosh writes from a presupposition that his readers are pastors or leaders in the church. For example, in his discussion about “Revitalization Pastor’s” and “Revitalization Leaders” he does not address any other type of revitalization catalyst. He seems to favor the “D” and “I” leadership styles. He does admit that God can use anyone, but falls short in any attempt to persuade of this. Therefore, at the start, readers who are not pastors or prominent leaders in a church are written off. This is unfortunate, as most pastors seem to have rose-colored glasses, which may not allow them to see that their church is in need of revitalization. McIntosh could make up for this deficiency by pointing those who are not in these roles to other

resources.
Another shortcoming of There’s Hope for Your Church is that it does not discuss “basic principles for revitalization” in-depth. This is a deficiency only due to the nature of the author’s purpose of the book. The book is not intended to be extensive. It should be noted that the author does attempt to make up for this weakness by providing an extensive list of resources that will allow one to go deeper into their study on revitalization.
One more weakness is that the principles presented in the book make one feel as though the process of revitalization is more like a take over rather than revitalization. McIntosh suggests that one develop a vision, but not to present it to the church publicly. McIntosh then proposes that one should build a coalition of supporters who share the same vision, who will take leadership positions in the church when they open, weeding out those who object to the vision that the pastor and his supports believe in. These principles, as well as some others, make McIntosh’s steps to revitalization seem secretive and unethical.
There’s Hope for Your Church has several strong points. For one, the writing style is simple and easy to read. The author does not use words that are over readers’ heads. He does not write as using a plethora of bombastic vocabulary words. He does a great job saying what needs to be said. By keeping the language simple, readers are able to follow the author’s train of thought without getting side tracked.
Readers will benefits from McIntosh’s discussion about a vision. A vision is vital, for without a vision people, including congregations, have no idea where they are going or what they are suppose to do. McIntosh’s leadership prowess is shown off as he informs his readers as to the importance and necessity of a vision. McIntosh does a great job articulating how one should prayerfully consider developing a vision. His process is logical and extremely practical.
There’s Hope for Your Church is filled with case studies, which add to the several other strengths of the book. The case studies allow the reader to come to a better understanding of the material previously covered. They illustrate how the principles and concepts actually play out in the real world. Along the same lines are the questions at the end of each section. The questions are reflective in nature. It could be assumed that they are propose to slow the reader down, causing them to reflect on how the material covered would affect their situation.
There’s Home for Your Church should be commended for its flow. The book was not written with the intent that someone would read it straight through. This allows reader to look at the table of contents, after realizing what step they are at, and access the information right away. This also aids in the readability and clarity of the book. Since the chapters are not written to build off of each other, the information within them is concise, clear, and to the point. All of this aides to the purpose of the book, to coach someone along in the process of revitalization.
Conclusion
There’s Hope for Your Church is written for pastors and leaders who need help and direction in revitalizing their church. McIntosh, a guru in the realm of church revitalization, does a great job describing and discussing concepts and principles that are necessary to revitalize a church. There’s Hope for Your Church will encourage pastors to see the potential for the future of their church, reminding them that God is the one who builds, sustains, and revitalizes churches. Pastors will be challenged as they assess themselves and their churches in all areas, including spiritual aspects. They will understand the need and purpose for a vision as well as how to develop a vision that honors the Lord. If anything, readers will benefit most from the list of resources that McIntosh suggests for further study. Overall this book should be recommended for all pastors. One never knows when their church will need to be revitalized and this could open some pastors eyes to the realization of their need, others will be able to recognize the need before it gets too bad. All readers will know for sure that there is hope for their church!