Table Of ContentIt is completely false that churches must sacrifice quality to get quantity, must
artificially choose between evangelism and discipleship, or cannot have depth
and growth at the same time. That’s nonsense! In fact, quality attracts quantity,
and genuinely transformed people always cause many more to come to Christ!
Few prove this fact better than the ministry of my dear friend Andy Stanley, who
has grown North Point Community Church on purpose and with passion. No
Christian leader can afford to miss this book.
—Rick Warren, pastor, Saddleback Church; author, The
Purpose Driven Life
All of us admire what Andy has achieved at North Point, but few of us
appreciate the price he had to pay along the way. Deep and Wide pulls back the
curtain for all of us to see what is required behind the scenes to build a
prevailing church. I was both challenged and inspired by the book.
—Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor of Willow
Creek Community Church
Couldn’t be prouder of my son, Andy. And I couldn’t be more excited about the
content of this book. I wish a resource like this existed when I was starting out in
the ministry.
—Dr. Charles Stanley, founder of In Touch Ministries
The most common question I get from pastors is, “How do I get the people in
my church to be open to change?” From now on, my answer will be, “Read
Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley. Thanks, Andy. Great book!
—Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author
of It: How Churches and Leaders Get It and Keep It
Andy Stanley is on the front lines of a major shift in how both Christians and
non-Christians experience “church” in America. In Deep and Wide, Andy opens
up his playbook for how North Point Community Church grew into one of the
nation’s most effective churches, openly shares their victories and failures, and
shows you how to take your own church deeper in the Word and wider in appeal.
This is a peek behind the curtain that you do not want to miss!
—Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author and
nationally syndicated radio show host
No one has given me more practical handles for establishing a focused vision
than Andy Stanley. Deep and Wide is a rich resource to help all of us stay
intentional about the main thing—building a church that reaches people who are
far from God.
—Steven Furtick, lead pastor, Elevation Church
Deep and Wide should come with a warning label. You will never view your
local church the same way again!
—Perry Noble, senior pastor of NewSpring Church
Deep and Wide, out of its sheer honesty and candor, may well drive you to
experience what I experienced: behind the scenes of churches we find the reality
of sin, the difficulty of human relationships, and the sheer magnitude of God’s
marvelous grace in using sinners like you and me to display the marvels of Jesus
Christ to our world.
—Scot McKnight, author of The King Jesus Gospel and
The Jesus Creed
Throughout these pages you get a sense that Andy has been writing this book
most of his life. That’s because he has. This book invites you behind the scenes
into Andy’s personal journey to build a team and church that take the Great
Commission seriously.
—Reggie Joiner, founder and CEO, Orange
Liz and I center our week around attending Buckhead Church. The experience is
energizing, carries beyond Sunday, and connects the profound with the practical,
the inspiration with the action. Andy and his team have created something
powerful that is worth studying and understanding.
—Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, The Home Depot
In Deep and Wide, Andy shows a transparency that is refreshing and a generosity
of spirit that compels him to want to share everything he’s learned with everyone
who wants to know. What you’ll find is not a clever or crafty plan, rather a
falling into greatness born out of clarity of purpose and willingness to change.
Trust me, there’s something to be learned by every leader, pastor, and church
planter from the extraordinary and history-shaping journey Andy is on!
—Louie Giglio, friend of Andy’s for a long, long time
My family and I love North Point Community Church. Once you’ve read Deep
and Wide, you’ll understand why.
—Jeff Foxworthy, comedian and actor
ZONDERVAN
Deep and Wide
Copyright © 2012, 2016 by Andy Stanley
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
ePub Edition © December 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-52749-7
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in
any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life
of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Ron Huizinga
Interior design: Matthew Van Zomeren
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 /DHV/ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Deep and Wide
is dedicated to the 708 charter members
of North Point Community Church
(see Appendix E for names).
Who would have thought?
Thank you!
Andy
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
SECTION ONE: MY STORY
Starting Up and Starting Over
1. Not All That Deep
2. Family Matters
SECTION TWO: OUR STORY
Walking Toward the Messes
3. Words Matter
4. Just As I Ain’t
5. Defying Gravity
SECTION THREE: GOING DEEP
Rethinking Spiritual Formation
6. My Big Discovery
7. Playing My Part
8. From Out of Nowhere
SECTION FOUR: GOING WIDE
Why They Love to Attend
9. Creating Irresistible Environments
10. Rules of Engagement
11. Double-Barrel Preaching
SECTION FIVE: BECOMING DEEP AND WIDE
Transitioning a Local Church
12. Coming to Blows with the Status Quo
13. Mission and Model
14. Led to Lead
Conclusion: What If?
APPENDICES
Appendix A: North Point Survey Cards and Results Sample
Appendix B: Starting Point Ministry Description
Appendix C: Measurable Ministry Wins
Appendix D: North Point’s Mission, Strategy, and Beliefs
Appendix E: North Point Community Church Charter Members
Appendix F: The North Point Covenant: An Introduction and Explanation
Q & A with Andy Stanley
Team Discussion Guide
Notes
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Books are often credited to individual authors, but no book is the product of
individual effort. This book is certainly no exception. Deep and Wide reflects the
work, creativity, and generosity of thousands of men, women, and children who
took a chance on a dream and made it come true. At the point of the spear is a
group of dear friends who literally risked their careers to create the content of
this book. I’ll be forever grateful to Julie Arnold, Rick Holliday, Reggie Joiner,
Lane Jones, Bill Willits, and Kevin Ragsdale for leaving perfectly good jobs
with predictable paychecks to embrace an idea that had no guaranteed outcome.
On the production side, this project would have never gotten off the ground
without the tireless efforts of my agent, Suzy Gray. Suzy, thank you for riding
herd on the details. Thank you for reading, rereading, and then reading again.
Your commitment to quality and clarity is reflected in the finished product.
When I wanted to be done, you wanted it to be better. Thanks to you, it is.
To John Raymond at Zondervan, thank you for the personal interest you
expressed in this book early on. It was your passion for this content that
convinced us that Zondervan was, in fact, our best opportunity for getting our
message to church leaders around the world. Thank you for partnering with me.
To my assistant of more than thirteen years, Diane Grant, thank you for
handling all the stuff I don’t even know to thank you for because you decided I
didn’t need to know! That’s what you do best. It’s no mystery as to why so many
pastors send their assistants to sit at your feet to learn. You were instrumental in
creating the margin necessary to the writing and development of this book.
As you are about to discover, this book reflects a personal journey of sorts. A
journey I would have never and could have never taken without the support,
inspiration, and encouragement of my best friend for life, Sandra. There are no
words. So I won’t even try. Thank you. I love you with all my heart.
