Church Ministry

Church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin, with cowriter Warren Bird, makes the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. In this new audiobook, they provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches so that they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute a variety of forms of merger for church expansion and renewal to reinvigorate declining churches and give them a "second life".

How do we live out the message of Jesus in today’s ever-changing culture? The church is facing its greatest challenge - and its greatest opportunity - in our postmodern, post-Christian world. God is drawing thousands of spiritually curious “imperfect people” to become his church - but how are we doing at welcoming them? No Perfect People Allowed shows you how to deconstruct the five main barriers standing between emerging generations and your church by creating the right culture.

America has a God-shaped hole in its heart, argues New York Times best-selling author Ben Shapiro, and we shouldn't fill it with politics and hate.

In this groundbreaking work, based on Will Mancini's 15 years and over 10,000 hours of church team facilitation, God Dreams reveals a simple and powerful planning method that will bring energy and focus to your church like never before.

Countless books are designed to help leaders to become better leaders. But most resources neglect the underlying emotional struggles of both emerging and established leaders, who are often isolated and suffering in silence. Leadership professor Nicholas Rowe and counselor Sheila Wise Rowe offer their expertise in helping leaders process painful and traumatic experiences. Trauma contributes to how we lead others in either empowering or dysfunctional ways. Understanding how these experiences formed us is the beginning of the path to healing.

How do churches grow and make an impact in their community . . . and the world? They work together in intentional ways in order to maximize everyone's gifts. They're mission-driven. Church Is a Team Sport shows proven ways to push believers, new and mature, toward growth as both Christians--and leaders. Through this powerful, thought-provoking volume, ministers both in the congregation and on staff will discover how to expand the church one soul at a time. Making disciples is the crux of pastor Jim Putman's message. The plan works. Caring for people, following up on stray sheep, and ...

While many denominations claim to be growing, the largest group in American religious life is the disillusioned - people who have been involved in the church yet see few similarities between the church's life and the person of Jesus. In the midst of elaborate programming, professional worship teams, and political crusades, they ask, "Is this really what Jesus called us to do?" While the church has dismissed these people as uncommitted and lacking in faith, perhaps the opposite is true. Their commitment to authentic spirituality over institutional idolatry might be the very corrective the church needs.

“An indispensible study” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) drawing on history, public opinion surveys, and personal experience that presents a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy, and issues an urgent call for White Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation.

Some churches exclude women from ministry leadership roles based on a few difficult to interpret Scripture passages. Some churches also teach the Holy Spirit's gifts were only necessary until the canon of Scripture was completed—therefore, supernatural gifts like prophecy should not be pursued today. What if the full inclusion of women in church leadership and the exercise of the gift of prophecy combine two vital elements for a healthy, unhindered church?

In the pattern of his best-selling book The Master Plan of Evangelism, author Robert E. Coleman offers a close examination of how Jesus made disciples and how his followers did the same throughout the book of Acts.

The joy and vigor coming from a collective strength, intelligence, and skill in the community of leaders not only brings greater potency but better yields for your ministry. What would it be like to see this kind of healthy leadership reproduced into the second, third, and fourth generation, on multiple strands?

Many Christians are alarmed by the decline in church attendance and seek a culprit. Too often, we point the finger away from the church, make culture the enemy, and build walls between us and others. But our antagonism and enemy-making are toxins that further eat away at our witness. Is there a better way? Tara Beth Leach could easily be one of those millennials giving up on the church. Instead, she is a pastor who loves the church and is paradoxically hopeful for its future.

The church needs sold-out, all-in Jesus-followers. Disciples and disciple-makers. But where do you find them? How do you develop them? Look no further than how Jesus did it. The greatest leader and mentor of all time poured into 12 guys for a season. Those lives multiplied to build the church to over two billion who declare their belief in Christ today.

Liquid Church tells the fascinating story of a New Jersey church that began "on accident" and grew into one of America's 100 fastest-growing churches, with over 5,000 in weekly attendance and more than 2,400 baptisms to date. Their secret? They harnessed the power of six powerful ministry currents sweeping across North America including: special needs, creative communication, ministry mergers, compassionate cause, radical generosity, and leadership development.

Every church is driven by some controlling force: tradition, finances, programs, events, personalities, or even the building itself. But author and pastor Dr. Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback Valley Community Church in California, believes that a church can only be truly healthy if it becomes "purpose-driven": built around the five goals Jesus stated in the New Testament.

Quite simply, three of the most important and well-known confessions of the Reformed faith. The Augsburg Confession is the earliest of the three and is the primary confession of the Lutheran Church. The Heidelberg Catechism was a response written by Zacharias Ursinus and consists of 129 questions and answers. The Westminster Confession is the best known and begins with "What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever."

Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life. Rebuilt is a story of stopping everything and changing focus. When their parish reached a breaking point, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics.

Author and advocate Mary DeMuth urges the church she loves to rise up and face the evil of sexual abuse and harassment with candor and empathy. Based on research and survivors' stories, along with fierce fidelity to Scripture, DeMuth unpacks the church's response to sexual violence and provides a healthy framework for the church to become a haven of healing instead of an institution of judgment.

As an English-speaking denomination, Baptists originated within 17th-century Puritanism as an offshoot of Congregationalism. English Baptists migrated to the American colonies during the 17th century. During the 18th century, the Great Awakening resulted in the expansion of the denomination, and the conversion of many slaves to Baptist churches. Baptist congregations formed their first national organization the Triennial Convention in the early 1800.

The story of the church is important for Christians to know, for it contains rich and uplifting stories of God’s dealings with His people. Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson takes the listener on a tour of the Christian history, featuring stories and songs to give believers a sense of their place in God’s kingdom and to encourage them in their walk.