Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations

Written by Ed Stetzer and Thom S. Rainer Reviewed By Guy Prentiss Waters

The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a surge in the numerical growth of American evangelicals. Numerical growth can be one indicator of a biblically healthy congregation, but it need not be. What, then, are the marks and traits of a thriving church? This is the question that two Southern Baptists, Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer, have set out to answer in this book.

The authors begin with a sobering assessment of the contemporary evangelical church. Too often, they argue, churches rely upon an inadequate “scorecard” of “the three Bs: bodies, budget, and buildings”(p. 26) in order to gauge their success as a church. Dependence upon these metrics prompts evangelical churches to become self-complacent, to lose sight of their biblical mission, and to stand helpless before the decline that many of them are experiencing (p. 8).

In response to this state of affairs, Stetzer and Rainer undertook an extensive, cross-denominational survey of seven thousand North American churches. In light of the survey's findings, they identified what they have called “transformational churches” (TCs). To be a TC, a church “must have grown at least 10 percent in worship attendance” in a five-year window and have “a minimum worship attendance of fifty” at the end of that window (p. 28). TCs, furthermore, must “have people in small community,” whether a “small group, Sunday School class, or similar group” (p. 28). Most importantly for the authors, TCs are churches committed to “principles that transform people to look like Christ, congregations to act like the body of Christ, and communities to reflect the kingdom of God” (p. 33). In this book, Stetzer and Rainer hope not only to describe the defining features of TCs, but also to assist congregations in becoming TCs (p. 42).

So what is the “scorecard” of a TC? The authors describe what they call a “transformational loop” consisting of seven elements in three categories-Discern (Missionary Mentality); Embrace (Vibrant Leadership; Relational Intentionality; Prayerful Dependence); and Engage (Worship; Community; Mission). The authors insist that these elements are a loop and not a causal chain. Churches may “begin anywhere in the Loop” (p. 38). TCs will furthermore find that these elements “converge” in their life as a congregation-they are “distinct” but not “independent from one another” (p. 41).

The bulk of the book devotes separate treatments to the seven elements of the transformational loop. A “missionary mentality” seeks to live out the church's mission in the community in which the church finds itself. “Vibrant leadership” entails building a team of collaborative and mutually accountable leaders who are uniformly committed to the church's mission. “Relationally intentional” leaders and congregations commit to embracing different and difficult people by means of one-on-one relationships. “Prayerfully dependent” churches embrace Jesus' prayer priorities and therefore share such prayer practices as “praying for members by name” and “engag[ing] their communities through prayer.”

TCs are committed to reverent, God-centered “worship.” TCs, while sensitive to the context and community within which they serve, nevertheless refuse to let personal taste and preference dictate worship styles and priorities. TCs are committed to “community”; that is, to groups or fellowships within the congregation that promote growth in the knowledge of Scripture, personal transformation, and service to the broader church and community. Finally, TCs are committed to “mission”; that is, they “show Jesus through word and action” (p. 199). These congregations self-consciously equip and prepare members to form relationships with unbelievers and to share the gospel with them.

One positive dimension of Transformational Church is its advocacy of a high view of the church. For Stetzer and Rainer, Christian growth, Christian worship, and Christian witness are personal but not individualistic. They necessarily take place within the context of the body of Christ. The authors, furthermore, understand the church to occupy center stage in what they term “God's mission” (p. 226-28).

At points in the book, however, important concepts could benefit from further clarity. The authors' discussion of “mission” serves as an example. The authors are concerned to define the church's mission in terms of “telling good news” rather than simply “being good news” (p. 67), and to center the church's mission in “global evangelization” rather than “societal transformation” (p. 65). Even so, Stetzer and Rainer will elsewhere speak of the church both “deliver[ing] justice” and “deliver[ing] the gospel” (p. 68; cf. p. 69). Left unclear to the reader is precisely how the authors understand social betterment to comprise part of the church's mission, and whether or how the church could commit herself to the project of “social justice” without compromising her calling to proclaim the gospel message.

In all, the authors have done well in calling the church to align her priorities and endeavors with the Scripture's teaching. Whatever differences readers may have with aspects of the book's argument, Transformational Church can be a valuable starting point for conversations that evangelical congregations ought to be undertaking. Those that do, with this book's assistance and by God's blessing, will come away with a clearer sense of what it is that God has called them to be and to do.


Guy Prentiss Waters

Guy Prentiss Waters
Reformed Theological Seminary
Jackson, Mississippi, USA

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