A new book by a Chicago-area minister and a Calvin College communication professor offers advice for suburban churches seeking to practice authentic ministry.
Calvin's Quentin Schultze (left) and former Christ Church of Oak Brook pastor Arthur DeKruyter wrote The Suburban Church: Practical Advice for Authentic Ministry in the face of seeker-oriented suburban churches that they worry will not be able to sustain either spiritual or numerical growth.
Released today from Westminster John Knox Press, the book argues that suburban churches need to be planted in their own communities with strong education programs, vibrant worship, flourishing volunteerism, wise leadership and a heart for local and distant missions. 

Suburban churches, the authors say, need to nurture finders rather than merely attract seekers. The authors note in the 168-page book that half of all North Americans live in the suburbs. In light of that statistic they want to encourage Christians to go where the people congregate and their book includes advice on how to plant, grow and renew suburban congregations.
Schultze and DeKruyter also write about how to minister successfully, how to recruit and support volunteers and how to connect international missions to local church growth. Each chapter concludes with questions for discussion, making the book ideal, said Schultze, for pastors and church committees.
DeKruyter spent almost 50 years in pastoral ministry in suburban Chicago, while Schultze holds the Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair in Faith and Communication at Calvin, directs the Gainey Institute for Faith and Communication and serves as a professor of communication.