Our culture has undergone a major shift: younger generations have less and less interest in the printed word as they become predominantly image oriented. In response, as congregations increasingly learn to be more sophisticated in using newer electronic technologies, they are finding themselves at different places in the quest to understand, acquire, manage, and benefit from the technology boom. Worship leaders in congregations already using some electronic media are realizing that they co...

By writing letters to one another, three men learned how to share ever-deeper feelings. They stretched one another to find more honest ways into intimate conversations with their parents, sons and daughters, wives, and friends. Through their letters they developed an accountability, challenging each other to acknowledge "stuck" places and move past them. Their letters are filled with humor, dreams, stories of wounds from their upbringing, and poignant heart-warming stories. Readers of this...

Reggie McNeal's bestseller The Present Future is the definitive work on the "missional movement," i.e., the widespread movement among Protestant churches to be less inwardly focused and more oriented toward the culture and community around them. In that book he asked the tough questions that churches needed to entertain to begin to think about who they are and what they are doing; in Missional Renaissance, he shows them the three significant shifts in their thinking and behavior that they ...

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...

In this provocative book, author, consultant, and church leadership developer Reggie McNeal debunks these and other old assumptions and provides an overall strategy to help church leaders move forward in an entirely different and much more effective way. In The Present Future, McNeal identifies the six most important realities that church leaders must address including: recapturing the spirit of Christianity and replacing "church growth" with a wider vision of kingdom growth; deve...

All churches like to think that theirs is the friendliest in town. But do visitors see it that way? Church consultant Gary McIntosh invites readers to take a look at their church through the eyes of visitors and potential visitors. His starting point, grounded in an understanding of God as a "welcomer," is that churches should see those who enter their doors as not merely visitors, but as guests, and themselves as gracious hosts. This practical book offers sound advice on assessing and imp...

Fueled by a desire to reach people for Christ, a revolution is underway. Churches are growing beyond the limitations of a single service in one building. Expanding the traditional model, they are embracing the concept of one church with more than one site: multiple congregations sharing a common vision, budget, leadership, and board. Drawing from the examples of churches nationwide, The Multi-Site Church Revolution shows what healthy multi-site churches look like and what motivates congreg...

Like nothing else, small groups have the power to change lives. They are the ideal route to discipleship—a place where the rubber of biblical truth meets the road of human relationships. However, church leaders often feel at a loss when it comes to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of group life in a church, and they struggle with understanding and solving the root causes of problems. Group Life resources provide, in ebook format, the practical tools and training resources needed to d...

Was the book of Revelation penned by the crazy uncle in the family of Bible writers?You try to convince yourself that the apostle john is just another New Testament writer–kindly, gentle, loving. You know…normal.But he’s just so weird! Most of the time you have no idea what John is talking about in his revelation. When you must interact with his wild, otherworldly book, you escape as soon as you can to familiar, saner Bible texts. Like Matthew’s Gospel or one of Paul’s letters–after all, t...

Too often, the desire to accomplish ministry is squashed under the fear and perceived burden of raising the necessary funds. Break through that perception into a reality where you reach out and effectively develop relationships that quickly allow you to reach your personal or organizational funding and prayer support goals. With this new and expanded version of People Raising as your guide, it is possible!Veteran ministry leader, William Dillon, takes you through the basic...

Meet students where they are.With Small Group Strategies, you can effectively guide students in your small group toward the most important relationship they will ever have—a lifelong relationship with Christ. Respected authors Laurie Polich and Charley Scandlyn offer 30-plus years of collective youth ministry experience to these proven ideas, which offer:•a strategic approach to small group ministry•hundreds of ideas to reach students at every level•practical applications that foster spiri...

Training the next generation of leaders is crucial to spreading the gospel, yet most churches have no formal way of doing this. Why? Tight budgets, small staffs, and a lack of know-how are just a few reasons suggested by church consultants Aubrey Malphurs and William Mancini in this groundbreaking book.Building Leaders provides real-life examples of ways churches can unleash their true ministry potential by training staff members and laypeople to lead. With step-by-step instructions...