My Read of the Month:
Title: Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission
Published: 2010
Genre: Church Growth/Discipleship
Ratings: 
I was mostly expecting this book to be one sharing of a church planter’s experience and insights especially with such a title. However, it was not.
Patrick Darrin, who is the founding pastor of the Journey Church in St. Louis, provides what he believes are the essentials for any church planter. These are divided in three aspects: The man; the message; and the mission.
The aspect I found most useful was about “The Man”. Here, Patrick describes the qualities God is looking for in a man to use: A rescued man; a called man; a qualified man; a dependent man; a skilled man; a shepherding man and; a determined man
The other two aspects are mainly reminders to what the gospel is about and what the church is all about. Sadly, the book became weaker rather than stronger towards the end.
Personally, I felt the book with such a title could have been more compelling. It was disappointing that it was filled with a great deal of theology. This book could have been more convincing if more personal stories were used to illustrate his key points.
Overall, this is still a useful book to read especially for a person who’s exploring on God’s leading as a church planter. But don’t read it if you’re looking for advice or a how-to manual for planting a church.
Who should read it: Aspiring church planters, missionaries, pastors, or anyone serving in ministry.
Andrew: Inside & Insights 
I suppose every church plant is different in some ways, depending on many factors…but there are some must-do’s with all of them, perhaps he could of concentrated more on those?