Personal Ministries

Do you want your children to be actively serving in the local church when they turn 30 and beyond? Why They Stay can help! Much has been written about younger adults and their departure from church involvement. Concerned parents and church leaders want to know what has caused them to depart. Instead of asking why young adults are leaving the church, Parr and Crites conducted a national research project of those who grew up in church and are still serving faithfully.

The second half of your marriage can be a time of incredible fulfillment, no matter what challenges you've faced in the past. It can be a time to learn not only about each other, but also about God's long-term plans for your marriage. Drawing on their survey of hundreds of "second-half" couples - as well as insights from their own marriage - coauthors David and Claudia Arp show you how couples can work together to share their dreams, make new commitments, and build a more satisfying union.

If forgiveness is possible after genocide, then perhaps there is hope for the comparably smaller rifts that plague our relationships, our communities, and our nation. As We Forgive explores the pain, the mystery, and the hope through seven compelling stories of those who have made this journey toward reconciliation.

"Forgive Others, Forgive Yourself: A Guide to Healing and Growth" is a powerful and transformative book by Richard B. Simmons that delves into the act of forgiveness. Through personal reflections and practical guidance, this book helps readers understand the importance of forgiving others and themselves in order to move forward with peace and understanding. The journey towards forgiveness can be difficult, but this book offers a roadmap to help navigate the process. It explores the ways in which hurt people hurt people, and how forgiveness is a crucial step towards breaking that cycle. ...

Christian parenting is hard work - and it's getting harder. Parents have a deep desire to pass on their faith, but fear that today's increasingly skeptical and hostile world will eventually lead their kids to reject the truth of Christianity. That leaves many parents feeling overwhelmed - uncertain of what they can do to help their children, given the difficulty and extent of the faith challenges they will face.

Many know the heroic story of Jim Elliot’s violent death in 1956, killed by a primitive Ecuadorian tribe he was seeking to reach. Many also know the prolific legacy of Elisabeth Elliot, whose influence on generations of believers through print and broadcast testimony continues to resonate. What many don’t know is the remarkable story of how these two stalwart personalities - single-mindedly devoted to pursuing God’s will for their young lives, certain their future callings would require them to sacrifice forever the blessings of marriage - found their hearts intertwined.

If your emotional pain feels physical and your physical pain feels emotional, your marriage may be making you sick - literally. Join Dr. David Hawkins and his sons, an internist and a surgeon, as they explore the effects relational stress and trauma can have on our bodies.

This is the book that started the revolution in biblically-based Christian marriage enrichment programs. Don and Sally Meredith’s groundbreaking Two Becoming One has transformed and strengthened hundreds of thousands of marriages over the past three decades. Couples will learn: How to eliminate sources of conflict, how to put Christ at the center of their marriage, the divine purpose of marriage, God’s faith-based principles for oneness, and much more!

Little girls know about Cinderella, about her breathtaking beauty, about Prince Charming, about a magical destiny called "happily ever after." And inside every woman is a little girl who secretly aches for a fairy godmother to wave a wand and transform her into the princess she has always longed to be—to make her beautiful, captivating and adored. But we've learned that fairy tales aren't real, and so we squelch our precious gifts of longing and desire.

Toward the end of the Hundred Years War between France and England, as Merlin predicted, a great warrior emerged, uniting a beleaguered nation and leading it to improbable victories. It was said this warrior was a messenger of God. And it may have been, for a country was saved and a kingdom restored. This great leader of men, this messenger who united a nation, was a 17-year-old maiden named Joan.

Are you sinking while you’re thinking? Excessive worry can consume a person from the inside out, resulting in sickness, insomnia, and paralyzing fear. It can damage relationships and even our witness for the gospel. But since problems are a part of life, how do we manage the worry that comes with them? Pastor Doug Batchelor’s winsome but practical Finding Peace in a World of Worry is packed with useful solutions not only to liberate those drowning in stress, but also to prevent stress from building up in the first place.

Moms today have a lot to handle! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising a family, especially in a culture that’s spiraling away from Christianity at an alarming speed. Yet our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The battle belongs to him, and his strength shines bright when we bring our weaknesses to Him and simply say, “Here. I can’t, but You can.” Prayers for the Battlefield is a collection of prayers and reflections to help you stay strong through the daily challenges of motherhood.

Motherhood is often noisy and rarely silent. Learn to hear God speaking above all the noise in these daily devotions that can be completed in five minutes or less. As moms know, even when there isn't noise around us, there is usually noise within us. The constant to-do lists that spin in our minds, the worry and wonder if we are doing a good job, and the need to stay two steps ahead of our families when we feel two steps behind keeps our minds routinely restless.

Boys will be boys - always. And no one has a more powerful impact on them than you, Mom. Surprise! Your boy wants to please you, and he cares deeply about what you think. Those driving needs will stay with him throughout his lifetime. That gives you, Mom, a lot of influence over your son. You can set him up for success in life. In What a Difference a Mom Makes, the New York Times best-selling author Dr. Kevin Leman reveals how you can make a positive imprint on your son - from the moment you first hold him in your arms until the moment he leaves for college. And the best news? It's never too late to start.

Join Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, authors of the New York Times bestseller Boundaries, as they share the research and guidance you need to raise your kids to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions. What Boundaries has done for adult relationships, Boundaries with Kids will do for you and your family.

Jim Burgen was a preacher’s kid who grew up loving church, until it felt like one day, he realized he was an adult who didn’t. He’d burned out and was full of questions. An encounter with C.S. Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader introduced him to Eustace, a little boy whose greed and hurt turned him into a dragon. He couldn’t un-dragon himself, no matter how hard he tried. Only one person could: the good lion, Aslan. That day, Burgen’s life changed forever. Burgen takes us on a journey through the remarkable process of Jesus saving him from himself.

Rabbi Gershon Schusterman knew all the textbook answers when comforting bereaved community members who asked him, “Where is God? If God is loving, how could this happen?” But when the rabbi’s young wife died suddenly, leaving him a 38-year-old widower with eleven children to raise, he found himself reeling.

In The Law of Rewards, Alcorn shows that we shouldn't serve God just for rewards. It's more important to remember that God's reward system is for His glory, our good, and the good of others. Once we understand God's incentive program, our attitude towards generous living will never be the same. This audiobook explains how our faith determines our eternal destination but our behavior determines our eternal rewards.

These are the faces that call me "mom", the three children who made me a mother. When I started my journey into parenthood I never thought it would look like this. I never planned on having three adopted children, and I certainly never imagined that two of them would have Down syndrome. But like most of the things God does, once we stepped into the craziness and confusion of the unknown and unplanned, we quickly realized that we were indeed among the lucky few.

Those conversations that are so vital for your children's health and happiness don't have to be difficult if you're prepared. A Chicken's Guide to Talking Turkey with Your Kids about Sex shows you how to deal with what goes on above the neck as well as below the waist. Here's how to help your child face the struggles, questions, wonders, and rewards of his or her developing sexuality.