Church Life
Showing 651–700 of 857 resultsSorted by latest
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Church Of Irrisistible Influence
$22.99Add to cartA city set on a hill, inescapably visible. A lit lamp brilliantly illuminating the darkest room. With compelling metaphors, Jesus described the church and its impact on the world. And indeed, filled with the Holy Spirit, the early church demonstrated a spiritual energy and depth that transformed the surrounding culture. Don9t let your church settle for less! Using bridges as a metaphor for “irresistible influence”–or i2, as he calls it–Robert Lewis shows how your church can become a strong, well-traveled link between heaven and earth in your community. In this engaging and uplifting book, Lewis tells the stories and shares the experiences and lessons of Fellowship Bible Church to show * what it will take to reconnect your church with your community * the how-to9s of “incarnational bridge building” * true stories of i2 in action * how to expand the i2 effort through new partnerships and adventures * requirements of the church in the 21st century Discover how the power of incarnational bridge-building can impact your church and your community at the annual Church of Irresistible Influence conference. For information, contact Fellowship Associates: www.fellowshipassociates.com; phone (501) 975-5050.
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60 Second Guide To Denominations
$14.99Add to cartThis easy-to-use, non-biased resource guide to all the major denominations in the US includes a summary of doctrinal beliefs, and is perfect for the new believer or the long-time Christian.
An alphabetical listing of over 300 denominations
Information concerning the church beliefs on over 20 major topics
Brief overview of church group history
Statements of faith
Stands on current issues and events of relevance for today
Contact information for denominational headquarters
A summary of doctrinal beliefs in a completely non-biased manner -
To Live In Peace
$30.99Add to cartHow are Christians to understand and respond to our distressed inner-city communities? Building on both the perspective of God’s new creation and the view from the neighborhood, Mark R. Gornik’s To Live in Peace shows how the life of the church, the strategies of community development, and the practices of peacemaking can make a transformational difference.
Centering the book is the story of Baltimore’s New Song Community Church, a church that stands as a witness to what can happen when the risks of the gospel are taken. Engaging with a wide range of theological and missiological perspectives, Gornik demonstrates how placing blame for the current conditions of life in the inner city on the residents themselves fails the test of critical analysis and the witness of Scripture. Yet his proposals also show ways that the church can work with the community to overcome structural obstacles to human flourishing.
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Strange New Word Of The Gospel
$24.50Add to cartIn today’s postmodern culture many people are turning to religion, but they are not necessarily finding their way back to the church. Most believers in America and other Western countries are “post-Christian.” Though baptized and brought up in a church, they no longer believe and practice the Christian faith. In such a time, the great challenge facing the church is re-evangelization. This volume provides serious theological reflection on Christian mission within postmodern, post-Christian culture. Written by respected scholars representing the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions, these chapters point out elements of the gospel that will help the church speak effectively to contemporary society, particularly in the United States.
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Serving In Church Visitation
$19.99Add to cartWhether visiting people in their homes, in the hospital, or in a restaurant over a cup of coffee, the simple act of connecting with others is filled with powerful possibilities. The act of friendship is an inroad to hearts and lives that creates trust, value, and incredible potential for ministry. This book helps you to find how the Bible models the importance of visitation, what kind of person makes a good visitor, what type of visits are possible, and much more.
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Serving In Your Church Music Ministry
$19.99Add to cartWorship is a slice of eternity that Christians can participate in on earth, and nothing can facilitate our experience of worship like music. This wise, concise guidebook will help you harness your God-given musical talent as a gift to the body of Christ, in a way that brings joy to both God’s heart and yours. This book discusses words of worship, planning for worship, serving with your voice, and much more.
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Serving As A Church Greeter
$7.99Add to cartGreeters are the welcoming arms that people long to find in a church. This practical guidebook will help you reach out to people who need to experience the warmth of belonging to a church family. This book sheds light on the ministry of church greeters, the need for warmhearted greeters, developing a user-friendly foyer, and much more.
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Serving As A Church Usher
$7.99Add to cartYour importance as an usher can’t be overstated. Your impact is enormous both in meeting the needs of people and in keeping the church service running smoothly.
Serving as a Church Usher sheds light on:The Ministry of Ushers
The Functions of an Usher
An Usher’s Standard of Excellence
The Authority and Responsibility of Ushers
Ushers as Greeters
Zondervan Practical Ministry Guides provide you with simple, practical insights for serving in today’s churches. Written by experienced pastors and church workers, these easy-to-read, to-the-point booklets address the fundamentals of different ministries as practiced effectively in real life. You’ll find biblical insight and wise, field-tested advice you can apply today, as well as discussion questions to help you think through and integrate what you read. -
Serving By Safeguarding Your Church
$18.99Add to cartChurch ought to be the safest place on earth. Here’s how to fulfill that goal in practical ways, from developing a security structure and team, to assessing interior and exterior building security, training ushers and greeters to be sensitive to security, forming an emergency reaction team, establishing financial accountability, and much more.
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Redeveloping The Congregation
$26.00Add to cartWhat makes it possible for a church to reverse course from decline or stagnation into longlasting vitality? How can a church immigrate from a congealing present into a compelling future? What can a congregation do to experience continuous, deep change rather than just temporary, surface improvement? How does a person lead redevelopment?
The three authors of this book address these and other questions by building on an eight-step framework for lasting change developed by John P. Kotter, noted former professor of organizational behavior at Harvard Business School. His work on organizational change is heralded in the secular world as foundational, and Smith, Sellon, and Grossman have found that his findings hold true for congregations as well.
Each chapter in this book comprises three sections: mentor, companion and coach. The mentor section discusses principles and concepts to be addressed in each of the eight steps; the companion section gives readers a sense of what leading change is actually like for a congregational leader; and the coach section provides specific ways for leaders to develop the unique change processes that will be effective in their church. Foreword by Anthony G. Pappas.
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Apostles : The Fathering Servant
$13.99Add to cartBill Scheidler has illuminated the qualifications and function of an apostle today by approaching the subject from a purely biblical point of view. Apostles compares this biblical view with current apostolic trends found in the church today. If you are a leader or pastor, Apostles will serve as your roadmap to understanding the function of an apostle today.
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Telling The Truth
$24.99Add to cartThis thoughtful book provides cultural analysis, probes some of the most important turning-points of biblical theology, describes the experiences of those who are proving fruitful in contemporary evangelism, and exposes readers to those who are thinking hard both strategically and practically about reaching the postmodern world.
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Worship By The Book
$24.99Add to cartToday’s believers gather on Sundays just as they always have—but what should biblical worship look like in the 21st century? The authors explore how creative, biblically sound, and spiritually rewarding worship unfolds in the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition, the liturgical practices of the Anglican/Episcopal church, and the “free church” perspective. Includes sample services.
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How To Keep The Pastor You Love
$25.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
While Paul urges the church to “overwhelm them with appreciation and love” (1 Thessalonians 5:13), research and anecdotal evidence shows that most pastors experience little support when they need it the most. The result? One long-time pastor reports that he thinks about quitting the ministry as often as twice a week, and an estimated twenty-five percent of all ministers relocate every year.
In Jane Rubietta explores the “flip side” of pastoral care–caring for your pastor. She breaks down the largely unexamined myth of the superhuman pastor. And she provides everything you need to know to build healthy, caring, mutually sustaining relationships among your church and its leaders.
Ministers and their families can profitably read the book along with lay leaders to become more aware of where they need the help and encouragement of their congregations. Questions at the end of each chapter guide pastoral families in reflecting on their own experiences–both positive and negative–of life in the church.
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Cell Groups And House Churches
$9.99Add to cartAre small groups new? This book provides a historical backdrop to much of what is happening in cell groups and house churches today. It points us to valuable lessons which the modern church can learn from history.
Examine how cell groups and house churches developed in the centuries since the Reformation. Explore the writings and practices of the Reformers such as Luther and Bucer, as well as the Pietists, Moravians, Methodists and others. These writings show clearly that when God moves in restoring His church, there is a renewal of small groups to aid discipleship and growth into holiness, often resulting in a greater concern for reaching the lost.
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Church As Learning Community
$36.99Add to cartNorma Cook Everist contends it is meaningful to say that in ministries of adminstration, outreach, and pastoral care, the church is functioning as a learning community. Whenver and wherever Christians are being formed into the image of Jesus Christ through ministry. Christian education is taking place. Christian education is the name of this process of formation. Building on this central insight, Everist has written a major new introduction to the tasks and practices of Christian education.
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Help Our Church Is Growing
$14.00Add to cartIt’s the secret, unspeakable dream shared by every minister. After years of diligent work in an average-sized church, you glance up one Sunday and notice a new family. The next month you notice another. Soon it seems like somebody new arrives almost every week. Suddenly you are the leader of a living, breathing, growing church!
Like any roller coaster ride, this one begins with a long, slow ascent. Attendance climbs. Giving climbs. Expectations climb. Of course a few problems crop up along the way, because, as with every other roller coaster, this one has a long and often scary downside. Even as your church continues to climb in every measurable statistic, you, the spiritual leader, may well find yourself in a virtual free-fall as you struggle over how to manage the impact this change will have on your congregation.
What can you, as a minister in a growing church, do to survive the pitfalls that lie just around the corner? What do you do when the old ways no longer work?
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Staff Talk : 52 Devotions For Church Staffs
$16.95Add to cartDo you ever find yourself searching for an appropriate prayer or devotion to open a staff meeting with? If so, this book is a comprehensive resource you’ll return to again and again. A year’s worth of brief meditations, all uniquely suited for building a sense of community and trust among your personnel, are in this extraordinary volume. Wil Jackson draws on his extensive personal experience to share practical, effective insights in imaginative and engaging language. A wide variety of themes and topics are covered, including sections on building a covenant relationship, employing good management principles, and equipping laity for ministry within the body of believers. There’s even material especially appropriate for retreat settings.
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Ending With Hope
$23.00Add to cart“Why is it we do funerals so well but often balk at even recognizing the death of a congregation? Couldn’t we do grief ministry and funerals as well for social groups as we do for individuals?” challenges Gilson Waldkoenig, in his seminary classes. Waldkoenig, associate professor of church in society at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, contributes his special insights on the subject of church endings, in this unique and important book.
Ending with Hope grows out of the understanding that although closing a congregation is in many ways about dying, it can also be about new life. Closing a congregation does not have to be about failure but can be about redirecting resources for new ministry.
Contributors represent eight denominations and include more than a dozen pastors, lay leaders, judicatory staff, and others who have “been there”-who have helped congregations through the painful closing process. Resources include models for assessing whether a congregation should close; reflections on members’ and pastors’ experiences during closing; case studies; guidance for deciding what to do with a building; suggestions for selecting and preserving documents and artifacts; rituals for healthy closings; a survey of historical trends regarding closings; and other helpful materials.
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12 Dynamic Shifts For Transforming Your Church
$18.99Add to cartThat today’s mainline churches are in crisis is apparent; a solution is less obvious. In this constructive new book E. Stanley Ott points a way ahead, describing twelve shifts in philosophy and practice that can help congregations build need-responsive, disciple-growing churches full of life and vigor.
Arguing that the weakness of the church today is a loss of personal spirituality and congregational vitality, Ott challenges local churches to discover how to adjust the style of their ministries to attract new people while encouraging current members. Ott examines the characteristics of “traditional” churches, extols the features of new, “transformational” churches, and lays out proposals to help established congregations make the transition.
Well balanced by an honest assessment of the church’s present and a positive vision for its future, this book is must reading for pastors, church leaders, and members of every congregation.
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Way The Church Ought To Be
$17.99Add to cartHave you ever wondered? What is the Christian church? Is it a building, or is it much more? How should the church operate? What kind of leadership do we need, and where do we find them? How should we view spiritual gifts? Should we accept and use them or reject them for being too divisive? Should we evangelize or wait for God to do the job? Who is part of the church? How do we join? Do we sign a membership book, take a class, or are we automatically a part of the Christian church because we are Americans? Is there a blueprint hidden away somewhere that can help us discover the answers to these questions? Take heart- God’s blueprint for the Christian church is not hidden in some ancient medieval monastery or buried in a mysterious cave guarded by mythical beasts, but is found on the pages of the Bible. Anyone who cares to investigate can read those pages and will discover how God wants His church to be. The Way the Church Ought to Be was written to speak clearly to the following simple truths: God has a blueprint (pattern) that reveals how His church should be. God meant for His blueprint to be acknowledged and followed. Those who build their churches in disregard for that blueprint are building upon the sand. Those who build their churches according to God’s blueprint will experience His blessings, power, and favor. The Way the Church Ought to Be is a simple manual on how Jesus Christ builds His church. Hopefully it will become a source of blessing for believers who are seeking a genuine move of the Holy Spirit in our day.
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Song Of Songs (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartSong of Songs, the latest 8-week Studyguide, gives the reader insight into Song of Songs — one of the richest and most beautiful books of the Bible. This guide offers reflection on the intimacy God intends for marriage and the intimacy God desires to have with us. Written for those who long for more closeness with God and more depth in their relationships. This book is ideal for those who want to learn more about Song of Songs; engaged or married couples seeking a greater understanding of God’s design for intimacy; pastors and counselors looking for a guide to use in pre-marital counseling; and those who want to learn more about God’s desire for intimacy with his children and his Church.
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Faithful Yet Changing
$6.99Add to cart“I have a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ, a love for the people of God, and an ache for the brokenness of the world,” declares Mark S. Hanson, newly elected presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Here he sets forth his vision for the church-a church faithful to the Scriptures and its tradition, yet changing to meet the new challenges of our diverse, fragmented world.
Bishop Hanson issues an urgent call to mission marked by witnessing, worshiping, engaging, equipping, inviting, connecting, changing, and praying.The book invites congregations, pastors, and lay leaders into a “holy conversation” to envision the future of the church and its mission.
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If It Could Happen Here
$17.99Add to cartIn this informative book, Jeff Patton describes six “levers” for transforming a small-membership church: prayer, discerning a clear vision, indigenous worship, growth groups, membership that means something, and lay pastoring. Filled with solid insights on how the principles Patton has developed can be applied in different contexts, this book will offer hope to all leaders of small-membership congregations who know that there is more to life in Jesus and want to experience it.
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Spiritual Maturity : Preserving Congregational Health And Balance
$19.00Add to cartLike all human bodies, the body of Christ that we call “church” needs to attend to its health or it may become ill. Renowned pastor, preacher, and teacher Frank Thomas believes that many congregations exhibit a number of dysfunctional habits in conducting business that lead to rifts, divides, and even congregational splits. Often they are caused by leadership styles that are ineffective and controling. Thomas examines how poor congregational leadership is often the result of personality conflicts among leaders and how many key leaders–both clergy and lay–participate in keeping unhealthy methods alive. Thomas’s book will help lay and clergy leaders improve the health of their congreagation by taking a close look at the styles of church leadership, methods of information flow, and levels of participation that exist within the body. Thomas offers a holistic solution based on a model of spiritual maturity for creating and preserving a healthy comgregation.
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Christian Community : 10 Studies For Individuals Or Groups
$12.99Add to cartOne of the greatest gifts that Christ has given us is each other. Through Christ’s body, the church, we discover our unique gifts and experience worship, healing and power. In ten studies, Rob Suggs leads us to grow in community–loving and nurturing one another, and in reflecting Christ’s love to the world around us.
Now available in IVP’s revised LifeGuide Bible Study format, Christian Community features questions for starting group discussions and for personal reflection, as well as a new “Now or Later” section following each session.
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Lighting Of The Acolyte
$12.95Add to cartTo err is human. Fortunately, so is the ability to laugh at our mistakes. And this collection of actual bloopers and blunders from church newsletters, bulletins, and pulpits across the country will keep you laughing for a long time to come.
Thousands of church secretaries, pastors, and parishioners from several denominations in over thirty states were willing to share their most embarrassing typos, stories, and tongue-tied trip-ups. The author has chosen the very best of them all, included them here for your church secretary, pastor, parishioners — and you — to enjoy.
So, if you have ever said to yourself “only I could make a goof like that!” come share a laugh with Linda Jump and several of your fellow human beings.
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Case For Excellence
$17.95Add to cartHere are over 50 case studies of very real clergy/church situations: crises, problems, legal issues. Each one provides background to the situation, a description of the event, an analysis, and an evaluation by the person(s) involved suggesting how it might have been handled differently.
This fascinating collection of studies describes clergy life on the front lines. Pastors, seminary students, and even congregational staff and members will learn not only what those other churches have faced, but what they might encounter in the parish … and how they might best deal with it.
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Praise And Worship Team Instant Tune Up
$19.99Add to cartWritten for both volunteer and staff church worship leaders and musicians, this easy-to-understand resource provides straightforward, practical advice on ways to upgrade a music team’s sound and ministry. Many churches using contemporary Christian music formats in their worship services (the number of churches is growing every day) are led by highly motivated yet nonprofessional music leaders. They want to re-create the sound, feel, and flow they hear on popular Praise and Worship CDs, but they don’t know how to make that happen. They often feel frustrated with long, unfocused rehearsals that result in a thin, insubstantial sound.
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Stay Out Of Court And Stay In Ministry
$12.95Add to cartStay Out Of Court And Stay In Ministry is written to help pastors prevent costly and career-ending lawsuits. It sets forth the most common legal claims asserted against religious organizations, and the defenses churches have successfully raised.
… We describe real-life legal claims against churches and analyze the outcomes, pro or con. We focus on the claims most frequently asserted against churches. Some of the trends defy conventional wisdom. For example, there are few suits for clergy malpractice, but many successful suits for slippery sidewalks. (from the Introduction)
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Soul Of Wit
$20.99Add to cartA delicious collection of the very best of wit, satire and humorous quotations about the Church, its clergy,the people who put up with them – and vice versa. Spanning the centuries from Chaucer to the present day, it is a glorious send tip of the human foibles that so often ger in the way when the Church tries to live up to its calling. Many familiar figures from literature and letters arc inducted, but there arc endless surprises and novelties too, making The Soul of Wit not only a book to give great pleasure, but an essential resource for speakers, writers and preachers too.
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If Only That Horse Were A Member Of My Church
$12.95Add to cartEnter this provocative collection of inspirational and often amusing anecdotes, one-liners, poems, and parables, and share in the “Inspirations of Artichokes” and “The Strength of a Child,” learn to recognize “A Living Thief” and a “Burma Buddhist,” and experience the self-realization of “The Gossiping Preacher.”
These 201 gentle lessons in faith, love, and Christian living will touch your heart and tickle your funny bone.
The volume includes a handy topical index, and is perfect for pastors and laypersons who need a humorous or poignant anecdote, an illustration for a sermon or speech, a short message for a bulletin or newsletter — or a ray of sunshine on a rainy day.
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Journey To Jesus
$29.99Add to cartIn this book, Robert Webber proposes an alternative: a model of worship that emphasizes the fact that those who come to worship are at very different points in their spiritual lives. Rather than ignore these differences or gear all worship to those already established in the faith, Webber argues that churches should openly recognize the stages of faith through which their members are passing, structure their worship and ministry to celebrate these stages, and openly encourage Christians to move from spiriual infancy to maturity in Christ.
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Adopted By God
$16.99Add to cart192 Pages
Additional Info
In an age of family breakdown, loneliness, and insecurity, we need more than ever to grasp the meaning of being sons and daughters to our heavenly Father. Surprisingly, theologians have devoted little attention to the biblical teaching on adoption. This book views the many facets of God’s saving grace through the lens of the Bible’s family imagery. Combining careful exegesis with gripping personal stories of father-child relationships, Robert A. Peterson brings home the warmth and wonder of biblical adoption. -
Inside The Small Church
$30.00Add to cartEven as so-called megachurches capture the attention of many church watchers, small congregations continue to dominate America’s religious landscape in both rural and urban settings. Although sometimes obscured by their larger siblings, these small churches play a prominent role and hold a unique place in both local and national cultures. How can leaders help to keep these often at-risk churches alive and to meet their potential for ministry?
Small-church expert Tony Pappas has gathered a cornucopia of essays into an indispensable book for anyone interested in the rich life of these small but significant congregations. Drawing on classic and updated articles by a variety of writers from his own small-church newsletter The Five Stones; from Alban journals Action Information and Congregations; and adding new pieces developed especially for this volume, Pappas provides timeless ideas on learning to value, pastor, develop, and lead the small church.
In addition to time-honored articles by the editor, other contributors to this volume include Sherry and Douglas Alan Walrath, Gary Farley, Lawrence W. Farris, Loren Mead, Caroline Westerhoff, Steven Burt, Carl Dudley, David Ray, James Lowery, and a host of others known for their work-and love-for the small church. Readers of Inside the Small Church will come away with a renewed love and appreciation for these vital congregations as well as with new skills for ministry.
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Truths That Build
$17.99Add to cartTruths That Build provides 14 foundational principles that Dick Everson calls the “Truths That Build A Premier Church.” Each principle explains what every Christian should focus on and gives practical insight to Christian living. These Truths That Build will encourage the reader who puts them into practice and ultimately strengthen the local church.
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Equipping Church Guidebook
$29.99Add to cartThis is a hands-on ministry resource manual to help churches develop leaders and systems for lay mobilization. The approach is open-ended so that a variety of types and sizes of churches can use it. Charts and worksheets are included. The material has been tested through several years of use in churches that have received the privately distributed notebook format. Now updated and extensively revised, this volume serves as a practical companion to The Equipping Church. That book provides the philosophy and challenging vision for lay mobilization. This book provides the practical tools for implementation. Part 1 covers planning for lay mobilization. Part 2 covers building a lay ministry program. The markets include church staff members along with denominational leaders. It also is designed for use by lay leaders in churches who want hands-on help to mobilize the laity for ministry.
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Communion Of Saints
$19.99Add to cart240 pages
Additional Info
The contents of The Communion of Saints is as follows What is the Communion of Saints?, Union with Christ, Baptized into Communion, Members Only, United in Love, Assembly Rwquired, The Communion Table, Gifts and Graces, Relief in Outward Things, Mutual Edification, All in the Family, Worldwide Communion, For All the Saints, Appendix: Spiritual Gifts Questionaire, Notes, Leader’s Guide, Index of Scripture, Index of Names -
Churchless Christianity
$26.99Add to cartThe purpose of this book is to describe a fact and reflect upon it theologically. The fact is, there are thousands of people who believe solely in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior but who have no plans to be baptised or to join the local church. Churchless Christianity is based on research from the early 1980s among non-baptized believers in Christ in Tamil Nadu, India. This revised edition includes all the original text plus five additional chapters and a new foreword.
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Let The Whole Church Say Amen
$22.99Add to cartCrafting prayers for Sunday worship, weddings, or secular public events is not as easy as it looks. Stookey takes much of the mystery out of the process, reflects on the nature of prayer—its forms, mechanics, and vocabulary—then provides concrete exercises for editing your own prayers
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Kicking Habits : Welcome Relief For Addicted Churches
$26.99Add to cartHighly motivating reading for any congregation which has stagnated or is caught up in a seemingly irreversible decline. Offers 20 shocking truths that thriving congregations have discovered to help overcome self-destructive practices. Serves as a much-needed early warning system
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Beyond The Worship Wars
$28.00Add to cartAlmost every congregation is experiencing tension over worship. Many congregations have been participating in a renaissance of worship known as the “liturgical movement” and have reclaimed worship forms that have served the church for centuries. Yet because the church today is operating in a radically changed cultural environment, many people in our society do not understand liturgical worship and thus we must find language, music, themes, and images that speak to the unchurched, spiritually seeking person.
In Beyond the Worship Wars, Thomas G. Long discusses the nine characteristics of vital and faithful worship practiced by a wide range of “third-way” congregations-all characteristics that make for vital and faithful worship.
