Small Church

Based on a large-scale research study of small group pastors, leaders, and members, Leading Small Groups That Thrive gives church leaders both what they want - practical, straightforward, actual small group member voices and experiences, and compelling guidance on how to build transformational groups complemented with real-life examples and data of successful small groups - and what they need - substantial, challenging insights and a data-driven model grounded in the latest research on church small groups.

His attractive neighbor is tugging at his heart-strings. A wealthy widow is pursuing him with hot casseroles. And his red-haired Cousin Meg has moved into the rectory, uninvited.

Begin your binge of The Living River Ranch series with fourteen romance stories that are sure to leave your mind full and your heart satisfied. The A Time For Everything series takes place on a picturesque ranch tucked away in the hills along the Lake Michigan shoreline. What was once a functioning ranch has transformed into a therapeutic haven, aiding individuals in confronting their obstacles, reconnecting with their true selves, and forging meaningful connections with others. Within these books, readers will encounter captivating tales of either a man or woman stumbling upon a friendship...

For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is worlds away from the harsh realities of the day. Loyal to her lumberjack father, she knows only of the familiarity of her small community, the magic of the natural world, and the creative intuition that prompts her to march to the beat of her own drum. But when an accident takes her father's life, leaving her an orphan, Leah finds herself cast into a family of strangers whose welcoming façade hides a terrible secret.

Millions of readers and listeners have come home to Mitford, the little town with the big heart. But now change is coming to the village. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife Cynthia are pondering the murky uncertainties of retirement; a brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development; a shady realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing.

REVISED EDITION! NOW CONTAINS MARRY ME! Four sweet and clean Christian romances to warm your heart this holiday season! Snuggle up with these faith-filled stories of hope and love, celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Visit London for a series of Christmas dates, experience New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh, fall in love after a marriage of convenience in a beach town, and discover home and healing in small-town Oregon, all within the pages of these complete and standalone romances. If you love Hallmark movies, Love Inspired Books, and deeply emotional stories of overcoming heartache to ...

Camera-shy Elise Branson is different from the other women in her maternal line. Her mother is an award-winning actress. Her late grandmother, Vivian Snow, is a beloved Hollywood icon. But when Elise’s upcoming wedding coincides with a documentary being made about Vivian, Elise can’t escape the camera’s gaze. And neither can her grandmother, even in death.

Is being good the way to heaven? Being religious? Jesus said, “You must be born again.” John Wesley, spiritual forefather of Methodist, Pentecostal, and Holiness churches and the Salvation Army, explains Jesus’ words in this brief classic. One of the standard sermons Wesley required his circuit riders to learn and re-preach, The New Birth shows that religion and morality are good but new life in Jesus is vital. Wesley pulls no punches. But his 18th-century English is hard for most modern readers. As with his best-selling John Wesley’s The Character of a Methodist, David Wentz has ...

A singing chef. A widowed billionaire. A cottage by the sea. A father of two, widowed billionaire Diehl Brooks returns home to St. Simon’s Island and falls in love with his sister’s personal chef. Will complications from his unfulfilling first marriage threaten his chance for love a second time around? A selfless personal chef… Chef Skye Langston cooks for local residents and visitors to the Golden Isles. When her friend and client, Brinley Brooks, asks her to cook for her older brother, who will be in town for the summer, Skye is wary. Although they move in different social circles, ...

“It’s overwhelming how much I feel for you after just a short time in your presence. I hope we can weather this time of change, find moments to relish together, and keep trying new things.” Welcome to "The Village at Crossroad Corners," a heartwarming Christian romance series that transports you to a tight-knit, traditional community where the echoes of a simpler time resonate. In the face of a seismic shift, the village council's decision to greenlight a groundbreaking dual-aged, residential community—bringing together both the elderly and college-aged students—sets the stage for...

Accounting for churches is not the same as accounting for businesses. A church bookkeeper must be aware of the special tax codes that govern the church's unique tax standing. But it is often hard for overworked or volunteer administrators to know every aspect of tax code that affects their church's ability to accept donations, oversee a benevolence fund, file church payroll, and offer a compensation package for their minister. Lisa London, The Accountant Beside You who brought you QuickBooks for Churches & Using QuickBooks for Nonprofit Organizations, Associations & Clubs, explains the ...

Flexible, Budget-Friendly Holiday Plays with a Gospel Message Three Christmas Plays and One Easter Play perfect for the small to medium sized congregation. Each only requires about fifteen performers with options to plug in more. The plays incorporate humor, drama, and the Christmas programs are set to include music if desired. Churches love these plays because: 1. Simple Staging- You likely have all the props you already need 2. Adaptable if you have between 10-20 people ready to be involved 3. Optional Musical Cues in the Christmas programs where you can easily work in your own music 4. ...

Each Christmas retired chemistry teacher Edwina Bopp makes her newest invention of miracle fudge as a fundraiser for missions in her small Southern town Fountain City. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the good lady cooks through the night and then gives the candy away to the fudge-hungry group of people who know this year's newest recipe is coming and line up in front of her store before she ever opens the door of her Main Street candy shop. People receive their portion of this year's fudge and place donations for missions in her jar on the counter, expecting miracles. Some miracles have...

Afton Teachout has been an outcast in her small town for twenty years—ever since she was accused of murdering her mother’s lover in a blackout fit of rage. That is, if one believes the malicious lies. Living with her grandmother, working a hotel night shift, and relying on pills to get a day’s sleep, Afton is due a little luck. It comes in the form of an unexpected financial windfall. With her newfound wealth, Afton sets a secret plan in motion to help her only friend, Sydney, flee a toxic husband. But the best intentions soon spin out of control.

A Christmas Home for Hannah-Briggs Blackwood is stuck between a rock and a hard place. While ranching is in his blood, and he loves it, he has to meet one requirement to take over the BW Ranch: get married and produce at least one grandchild within five years of his mother's death. When Hannah Gallagher's mother dies giving birth to her, her no-good father leaves her with her mother's parents. They didn't have much, but they loved each other. . Reluctantly, she agrees, but she does everything she can to make sure the groom-to-be won't pick her. After all, who would choose a barely educated ...

This is a Bible study guide collection on three people: Peter, Paul, and Mary (and other women who encountered Jesus) in one volume. Each study is planned for about seven weeks or 50 days. Each study has discussion questions for reflection. Peter is a model of a man who followed Jesus. Paul became a great missionary who represented Jesus, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. Mary the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ was involved in many aspects of his life from his birth to the death. This Bible study collection is designed for either personal or group study. The author wrote these ...

Fawn loved this little community and found that many of the residents were very happy to be active and part of something bigger than themselves in their older years. "The Chalet" is a Christian, rural, coastal resort community where middle to older age adults go to support several summer volunteer projects. These projects include building and improving housing for the needy and serving through the community’s action agencies. Those who volunteer, support each other's spouse losses and other challenges as they work to help the community. Romantic relationships are developed as those who ...

Father Joseph Brennan was an icon in the small North Dakota town of New London between 1953 and 1973. As the head of the town’s Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish and its associated boarding school, he amassed supporters with his show of dedication to the school. By recruiting elite coaches, Brennan built a high school sports empire that won state championships and strengthened a sense of pride among the town’s one thousand residents. But alongside the success story, another much darker tale was being written and ruthlessly suppressed. Sexual assault, theft, drug distribution, and ...

As a follow-up to his best seller The Irresistible Revolution, Claiborne issues a radical manifesto on Christian political imagination—that our hope lies not in partisan options but in Jesus and the incarnation of the church as "set apart" from this world. A thoughtful and lyrical examination of the relationship between faith and allegiance for modern-day saints.

Mitford's village rector, Father Tim, is running scared. He can no longer deny (even to himself), that he's in love with his neighbor, Cynthia Coppersmith. Cynthia, after all, sees in him a man of warmth and daring, if only he'll meet her halfway. But now a wealthy widow is pursuing Father Tim with hot casseroles. And the mysterious Cousin Meg has moved into the rectory bag and baggage, not to mention uninvited.