Most churches, blatantly or subtly, have an unspoken objective--"How can we be the 'best church in our community?'"--and they staff, budget, and plan accordingly. How a church answers that question determines its entire approach to its members, staff, prayers, finances, time, technology, and facilities. Becoming an externally focused church is not about becoming the best church in the community. The externally focused church asks, "How can we be the best church for our community?" That one little preposition changes everything. And that is the big question this new book from the authors of The Externally Focused Church seeks to answer.

In The Externally Focused Quest, Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw show church leaders how to transform their churches from being internally focused to being more oriented to the community around them. They use nine big missional concepts that need to be addressed in the quest to become the best church for the community: focus, purpose, scope, missions, partnering, evangelism, systems, creativity, and outcomes. Understanding and applying the truths of each concept will provide many of the tools leaders need to take their churches on the externally focused quest. Written by the cofounders of the Externally Focused Network, this book presents a highly practical approach that gives step-by-step guidance for churches to become truly externally focused without giving up the programs that serve their members.

ERIC SWANSON is a missional leadership specialist with Leadership Network, leading initiatives with externally focused churches that are missionally engaging their communities, cities, and the world. With Rick Rusaw he is the cofounder of the Externally Focused Network.

RICK RUSAW is the senior pastor at LifeBridge Christian Church and an innovative leader, speaker, author, and trainer. With Eric he is the cofounder of the Externally Focused Network.

Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw are coauthors of The Externally Focused Church and The Externally Focused Life. They frequently speak and train at seminars and conferences on missional/externally focused churches.

ABOUT LEADERSHIP NETWORK

The mission of Leadership Network identifies and connects innovative church leaders, providing them with resources in the form of new ideas, people, and tools. Contact Leadership Network at www.leadnet.org.

About Leadership Network.

Acknowledgments

Foreword (Alan Hirsch).

Introduction.

Chapter 1: What Kind of Day Is Today?

Chapter 2: Focus: They Choose the Window Seat, Not the Aisle Seat.

Chapter 3: Purpose: They Practice Weight Training, Not Bodybuilding.

Chapter 4: Story: They Live in the Kingdom Story, Not a Church Story.

Chapter 5: Missions: The Few Send the Many, Not the Many Send the Few.

Chapter 6: Partnering: They Build Wells, Not Walls.

Chapter 7: Systems: They Create Paradigms, Not Programs.

Chapter 8: Evangelism: They Deploy Kingdom Laborers, Not Social Workers.

Chapter 9: Creativity: They Innovate, Not Replicate.

Chapter 10: Outcomes: It's About the Game, Not the Pregame Talk.

Notes.

The Authors.