Neighborhoods are moving. While neighborhood changes can mean exciting and fresh opportunities for some, the experience can be vastly different for long-time residents. The rapid movement of people means changes in employment, economics, landscape, demographics, and the feel of a community. Churches often experience the painful impact of these shifts. Depending on how a church navigates through these changes determines if it will either live, die, or be reduced to a tragic...

Fatherlessness has reached epidemic levels.Forty percent of children in the U.S. will go to bed tonight in a home without a father. Studies show that people without fathers are at much higher risk for low educational performance, drug abuse, crimeand poverty.Fatherlessness is rampant in our churches as well. When planting his church, Mark Strong realized that fifteen of twenty core leaders, whether they were in their twenties or sixties, white or black, had grown up without an active fathe...

What would happen if your community had a head-on collision with Jesus? Pastor and community leader Mark Strong says, "You would have exactly what God wants: a divine merger!" He continues: "A divine merger is when the church intentionally integrates with its community. . . . The result is a kingdom transformation."This book is designed to give you the vision and tools you need to fulfill your own God-given mission in your community and church. Ranging from single-person sponsored ministri...

God made your heart for love, joy, peace, and wholeness. But pastors say that more than 90% of their congregations struggle with unforgiveness—and unforgiveness can make us forget what we were made for.What if the most pervasive sin of our day is invisible, hidden deep inside our hearts? What if it affects every aspect of our lives and relationships so quietly and insidiously that most of us miss it altogether? Bruce Wilkinson believes unforgiveness is that sin.

The Culture of Honor is a book of reformation. It is intended to disrupt our current model of authority. Jesus put it like this in Matthew 20:25-26 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. Those with power must learn to empower those around them or we will never build Hea...

Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless “must read”(Glennon Doyle, New York Times bestselling author) urges today’s church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women’s diverse voices and experiences.A freedom song for the church.Sarah Bessey didn’t ask for Jesus to come in and mess up all her ideas about a woman’s place in the world and in the church...

In Living a Purpose-Full Life, Jan Johnson explains how women can find their God-given purpose in life.God’s call on a woman’s life isn’t meant to remain a mystery. More than a role, a spiritual gift, or a job she loves, finding her purpose is about knowing who she is: God’s woman in this world. Within these pages readers will discover what purpose in life is, why they need it, and how they can find it. Best of all, each woman will simplify her life by foc...

Honor? In Today’s World? A one-of-a-kind book in both subject and perspective! The Practice of Honor is about reformation of honor—it is intended to disrupt your current model of authority! Jesus put it like this, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become gr...

In a culture that promotes isolation and autonomy, this book reveals life-changing methods for creating healthy relationships and authentic community. Readers learn to apply New Testament principles that capture the essence of Jesus' teachings about effectively caring, serving, and loving one another.Beginning with God's simple command to "Love one another," this book shows how to:* develop deep, genuine friendships* model to others a relationship with Jesus* c...

Many of the statistics you read about teenagers and faith can be alarming. Recent studies show that 40-50 percent of kids who are connected to a youth group throughout their senior year will fail to stick with their faith in college. As youth workers are pouring their time and energy into the students in their ministries, they are often left wondering if they’ve done enough to equip their students to carry their faith into adulthood. Fuller Youth Institute has done extensive research in th...

Youth ministry veteran and bestselling author, Duffy Robbins, offers an updated and revised edition of his book about the important, behind-the-scenes mechaincs of youth ministry. The tasks of budgeting, decision-making, time management, team ministry, staff relationships, conflict resolution, working with parents, and a range of other issues, are the things that keep a ministry together and functioning well. Nobody gets into youth ministry because they want to think about these things; bu...

How are we doing? The church, that is. And how are we doing it? Congregations have long measured success by "bodies, budget, and buildings"--a certain record of attendance, the offering plate, and square footage. But the scorecard can't stop there. When it does, the deeper emphasis on accountability, discipleship, and spiritual maturity is lost. Ignoring those details, we see fewer lives transformed, Christian influence wane, and churches thin out--a situation that is all too familiar acro...