Top-Selling Books That Help Church Decision-Making

Whether you're setting out to restructure your board or simply redo the parking lot, it's helpful to have advice from someone who has been there. The following books, at the UUA Bookstore, will help you through all sorts of fiscal and physical projects at church. These books, in order, are the top-selling books in the categories of church administration and leadership. To order any of them, call (800) 215-9076 or email bookstore@uua.org. Add $3 per order for handling.

• More Than Numbers: The Way Churches Grow, Loren B. Mead, 1998. What do church growth and evangelism really mean today when it's mathematically impossible for every congregation in every location to achieve significant growth? Mead argues provocatively that spiritual and organizational growth are just as important as numerical growth, and a truly healthy and growing church needs all three. (Alban Institute) 113 pp.  #4760 $10.95.

• Effective Church Accounting, Richard J. Vargo, 1989. Church accounting and financial planning made (relatively) easy. Covers budgeting, internal control of assets and "keeping the books." (HarperCollins) 212 pp. Cloth. # 7171 $15.00.

• Transforming Church Boards into Communities of Spiritual Leaders, Charles M. Olsen, 1995. Inspiring, practical ways your board can make meetings become opportunities for deepening faith, developing leadership and ultimately renewing your church. You'll never look at church boards the same way again. (Alban) #5187 $15.25.

• First Impressions: How to Present an Inviting Church Facility, Robert A. Lee, 1993. Take a fresh look at how your church looks to visitors–the parking lot, nursery, lobby, etc.  Offers 20 practical improvements for under $300 and valuable advice on larger projects. Assesses how to decide when to move to a larger site. (Abingdon)  #7684  $11.95.

• Funding the Dream–Video, Terry Sweetser, 1994. Fund-raising expert educates congregations to think and talk differently about giving and motivates them to turn canvass visions into a "dream campaign."  Includes discussion guide. (UUA/Bruce Manna). VHS 60 minutes. # 9011  $25.00.

• Fiscal Therapy for the Liberal Church, Fia Scheyer, 1997. Advice to improve the fiscal health of your congregation. Topics include the fiscal exam, religious giving, stewardship, recruiting, the canvass schedule, volunteer leadership, planned giving, endowments and more. Drawn from the author's years of experience with the UU community. (Trillium) 114 pp. #7003  $14.00.

• What People Expect from Church, Robert L. Randall, 1998. What today's churchgoers seek and need: to feel understood, to understand, to belong, and to hope.  (Abingdon) 110pp.  #7680  $11.95.

• Church Meetings that Work, Gaylord Noyce, 1997. Explores the three basic purposes of meetings–decision-making, learning, and community-building.  For boards and committees. (Alban Institute)  #5054  $9.95.

• Effective Church Finances: Fund-raising and Budgeting for Church Leaders, Kennon L. Callahan, 1998. Educational guide to developing and maintaining church budgets, fund raising and goal-setting. (HarperSan Francisco) 160 pp. Cloth  #7192  $14.00.

• Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church: A Guide for Every Member, Kennon L. Callahan, 1998. Practical examples to put your church on solid financial footing. Identifies six sources of giving available to a congregation and the five major motivational resources that help people give generously. (HarperCollins) 160 pp. Cloth. #7191 $13.00.

• Boards that Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations, John Carver, 1998. Urges boards to take active roles in designing policies, clarifying mission and improving relationships with officers and committees.  (Jossey-Bass Inc.) #7167  $35.00.

• Leadership without Easy Answers, Ronald A. Heifetz, 1998. Practical ideas that apply not only to people at the top, but to anyone who seeks to lead–activists well as presidents, managers as well as workers on the front-line. (Belknap Press) 359 pp. #5255  $24.95.