Church revitalization is a big deal. Most churches that try to make a change do NOT succeed.

The good news is that you do not need to take the journey alone. Several books have been written to help you think through the process. Several key choices have been bolded--read these before attempting to lead your church through transition.

Top Nine (Read these before attempting to lead your church through transition.):

1. Malphurs, Aubrey.
   Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskins: How Change a Church without Destroying It. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993.
2. Rainer, Thom S. and Eric Geiger.
   Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.
3. Reeder, Harry L., III and David Swavely.
   From Embers to a Flame: How God Can Revitalize Your Church. 2004.
4. Alan Roxburgh, Fred Romanuk, and Eddie Gibbs
   The Missional Leader. 2006.
5. Schwarz, Christian A.
   Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996.
6. Southerland, Dan.
   Transitioning: Leading Your Church through Change. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
7. Stetzer, Ed and David Putman.
   Breaking the Missional Code. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2006.
8. Towns, Elmer and Ed Stetzer.
   Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church. Chicago, Moody Publishers: 2004.
9. Wood, Gene.
   Leading Turnaround Churches. St. Charles, IL: Church SmartResources, 2001.

Books for Further Study on Refocusing Churches:

• Barber, Cyril. The Dynamics of Effective Leadership: Learning from Nehemiah. Loizeaux Bro. 1976
• Buttry, Daniel. Bring Your Church Back to Life: Beyond Survival Mentality. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1988.
• Dale, Robert. Leadership for a Changing Church. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1998.
• Easum, Bill. A Second Resurrection: Leading Your Congregation to New Life. Abingdon Press, 2007.
• Frazee, Randy. The Come Back Congregation. Nashville: TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
• Frazee, Randy. The Connecting Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001.
• Guder, Darrell L., ed. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998.
• Herrington, Jim; Mike Bonem; and James H. Furr. Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
• Kimball, Dan. The Emerging Church. Zondervan, 2003.
• Logan, Robert E., and Thomas T. Clegg. Releasing Your Church's Potential: A Natural Church Development Resource Kit. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998.
• Martoia, Ron. Morph! Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2003. (0-7644-2450-5)
• Maxwell, John. Failing Forward. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.
• McGavran, Donald Anderson. How Churches Grow. New York: Friendship Press, 1970.
• McIntosh, Gary L. Staff Your Church for Growth: Building Team Ministry in the 21st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
• McManus, Erwin Raphael. An Unstoppable Force: Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind. Loveland, CO: Group, 2001.
• McNeal, Reggie. The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
• McNeal, Reggie. A Work of Heart. San Francisco: Jossey-Boss Publishers, 2000.
• Mundey, Paul. Unlocking Church Doors: 10 Keys to Positive Change. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.
• Nelson, Allan and Gene Appel. How to Change Your Church Without Killing It. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000.
• Ogden, Greg. The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.
• Rainer, Thom S. Breakout Churches. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.
• Roxburgh, Alan, with Mike Regele. Crossing the Bridge: Church Leadership in a Time of Change. Costa Mesa, Calif.: Percept Group, Inc., 2000.
• Russell, Ronny. Can a Church Live Again? Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2004.
• Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Church. Zondervan, 2003.
• Schaller, Lyle E. 44 Questions for Congregational Self-Appraisal. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998.
• Schaller, Lyle. E. Discontinuity and Hope: Radical Change and the Path of the Future. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.
• Schaller, Lyle E. The InterVentionist. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1997.
• Shawchuck, Norman, and Gustave Rath. Benchmarks of Quality in the Church: 21 Ways to Continuously Improve the Content of Your Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.
• Tidsworth, Floyd. Lifecycle of a Congregation. Nashville, TN: Broadman, 1992.
• Tillapaugh, Frank R. Unleashing the Church. Ventura, CA: GL Publications. 1982.
• Troeger, Thomas H. Preaching While the Church is Under Reconstruction. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1999.
• Troeger, Thomas H. Ten Strategies for Preaching in a Multi Media Culture. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1996.
• Van Gelder, Craig. The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
• Walling, Terry. Focused Ministry. Carol Stream, IL: Church Smart Resources, 1999.
• White, James Emery. Rethinking the Church: A Challenge to Creative Resign in an Age of Transition. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997.

Here is a helpful description of some of the books from Wesleyan.org

• Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey, Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem and James H. Furr (Jossey-Bass, 2000)—deals with the primary task of refocusing and turnaround churches, namely understanding and managing the change process—if you don’t know where to begin studying "refocusing," start with this book.
• Turnaround Churches: How to Overcome Barriers to Growth and Bring New Life to an Established Church, George Barna (Regal Books, 1993)—although basically pessimistic about the success rate of turnaround churches, Barna offers some helpful insights about it being done.
• Leading Turnaround Churches, Gene Wood (ChurchSmart Resources, 2001)—the basis of Wood’s seminar offered through ChurchSmart (see their website for seminar dates).
• Turnaround Strategies for the Small Church, Ron Crandall (Abingdon, 1995)—this title is by a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary and is well-written for pastors of smaller congregations.
• One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Bringing Out the Best in Any Size Church, Gary L. McIntosh (Fleming H. Revell, 1999)—written in the first-person style of a struggling pastor conversing with a mentor, this book models mentoring while also addressing classic church growth insights leading to congregational transformation.
• The Healthy Church: Avoiding and Curing the 9 Diseases that Can Afflict Any Church, C. Peter Wagner (Regal Books, 1996)—helps leaders diagnose and prescribe courses of action for dealing with nine "pathologies" that can result in plateau, decline or death of a congregation.
• Strategy 2000: Churches Making Disciples for the Next Millennium, Aubrey Malphurs (Kregel Publications, 1996)—a step-by-step guide for developing a strategy for disciplemaking growth; the examples alone in the appendix of the book are worth the purchase price.
• Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry Leaders, Aubrey Malphurs (Baker Books, 1999)—a more in-depth treatment of the same subject matter as Strategy 2000.