The Rebuilt Field Guide: Ten Steps for Getting Started (A Rebuilt Parish Book)

You know your Catholic parish needs to change its focus, but you’re not sure where or how to begin. In The Rebuilt Field Guide, award-winning authors Rev. Michael White and Tom Corcoran walk you through ten essential steps for getting started with your church’s reawakening.

After publishing their groundbreaking book Rebuilt in 2013 about the rebirth of the Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland, Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran were inundated with requests for help from other Catholic parishes about where to start. Subsequent books in the Rebuilt Parish series―Tools for Rebuilding, Rebuilding Youth Ministry, and Rebuilding Your Message―offer additional means to reach the end goal of making church matter and growing disciples by challenging the faithful and reaching the lost with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

In the newest book in the Rebuilt Parish series, White and Corcoran lead you and your leadership team through assessment and goal-setting exercises and provide meeting templates that include prayer, scripture reflection, storytelling, and “rally cries” that become reminders of the change the team is striving toward. This workbook offers practical steps that will help your team set change in motion with tools including:

• A checklist that helps identify the real problems facing your parish and seven questions to help you prioritize them
• A seven-part exercise to help you decide which parish activities do not support your disciple-making mission and then make a plan to stop doing them
• A simple, focused demographic assessment to help you identify your own “Timonium Tim”
• A discussion and planning guide for moving toward great liturgical music
• Seven conversation starters to help your team set a course for dealing with the conflict that inevitably comes with change

The exercises are adapted from those used at Church of the Nativity and correlate to the chapters of Rebuilt. The book will show you how to stop everything you are doing, rethink your purpose, and focus your attention on discipleship and evangelization.

Fr. Michael White is a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore; the pastor of Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland; and the cofounder of Rebuilt Parish―an organization designed to rebuild parishes for growth and health.

White is the coauthor of the bestselling book Rebuilt―which narrates the story of Nativity’s rebirth―in addition to The Transformative Power of Small Groups; Tools for Rebuilding;Rebuilding Your Message; The Rebuilt Field Guide; ChurchMoney; Seriously, God?; Rebuilt Faith; and the best-selling Messages series for Advent and Lent.

During White’s tenure as pastor at Church of the Nativity, the church has almost tripled in weekend attendance. More importantly, commitment to the mission of the Catholic Church has grown, demonstrated by the significant increase in giving and service in ministry and much evidence of genuine spiritual renewal.

White earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Maryland and his graduate degrees in sacred theology and ecclesiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

In 2023, White and Tom Corcoran were honored by Pope Francis with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award for outstanding service to the Church and the pope.

Tom Corcoran is the cofounder and president of Rebuilt Parish, a Catholic renewal ministry serving dioceses and parishes worldwide. Grounded in the lived renewal of Church of the Nativity, Rebuilt Parish offers a clear, practical model for parish transformation that accompanies parish leaders in their efforts.

At Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland, Tom serves as associate to the pastor, overseeing weekend message development, strategic planning, fundraising, and staff development. With over 28 years of parish experience, he brings a unique blend of pastoral insight and strategic clarity to leadership.

Corcoran is the coauthor of the bestselling book Rebuilt―which narrates the story of Nativity’s rebirth―in addition to The Transformative Power of Small Groups; Tools for Rebuilding; Rebuilding Your Message; The Rebuilt Field Guide; ChurchMoney; Seriously, God?; Rebuilt Faith; and the best-selling Messages series for Advent and Lent.

In 2023, Corcoran and Fr. Michael White were honored by Pope Francis with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award for outstanding service to the Church and the pope.

Corcoran live with his wife, Mia, and their children in Maryland.