The U-Turn Church: New Direction for Health and Growth

You don't need to tell pastors that the majority of churches in America are in a state of stagnation or decline. Most of them are ministering in such a church. Now two pastors who turned their churches around show leaders how they can help usher in a new season of health, faithfulness, growth, and vision in their churches.

The U-Turn Church walks readers through the roadblocks of tradition, lack of vision or leadership, structural problems, and concerns about denominational distinctives to forge a new way forward into a hope-filled future. Through the stories of two churches that have experienced healthy transformation, readers will see that there is not just one right way to reverse decline. They will receive practical help and wisdom born of experience as they begin their own U-Turn journey.

Kevin G. Harney (MDiv, Fuller Seminary; DMin, Western Theological Seminary) led Corinth Reformed Church in Byron Center, Michigan, through a U-Turn experience from 1993-2006. He is currently senior pastor of Shoreline Community Church in Monterey, California. Harney is the author of Organic Outreach for Ordinary People, Leadership from the Inside Out, Seismic Shifts, Finding a Church You Can Love, and more than sixty small group guides, as well as curriculum and numerous articles. He also does extensive teaching and speaking both nationally and internationally. He lives in California.

Bob Bouwer (MDiv, Western Theological Seminary) has been leading Faith Church in South Holland, Illinois/Dyer, Indiana, through a U-Turn experience from 1990 to the present. Bouwer is founder and executive director of U-Turn Church Ministries Inc., which holds conferences to help congregations and denominations move toward health and growth. He speaks nationally and provides resources for churches and leaders on how to effectively walk through a turnaround process. He is also the visionary leader of The Ravines in Lowell, Indiana, a marriage hospital that creates U-Turn experiences for marriages that need to find a hope-filled way forward. He lives in Indiana.