Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too

Research shows that over time, most churches plateau and then eventually decline. Typically, they start strong and experience periods of growth, then stagnate and lose members. Since 1991, the North American population has increased by 15 percent while the number of "unchurched" people has increased by 92 percent. Large church houses that were filled in the 1950s and '60s now hold a fraction of their capacity.

To counter this trend, authors Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson surveyed 300 churches f...