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David Clark is the kind of guy who, when he read Thom Rainer’s book Breakout Churches, immediately wanted to learn how he could become more like the “Acts 6/7 leaders” the book describes. This, of course, is why the book already identifies him as one of these rare leaders, characterized by confident humility, acceptance of responsibility, and an outwardly-focused vision.

The Acts 6/7 leader is the church version of what Good to Great calls a Level 5 leader, and Rainer openly acknowledges that he and his team based their research and methodology on GTG. In addition to listing this high-level leader as a component of the breakout church, the book identifies several other criteria characterizing these congregations: a period of decline followed by years of sustained new growth, a clear impact on the community, and all of this happening (slump and turnaround) under the leadership of the same minister.

Central Christian Church in Beloit, WI, where Dave serves as Senior Pastor, is one of 13 churches identified as a breakout church. Interestingly, few of them are churches you’ve probably heard of—partly because the research criteria excluded great churches like Southeast or Saddleback, but also because the churches where a senior leader hangs in for 20+ years, that experience decline and then slow regeneration, and that find their unique mission in the community apart from the latest fads, are not always the ones receiving wide acclaim.

But if Central isn’t a church you know, make sure it’s one you get to know. I spent last week working with Central’s staff and leadership to improve their processes and procedures, and I was impressed with each member of their remarkably united staff. (Also impressive, and in no way related to their breakout status, is their willingness to have a 29-year-old “consultant” with no church experience come in and take their time for a week.)

In addition to a humble yet very competent leader, Central’s got a great vision to be a multi-cultural church meeting the needs of its racially diverse, economically struggling community. Each Wednesday morning a corps of volunteers provide free food, clothing, coffee, hugs, friendship, and prayer to over 2,000 needy people. And on Easter Sunday, Central’s African-American “satellite” church, New Life Ministry, opened its new 400-seat building to the community. Volunteers from the two churches worked side by side for months to prepare the building for its grand opening; a (Caucasian) elder from Central took a week of his vacation to drive nails, install sinks, and finish painting.

New Life welcomed almost 200 to services on Sunday, and looks ready for ministry to a tough neighborhood. (So tough, in fact, that during construction the local gang members made a point of letting New Life’s pastor know when a drive-by shooting was about to happen so he could keep volunteers inside.) Even without Rainer’s endorsement, this is definitely a breakout church.