Pastoral Helps
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Dating For Life (DVD)
$24.99Add to cartIn this new update of my dating for life talk I have gone back to the basics. In this new talk I answer 8 questions on dating:
– What is dating?
– When should I start dating?
– Am I ready to start dating?
– How do I start dating?
– What are Red Flags in my dating relationships?
– How do I find out if they are the “One”?
– How do I break up?
– What if they are the right person for me?Simple and practical conversations on dating for High School and Young Adults.
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Women Of The Bible
$16.99Add to cartBased on the bestselling book coauthored with Ann Spangler, Women of the Bible, this study edition includes an introduction to each woman, major Scripture passages, study materials, and cultural backgrounds. There are fifty-two studies, one for each week of the year. Newly gathered study aids include helpful charts as well as a complete listing of all women of the Bible, with pertinent Scripture references. Space is included to record your thoughts and insights.
Each timeless biblical story mirrors the challenges and changes today’s women face. Through understanding these women’s lives, this easy-to-use study resource will help you discover the God behind their stories-and yours.
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Love First : A Childrens Ministry For The Whole Church
$23.95Add to cart* A sought-after model and guide to a new paradigm for children’s ministries * Creative program based on research and personal experience Struggling to offer a children’s program that resonates with young families? Finding it difficult to recruit teachers and volunteers for your children’s program? Want a children’s ministry that is grounded in Christ’s foundational teachings and relevant to the experiences of children today? This must-have guide to rethinking your children’s ministry is informed and intelligent, with the lighthearted humor so helpful to working with children. Through storytelling, testimonials, and research-based creativity, you’ll be inspired and energized to use your church’s gifts, your children’s interests, and your families’ needs to develop a children’s ministry that fits your church and the people in it. An appendix includes sample lesson plans, suggested Bible stories and book, and sermons. Colette Potts offers a successful model for a congregation to turn around their children’s ministry program to engage the whole congregation in worship, learning, and service while partnering with parents for bridging the formation gap between Sunday morning at church and the rest of the week at home and beyond.
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Faith And Science In The 21st Century
$16.95Add to cart* Eight noted theologians, each speaking on a topic of science * Builds on popular videos from the Day 1 radio program Science or faith? The battle rages, from millennials and GenXers questioning the relevance of religion to older adults who doubt the validity of science (and vice versa), but these two are not mutually exclusive. They can, in fact, be mutually enriching and complimentary, once their proper domains are understood and respected. The Episcopal Church, with its tradition of the “via media,” offers an ideal setting for conversations seeking to bridge the often antagonistic perspectives on both sides. Faith and Science in the 21st Century presents a way to start that conversation. Built on existing videos produced by the popular Day 1 program with assistance from a John Templeton Foundation grant, this series features notable faith leaders across the denominational spectrum in 3 to 5 minute video presentations on scientific topics in which they are experts. Intended for use in a variety of settings, including congregations, schools, and campus ministries, it can be presented as an eight-session series of studies, but each session can also stand on its own for a one-time formation offering. A single video download will offer all video presentations. This Leader Guide enables facilitators to foster fruitful discussions of each session topic. It includes an introduction about the program and how it can be used, and eight detailed session plans to utilize with a downloadable video sold separately on the Day 1 website.
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Honest Worship : From False Self To True Praise
$17.99Add to cartIntroduction: Falling On My Face
Part I: Worship On The Cutting Edge
1. Smoke Machines And Laser Lights
2. Golden Dreams, Golden Calves
3. The Consumer-Driven Life
4. The Culture Of NarcissismPart II: Pride And Humility
5. Pride On The Platform
6. The Nature Of Identity
7. Worship From The True Self
8. Soul WorshipPart III: Rediscovering Worship
9. The Church Gathered
10. The Rhythm Of Worship
11. The Other Six Days Of The Week
12. Compassion And Justice
13. The Deep End Of The PoolEpilogue: Still Falling
Acknowledgments
Discussion Guide
NotesAdditional Info
When asked by his son why some churches have smoke machines, worship pastor Manuel Luz found himself responding, “Well, technically, you need smoke machines to see the lasers.” But when you take down the smoke screen, what do you have left? Where do we encounter the Holy in the midst of all this? Where can we worship with our full selves-heart, soul, mind, and body-in Spirit and truth?Drawing from his own experience leading worship in a large congregation and feeling the pull of performance, Manuel Luz guides us on a journey through worship that takes us far beyond style and deep into our own souls. He calls us back to an honest worship that moves past facades and pulls us inward toward the true self that God is forming within each of us. Each chapter ends with a spiritual practice designed to help us set aside pretense and enter into the very presence of God. -
Pastores Para El Siglo 21st – (Spanish)
$14.99Add to cartEste libro ayudara a los pastores a adaptarse a los nuevos desafios de la sociedad, sin renunciar a las exigencias de la palabra eterna de Dios, que nunca cambia.
La sociedad actual es mas compleja que nunca. Determinados baluartes culturales han caido, hay nuevos paradigmas sociales, y los pastores necesitan adaptar la pastoral a estos nuevos desafios. A la vez estan obligados a no renunciar a las exigencias de la palabra de Dios y a sus principios permanentes que no cambian.
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Struggle Is Real Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartThe Struggle Is Real Participant’s Guide is a six-session workbook designed for use with The Struggle Is Real DVD Experience (sold separately), based on the new book by popular speaker and Bible teacher Nicole Unice. A great resource for church groups, Bible studies, and anyone who’s ever felt life just shouldn’t be this hard!
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a day where everything that could go wrong does go wrong-you lock your keys in the car while it’s running, lose control with your kids, make a mistake at the office that results in hours’ more work. And just when you think not one more thing could possibly happen . . . well, fill in the blank.
The struggle is real, friends. It may not be major stuff. Lives are not on the line here. But it makes us feel awful . . . and then we feel guilty for stressing when other people have “real” problems that are so much more serious.
Yet the fact remains: We live in a world that often feels harder than we think it should be. And so it can be easy to believe the stories we tell ourselves-that we’re doing it wrong, that we’ll be stuck in this place forever, that God doesn’t love us. We struggle practice gratitude, to make godly choices, and to live our daily lives with confidence and contentment. So what can we do?
Join Nicole Unice to discover why the struggle is real . . . and what to do about it. In The Struggle Is Real Participant’s Guide Nicole offers practical tools to help you navigate the daily ups and downs, and ways to rewrite your struggle into a new, God-centered life story.
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Gods Plan For Christian Living (Workbook)
$29.95Add to cartEvery ESL Ministry Needs This Book!
God’s Plan for Christian Living, Book 2 in the ESL Ministry Series, is a practical, time-tested workbook with step-by-step activities that help ESL students move easily from learning English or reading more fluently to considering what it means to live as a disciple of Christ.
This ESL workbook is part of a series that is:
*Deliberately simple in design and vocabulary.
*Easy to follow with engaging and effective exercises.
*Suitable as a stand-alone resource or as a supplement to existing ESL courses.
*Designed to share the basic principles of Christian living in clear, concise lessons.
*Perfect for ESL teachers and ministries to use and adapt to a variety of contexts.God’s Plan for Christian Living is ideal for:
*People with limited English ability.
*Individuals with little or no previous Bible knowledge.
*People who may be reluctant to interact with the Bible because of its perceived complexity.For those looking to introduce the Good News of Christ into their ESL program, the first book in this ESL Ministry Series–God’s Plan of Love (ISBN: 978-1-61314-401-5)–is also available. Together, these easy-to-use materials will provide the tools to bridge the gap between ESL language teaching and sharing Christ and important biblical truths.
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Seeing Gray In A World Of Black And White Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartEveryone agrees that America is polarized, with ever-hardening positions held by people less and less willing to listen to one another. No one agrees on what to do about it. One solution that hasn’t yet been tried, says Adam Hamilton, is for thinking persons of faith to model for the rest of the country a richer, more thoughtful conversation on the political, moral, and religious issues that divide us. The Leader Guide includes session plans, discussion questions, and multiple format options.
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Affirm Student Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$13.99Add to cartAffirm is a 6 week discipleship refresh from confirmation. With an emphasis on following Jesus and spiritual practices Affirm is great for a youth group series, a small group study, or for a weekend retreat. Providing leaders with the tools to enlist the support of their church and parents to help students grow stronger and go deeper with their relationship with Christ.
The Affirm student guide is a devotional resource designed to support the ownership of your teens faith journey. We know teens are social. The devotional material is woven into the rest of the student material so their growth gets worked out with their peers, and is shareable. This connection with their small group will lead to better faith/life integration.
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Focus On Jesus Cycle C
$16.95Add to cartEvery time Rev. Derl G. Keefer preaches a Christmas sermon, he asks himself the same question. Why did Jesus come to earth?
It’s the question that Jesus’ earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, must have asked themselves over and over. They struggled to understand why, when he was 12 years old, he would leave their care to join the scholars of the temple.
His answer served to refocus his own parents on who he really was.”Did you not know,” he asked them, “that I must be about my Father’s business?”
The 15 sermons contained in Focus on Jesus will provide four answers to the question of why he came by revealing the nature of the Father’s business as described in the Gospel of Luke:
*Jesus came to be the fulfillment of prophecy.
*Jesus came to be our Messiah.
*Jesus came to be our Savior.
*Jesus came to be the human face of God.This Advent season, utilize Keefer’s clear, simple teaching style in Focus on Jesus to help those seeking Jesus understand who he is, and to reignite the passion that first brought members of your congregation into his arms.
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Learning Biblical Hebrew Workbook
$27.99Add to cartThe Learning Biblical Hebrew Workbook is an essential companion for students using Learning Biblical Hebrew: Reading for Comprehension.The workbook includes guided readings tailored to the growing knowledge of the student using the introductory grammar. After the opening chapters containing grammar exercises to reinforce basic concepts, students begin reading actual Hebrew text based on the Joseph story from Genesis 37a “50. The text has been abridged and modified to present students with a text that they can read with minimal help. The readings are accompanied with three types of annotations: the Hebrew root or lexical form, an English gloss, or grammatical and textual explanations. The notes are provided to facilitate reading comprehension by identifying unfamiliar words and concepts. As familiarity with vocabulary and grammar increases, the readings are modified less and less until students are essentially reading the standard Hebrew text used in most Hebrew Bibles today. After completing the beginning Biblical Hebrew reader based on the Joseph story, students move on to the intermediate Biblical Hebrew reader that includes the books of Ruth, Jonah, and Esther. The continuous practice of reading Biblical Hebrew text is an essential part of truly understanding and experiencing what you read. The Learning Biblical Hebrew Workbook provides that essential reading practice that will make your study of Biblical Hebrew come alive.
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Healing Our Broken Humanity
$24.99Add to cartForeword By Willie James Jennings
Introduction: Nine Practices That Heal Our Broken Humanity
1. Reimagine Church
2. Renew Lament
3. Repent Together
4. Relinquish Power
5. Restore Justice
6. Reactivate Hospitality
7. Reinforce Agency
8. Reconcile Relationships
9. Recover Life Together
Epilogue: A Benediction And Prayer
Acknowledgments
Appendix One: Questions For Discussion And Engagement
Appendix Two: The Nine Transforming Practices Accountability Form
Appendix Three: Resources For Healing Our Broken Humanity
Notes
IndexAdditional Info
We live in conflicted times. Our newsfeeds are filled with inequality, division, and fear. We want to make a difference and see justice restored because Jesus calls us to be a peacemaking and reconciling people. But how do we do this?Based on their work with diverse churches, colleges, and other organizations, Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill offer Christian practices that can bring healing and hope to a broken world. They provide ten ways to transform society, from lament and repentance to relinquishing power, reinforcing agency, and more. Embodying these practices enables us to be the new humanity in Jesus Christ, so the church and world can experience reconciliation, justice, unity, peace, and love.
With small group activities, discussion questions, and exercises in each chapter, this book is ideal to read together in community. Discover here how to bring real change to a dehumanized world.
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Shouting Joy To The Storm Cycle C
$15.95Add to cartHow are we to respond when the violent storm of change rolls into our lives?
Should we hide from the storm? Hide in the status quo?
As this volume of sermons reminds us, that is not the way of the Christ.Followers of Jesus are called to believe that our greatest treasure ought not be found in the comfort of worldly life as we make it. The Lord calls us instead to step outside and face the coming storm, as he did.
When we do, we face all manner of fears in a world that does not like its order challenged. Mockery when we follow God; poverty when we stop worshipping money; grief when we are vulnerable enough to love the oppressed.
Shouting Joy to the Storm reminds us that, just as the Father partnered with the Son to bring him through the storm of Calvary, so he will bring us through our storms. We are not in this for a mere lifetime. We are in it for the long haul.
“They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid (Ezekiel 34:28, ESV).”
Sermons include:
*Long View – The Long Haul(Luke 13:31-35)
*What Is Truth? (John 18:1-19, 42)
*Death Shall Be No More (John 13:31-35, Revelation 21:1-6) -
Unshakable Hope Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartThe Unshakable Hope group Bible study provides groups of all sizes the opportunity to discuss and apply what they experience during the twelve-week Unshakable Hope church campaign.
In this 12-week study, bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado reveals how the heroes in the Bible came from all walks of life. They were rulers, servants, teachers, doctors. They were male, female, single, married. Yet one common denominator united them: they all put their faith in God’s promises. Because of God’s promises, Noah built an ark on dry land, Abraham went to a distant land, Joshua claimed the Promised Land, David became king, Peter preached the first sermon, and John caught a glimpse of the future.The stories of the men and women in Scripture were different, but the theme was the same: they were people of the Promise. Since the beginning of time, God’s relationship to humankind has been shaped by specific requirements and promises. These covenants were unchangeable decrees that defined the outflow of history. Some of the promises were positive, the assurance of blessings. Some of them were negative, the guarantee of consequence. But all the promises were binding.
This world has a tremble to it. There are things that seem unsteady in this life. But when we belong to God, it allows us to filter our problems through the promises of God. When crises arise, we can simply mutter, “But God said…” When struggles threaten, we can be seen flipping through the Bible, saying, “I know that God said something about this.” When we choose to be people of the promise, we choose to build our lives on promises of God not the circumstances of life.
It is through the great and precious promises that we participate in the divine nature of God. They sit like golden stones in the pathway to God’s world. They are strong boulders that form the bridge over which we walk from our sin to salvation. They aren’t just great, they are “very great”; and they aren’t just valuable, they are “precious.” To bind them around our neck is to adorn ourselves with the finest jewels of the universe. As Dwight Moody put it, “If you would spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God-you wouldn’t be going about complaining how poor you are. You would lift up your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace, because you couldn’t help doing it.”
Sessions include:
1. You Are Stamped with God’s Image
2. God Will Win the Victory
3. You Are an Heir of God
4. Your Prayers Have Power
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Liderazgo Practico – (Spanish)
$29.99Add to cartMuchos pastores y lideres tienen problemas porque les preocupa como ejercer un liderazgo lleno de incertidumbres, impreciso, donde no saben a donde se dirigen ni a donde deberian dirigirse. Sea usted lider de iglesia o de una empresa, con frecuencia se siente inseguro ante tantos retos; todo parece complicado, y se siente tentado a rendirse. Necesita soluciones claras y efectivas que le traigan resultados.
El Dr. Samuel Chand ha propiciado el exito de miles de lideres eclesiales y empresariales alrededor del mundo, con sus tecnicas sencillas y directas, pero practicas y efectivas. Mentor de resultados, ha visto a muchos de los lideres poderosos de hoy donde usted esta ahora. Y tambien ha visto y aun ve a muchos lideres reconocidos pasar por crisis, retroceder, y ansiosos ante los retos que crecen, segun crece su organizacion. Su vasta experiencia y su pasion por ayudar han creado respuestas francas y correctas para cada una de las preguntas de pastores y lideres; respuestas que usted puede poner en marcha enseguida y con seguridad. Ahora todas las soluciones para el liderazgo estan reunidas en un solo volumen. Este es su libro de consulta para alcanzar a paso firme, el nivel de liderazgo que usted busca. Recoge Liderazgo Practico: Los mejores principios de liderazgo para pastores y lideres.
Many pastors and leaders are concerned about exercising leadership surrounded by uncertainties, in which they don’t know where they are nor where to go. Whether you are a church leader or a business leader, you frequently feel insecure about so many challenges. Everything looks so complicated that you feel tempted to quit. You need sound, effective solutions that bring out results for your issues.
Dr. Samuel Chand has assisted thousands of church leaders and business success through their path of success with direct techniques that are unique and simple, yet also practical and effective. A results-oriented mentor, Chand has seen many of the most powerful pastors and leaders standing where you stand right now. He has also seen powerful leaders going through growth crises, and navigating great challenges. His unparalleled experience and passion for helping leaders and pastors have provided the right answers for each and every question pastors and leaders ask themselves; answers that you can confidently put into practice right now in any situation. Now every leadership answer is available within one volume. This is the consultation book to achieve, firmly and s
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From The Study To The Pulpit
$24.99Add to cartMany pastors struggle with preaching the Old Testament. As a professor and pastor, Allan Moseley’s vast experience and knowledge go a long way in helping expositors enrich their pulpit ministry. The purpose of his book is to offer both exegetical and preaching help by means of a workable 8-step method. The author’s preaching model starts with the initial step of determining the genre and meaning of the text to doing word studies and discovering the main ideas of the text to applying the sermon in a life-changing and Christ-honoring manner. Some books on preaching from the Old Testament are written by authors who do not actually preach, or preach only occasionally. Pastors and budding preachers need a book written by someone who has knows what it is like to be a pastor and has prepared sermons every week for years. His book reflects his classroom teaching on the subjects of exposition and hermeneutics, and it provides helpful illustrations of expositional principles that rise from his own preaching ministry.
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Unexpected Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99Add to cartIn Unexpected, a five-session video Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), bestselling author Christine Caine shows that while most of us have been trained to fear the unexpected and want everything to be “under control,” God wants us to anticipate the unexpected with a faith-filled perspective rooted in trust. He has never been taken by surprise with the unexpected, and he wants us to move from a life filled fear, control, worry, anxiety, panic, and feeling stuck to one full of hope, walking in faith, and trusting in him. We can step into the destiny and adventure that God has for us by dealing with pain barriers, managing disappointment, strengthening our hearts, building our faith, and expanding our lives.
Life is an unpredictable journey full of unexpected twists and turns, mountaintops and valleys, joys and sorrows. The good news is that while we do not always know what is going to happen, we can always trust that God uses everything in our lives as an invitation to rely on him more deeply and completely. We can walk forward in faith and not fear because our God is good, does good, and works all things together for his glory. Unexpected will show that in an age of political, social, moral, ethical, environmental, and economic upheaval, we can still expect our God to be good and do good.
Sessions include:
*Move into the Unexpected
*Strengthen Your Heart
*Choose Your Destiny
*Press Through to Breakthrough
*Expect the UnexpectedDesigned for use with the Unexpected Video Study (sold separately).
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Family Ministry And The Church
$26.99Add to cart“Chris Shirley provides a guide to establish a theological and practical framework for family ministry both inside and outside the church. Ministry leaders will discover the role of the church and its leaders to strengthen families and equip them to make disciples in the home, the church, and throughout the world. This work illustrates how healthy family ministry depends on effective disciple making that brings people to a close relationship with Christ both in the church and the home. The author also delivers an excellent resource for college and seminary training in the field of family ministry”–
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Disabling Mission Enabling Witness
$24.99Add to cartIn recent decades churches have accommodated disabled people in various ways. Through access ramps and elevators and sign language, disabled persons are invited in to worship. But are they actually enfolded into the church’s mission? Have the able-bodied come to recognize and appreciate the potential contributions of people with disabilities in the ministry and witness of the church?Benjamin Conner wants to stimulate a new conversation between disability studies and Christian theology and missiology. How can we shape a new vision of the entire body of Christ sharing in the witness of the church? How would it look if we “disabled” Christian theology, discipleship, and theological education? Conner argues that it would in fact enable congregational witness. He has seen it happen and he shows us how.Imagine a church that fully incorporates persons with disabilities into its mission and witness. In this vision, people with disabilities contribute to the church’s pluriform witness, and the congregation embodies a robust hermeneutic of the gospel. Picture the entire body of Christ functioning beyond distinctions of dis/ability, promoting mutual flourishing and growing into fullness. Here is an enlargement of the church’s witness as a sign, agent, and foretaste of the kingdom of God.Here is a fresh and inspiring look at the mission of the church when it enfolds people with disabilities as full members.
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Loving And Leaving A Church
$26.00Add to cartBarbara Melosh’s story was a common one. A second-career seminarian, she arrived at her first pastorate brimming with enthusiasm and high hopes. The blue-collar congregation to which she’d been called had a glorious past but an uncertain future. Certain that she could turn around its slow yet undeniable slide into decline, Melosh inaugurated a number of church growth and outreach programs. Most of these efforts had little effect, and the ones that did seem to work soon suffered reverse outcomes and eventual demise. In the end, Melosh had to conclude that the members of the congregation liked their church the way it was and that she could not drag them into a future they did not want.
Yet while the congregation failed to change itself, Melosh notes, it succeeded in changing her. Simply put, it made her a pastor. At times heartbreaking and hilarious, Loving and Leaving a Church offers a glimpse into the challenges and opportunities of ministry in a mainline church.
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Stay The Course
$9.99Add to cartA PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR EFFECTIVELY MAKING DISCIPLES IN YOUR CHURCH
Pastors and church leaders desperately want to make disciples, but they often find themselves veering off the road of discipleship-or even heading toward a cliff. The many challenges of ministry cause churches to stray from effectively making disciples.
Stay the Course keeps leaders on the path, so they can help people follow Jesus until the end.
Church consultant and lead pastor Brandon Guindon uses seven essential practices-or “guardrails”-to guide you along the road of disciple making in your local context. These core practices come from his experience in various church contexts-from church plants to churches in transition-and guard you from danger on your journey.
Embrace these seven practices as Stay the Course challenges and inspires you. This resource helps you apply them to your personal life and implement them in your church, resulting in churches that faithfully make disciples and disciples who stay on track.
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Glimpsing Resurrection : Cancer Trauma And Ministry
$28.00Add to cartIn Glimpsing Resurrection, Deanna A. Thompson combines recent trauma research with compelling first-person narrative to provide insight into the traumatic dimensions of living with a serious illness. Her aim is to help those who are ill and those who care for and minister to them deepen their understanding of how best to offer support.
“The tendency for Christians to move almost immediately from death to proclamations of new life risks alienating those for whom healing and new life seem out of reach,” says Thompson. Glimpsing Resurrection focuses less on the “why” to help readers instead come to terms with the “how” of living with a serious disease. In particular, Thompson provides a framework and concrete suggestions for how to be a church where those who are undone by illness can be undone, as well as a place that can love and support them to hope.
“Finding space within the psalms, the story of Job, Jesus’ cry of God-forsakenness on the cross, and even Christ’s descent into hell helps us imagine how Christian communities can be spacious enough to acknowledge and hold those who are undone by illness,” Thompson says. “Only then does it become possible to identify the hope that can emerge from our not-yet-resurrection reality to imagine more in life today as well as in the life to come.”
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After The Trip
$15.99Add to cart1. What Now?
2. Coming Home With Gifts
3. Mining For Gold
4. Treasures On The Journey
5. Keeping The Lines Open
6. Make Your Next Trip Your Best Trip
7. The Key To A Life-Changing Journey
Afterword: The Trip Is Just The Beginning
Questions For Reflection And Discussion
Appendix: Eight Great Questions
NotesAdditional Info
Can a one-time crosscultural experience truly be life-changing?Veteran trip leader and intercultural guide Cory Trenda says yes-if we let the trip launch a journey of integrating the experience into our ongoing life.
In After the Trip Trenda provides a unique guide for individuals and teams to make the most of a crosscultural trip after returning home. Readers will find help with navigating the crucial reentry process, remembering and sharing key stories, interweaving new insights into everyday life, and engaging in continuing learning and service. Combining practical tips, reflections, and stories from Trenda’s own decades of crosscultural travel, this is an essential resource for organizations, churches, schools, and all travelers who want crosscultural trips to be a catalyst for lasting good.
The trip itself is just the beginning; real life change happens after the trip.
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Miracles : Gods Presence And Power In Creation
$50.00Add to cartMiracles are not confined to the stories of Scripture; these signs of God’s presence and power in creation are experienced throughout our daily existence. Yet cultural challenges and modernity’s skepticism have marginalized belief in them as unreasonable and irrational, says Luke Timothy Johnson.
In this excellent resource for church professionals, Johnson reclaims Christian belief in miracles as integral to recovering a proper and strong sense of creation, recognizing the validity of personal experience and narrative and asserting the truth-telling quality of myth. His analysis includes:
a description of the competing symbolic worldviews that have framed the discussion on miracles, including secular debates and theological imagination;
interpretation of miracles consonant with the biblical construction of reality in the Old and New Testaments;
suggestions for four areas in the church’s life-teaching, preaching, prayer, and pastoral care-that can work together to shape a symbolic world, within which believers can expect, perceive, and celebrate the miracles in everyday life. -
Impact Preaching : A Case For The One-Point Expository Sermon
$26.99Add to cartThis comprehensive and engaging manual aids preachers in keeping the transformative meaning and impact of the biblical text intact through all hermeneutical and homiletical processes. While this approach applies to all sermon structures, the book focuses on the less familiar one-point expository message rather than the more common three-point sermon, or verse-by-verse approach.
Drawing upon the strengths of their backgrounds as homiletic and biblical studies professors, the authors help the reader identify which biblical texts fit the one-point expository sermon structure, explain how to develop the sermons, and provide sermon samples that illustrate the approach.
The authors explore the features of each major literary genre and how it helps to shape the sermon. With their shared expertise in biblical studies and homiletics, they offer a book brimming with insights and usefulness.
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Leaders Of The Church Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartIn The Leaders of the Church, students will be introduced to some of the lesser-known, but still vitally important leaders of the early church. These four lessons will profile four leaders and help students understand what it means to be a leader while following God and working towards the kingdom of Heaven. These studies will come from the Gospels, Acts, and the New Testament Letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Broken Kingdom Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn The Broken Kingdom, you and your teens will experience the story of Israel’s fall and eventual exile. Throughout these four lessons, your group will learn about the consequences of failing to trust in God as well as the redemption offered by God in even the worst of circumstances. This study covers the history of Israel and Judah in 1 & 2 Kings and the prophets. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Broken Kingdom Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartIn The Broken Kingdom, you and your teens will experience the story of Israel’s fall and eventual exile. Throughout these four lessons, your group will learn about the consequences of failing to trust in God as well as the redemption offered by God in even the worst of circumstances. This study covers the history of Israel and Judah in 1 & 2 Kings and the prophets. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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New City Catechism For Kids
$1.99Add to cartThe New City Catechism: Children’s Edition is a modern-day resource aimed at teaching the core doctrines of the Christian faith to children ages 2-11. This 64-page booklet contains each of the 52 easy-to-understand questions and short answers found in The New City Catechism designed to help children understand who God is and what he has done. With answers that are short enough for children to read, understand, and memorize, this low-cost booklet is designed for bulk distribution and is ideally suited for Sunday school classes, Christian schools, and homeschooling families. This resource is sold individually and as part of the curriculum kit.
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Making Disciples Confirmands Journal
$14.99Add to cartMaking Disciples is a 13-session mentor-based confirmation program that pairs confirmands with adult mentors and guides them through a variety of learning experiences that will strengthen the student’s understanding of the faith while connecting him or her with the community of believers in a personal way. It can be used as a stand-alone program, or in conjunction with your current curriculum as a special experiential unit. This is a confirmation program that is more like a process and less like a reading assignment, more engaging and congruent with the nature of the Christian faith than existing programs. Using an “apprenticeship” approach to confirmation Will Willimon produced a series of learning experiences where adult mentors and confirmands are both teachers and learners at the same time. This time-tested approach has been extensively revised and updated for usage in today’s churches that take seriously Christ’s command to be engaged in disciple making. The Confirmand’s Journal is a place where an individual can write down highlights, memories, and details of their confirmation journey. This journal is a guided journal. Which means the confirmand will be given directions on things to do, and questions to reflect on, which will help them get started in their writing. Topics explore the basics of Christian faith: -God -Jesus -the Holy Spirit -worship -the Bible -gifts -ministry -baptism -spiritual life -death and resurrection -the church
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Making Disciples Mentor Guide
$17.99Add to cartMaking Disciples is a 13-session mentor-based confirmation program that pairs confirmands with adult mentors and guides them through a variety of learning experiences that will strengthen the student’s understanding of the faith while connecting him or her with the community of believers in a personal way. It can be used as a stand-alone program, or in conjunction with your current curriculum as a special experiential unit. This is a confirmation program that is more like a process and less like a reading assignment, more engaging and congruent with the nature of the Christian faith than existing programs. Using an “apprenticeship” approach to confirmation Will Willimon produced a series of learning experiences where adult mentors and confirmands are both teachers and learners at the same time. This time-tested approach has been extensively revised and updated for usage in today’s churches that take seriously Christ’s command to be engaged in disciple making. The bulk of the Mentor Guide is exactly the same as the Confirmand’s Journal. You are encouraged to work through the activities right along with the confirmands and to complete the activities and writing assignments just as he or she does. By working along with your confirmand you will demonstrate the need to keep learning and growing. Topics explore the basics of Christian faith: -God -Jesus -the Holy Spirit -worship -the Bible -gifts -ministry -baptism -spiritual life -death and resurrection -the church
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Making Disciples Coordinators Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$18.99Add to cartMaking Disciples is a 13-session mentor-based confirmation program that pairs confirmands with adult mentors and guides them through a variety of learning experiences that will strengthen the student’s understanding of the faith while connecting him or her with the community of believers in a personal way. It can be used as a stand-alone program, or in conjunction with your current curriculum as a special experiential unit. This is a confirmation program that is more like a process and less like a reading assignment, more engaging and congruent with the nature of the Christian faith than existing programs. Using an “apprenticeship” approach to confirmation Will Willimon produced a series of learning experiences where adult mentors and confirmands are both teachers and learners at the same time. This time-tested approach has been extensively revised and updated for usage in today’s churches that take seriously Christ’s command to be engaged in disciple making. The Confirmand’s Journal is a place where an individual can write down highlights, memories, and details of their confirmation journey. This journal is a guided journal. Which means the confirmand will be given directions on things to do, and questions to reflect on, which will help them get started in their writing. Topics explore the basics of Christian faith: -God -Jesus -the Holy Spirit -worship -the Bible -gifts -ministry -baptism -spiritual life -death and resurrection -the church
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Disciples Path Leader Guide With Download (Teacher’s Guide)
$27.99Add to cartA Disciple’s Path is an engaging approach to discipleship from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective that is perfect for a new member class or other small group. The six-week program guides individuals to take the next step in discipleship and become dynamic followers of Jesus Christ and engaged, vital members of the local church. The study combines a Wesleyan understanding of our growth in God’s love and grace with the time-tested practices of spiritual discipline expressed in the membership vows to uphold the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Participants will develop spiritual practices, discover their unique gifts, and become engaged in ministry that brings transformation in their own lives, the lives of others, and the world. This Leader Guide provides group facilitators with helpful tips for leading a group, material for leading an introductory session or pastor’s coffee, and six ready-to-use session guides. Also included is a link to downloadable resources, along with previews of these online tools, including sample e-mails handouts, including customizable templates that can be modified for any congregation,and PowerPoint presentations.
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Leaders Of The Church Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn The Leaders of the Church, students will be introduced to some of the lesser-known, but still vitally important leaders of the early church. These four lessons will profile four leaders and help students understand what it means to be a leader while following God and working towards the kingdom of Heaven. These studies will come from the Gospels, Acts, and the New Testament Letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Quit Church : Because Your Life Would Be Better If You Did (Reprinted)
$18.00Add to cartBased on research among congregations across the country, seasoned church coach and pastor Chris Sonksen reveals habits we need to simply let go, along with spiritual practices we need to relearn in order to thrive as individuals and produce growth in our churches.
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Disciples Path Daily Workbook (Workbook)
$15.99Add to cartA Disciple’s Path is an engaging approach to discipleship from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective that is perfect for a new member class or other small group. The six-week program guides individuals to take the next step in discipleship and become dynamic followers of Jesus Christ and engaged, vital members of the local church. The study combines a Wesleyan understanding of our growth in God’s love and grace with the time-tested practices of spiritual discipline expressed in the membership vows to uphold the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Participants will develop spiritual practices, discover their unique gifts, and become engaged in ministry that brings transformation in their own lives, the lives of others, and the world. This Daily Workbook contains six weeks of daily readings (five per week) that guide participants in learning and practicing seven essential spiritual disciplines: Prayer Scripture Corporate Worship Small-group Community Financial Generosity Gifts-based Service Invitational Evangelism Each day’s reading includes a Scripture, a message for the day, questions and prompts for personal reflection (with space provided for recording responses), and prayer. A special introductory section includes material on the history, beliefs, and structure of the church and answers to frequently asked questions. Whether you’re just setting out or are further along the path of discipleship, this excellent resource will help you to take the next step. – Roger Scholtz, Senior Pastor, Manning Road Methodist Church, Durban, South Africa A Disciple’s Path has the potential to revolutionize the way we view our participation in the church. Following this ‘path’ can transform us from wanderers into pilgrims. – Dr. Steve Harper, Professor of Spiritual Formation, Asbury Theological Seminary
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Life In The Church 2 Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn this study, your students will learn about what it was like to be a part of the early church in the first century. In addition to unpacking selected teachings in Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John and Jude, teens will also gain an understanding of the historical context and local church situations that led to the writing of these letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Life In The Church 2 Student Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartIn this study, your students will learn about what it was like to be a part of the early church in the first century. In addition to unpacking selected teachings in Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John and Jude, teens will also gain an understanding of the historical context and local church situations that led to the writing of these letters. A Deep Dive into the Story of God Fathom is a Bible study for teens that covers the Old and New Testaments in 18-4 session studies. The lessons are a blend of narrative and traditional theological approaches to understanding the bible story. Each lesson will focus on one passage that will launch into the larger context of God’s story being studied,and how that story is meant to be theirs. Fathom is suitable for groups with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and any combination of the two. But unlike many other resources, it acknowledges the differences between older and younger youth and the way they learn. It provides activities specific to each age group, as well as activities for mixed groups in which older youth have leadership opportunities. Fathom gives leaders the option to let youth take ownership of their learning through teaching and leading alongside adults. Fathom creates space and tension for teens to wrestle with how to interpret and experience the bible. Through youthministrypartners.com, leaders will have access to planning and teaching tools, customizable content, and other supplemental content to support their use of Fathom as well as their youth ministries in general.
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Cultures In Conflict Discovery Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartHow do you live in a culture where the worldview conflicts with Christianity? Learn from Paul as he settled among the Greco-Romans of Corinth, who valued wealth and class, worship of multiple gods, and decadent pleasure seeking above all else. In this sixteenth volume of That The World May Know , discover how to live in your own Corinth-a dechristianized Western world-in a way that glorifies God.
Designed for use with the Cultures in Conflict Video Study (9780310085928), sold separately.
Video sessions, filmed on location in Israel and Greece, include:
Engaging the Mind-Paul in the Stoa of Athens (Athens)
Engaging the Heart (Athens)Turning Weakness into Strength (Timnah, Corinth)
The Lord’s Supper-Discerning the Body (Corinth, Delos)
Transforming the Chaos (Corinth)THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW Join renowned teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan as he guides you through the land of the Bible. In each lesson, Vander Laan illuminates the historical, geographical, and cultural context of the sacred Scriptures. Filmed on location in the Middle East and elsewhere, the That the World May Know film series will transform your understanding of God and challenge you to be a true follower of Jesus.
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Life Of Paul
$11.99Add to cartAn archenemy of the early Christians who became a great Christian missionary and the author of thirteen books in the New Testament. Paul’s letters speak profoundly to us centuries later as the inspired word of God. The study brings to life the struggles and circumstances of Paul’s life, his courage in the face of persecution, and his relentless mission to spread the good news of Jesus. Capitalizing on the recognized excellence of Rose’s visual elements, Rose Visual Bible Studies are packed with charts, graphs, images, and fascinating facts. These Bible studies are easy enough that the new believer understands, but in-depth enough that the longtime churchgoer still comes away learning something new.
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Organic Outreach For Churches (Expanded)
$16.99Add to cartNearly all churches and ministries consider themselves dedicated to evangelism, and many explicitly include outreach in their mission statements. But few are actually bearing fruit. Kevin Harney diagnoses this problem and offers guidance for multiplying the outreach impact of churches. Organic Outreach for Churches provides direction for local congregations to weave evangelism into the fabric of the church. Commitment to the Great Commission is not simply about sending money and prayers to missions or holding occasional events to reach out (although these things are good). Organic outreach happens when evangelistic vision and action become the domain of every ministry and the commitment of every person in the congregation. This will not happen accidentally. There is huge spiritual and practical resistance to such changes. But the only way evangelism will become an organic part of a church is when every leader and each member is gripped by a commitment to proclaiming the gospel. This book is a roadmap for pastors and leaders who wish to infuse evangelistic passion into every aspect of their church’s life.
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Sacred Privilege : Your Life And Ministry As A Pastor’s Wife
$17.00Add to cartLife as a pastor’s wife offers meaningful opportunities to play a significant part in God’s work, to witness and participate in the beauty of changed lives. Yet it also carries the potential for deep wounds and great conflict that can drain the joy out of service. Is it worth it? Oh, yes, says Kay Warren, wife of Pastor Rick Warren and cofounder of Saddleback Church. It is more than worth the risk–it’s a sacred privilege.
Drawing on more than forty years in ministry in every possible size church, Kay provides encouraging principles and life lessons, along with intimate personal stories, that will give readers the confidence needed to lead and live well. Pastor’s wives learn to- accept who they are- adapt to change- help their children survive and thrive- protect their private lives- deal with criticism- live with integrity- develop an eternal perspectiveWhether she is excited, struggling, or feeling broken and tired, every pastor’s wife will find hope and encouragement for their calling in Kay’s warm and wise words.
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Preaching Jesus Christ Today
$26.00Add to cartThis book approaches preaching as a theological practice and a spiritual discipline in a way that is engaging, straightforward, and highly usable for busy preachers. Bringing to bear almost three decades of practical experience in the pulpit and the classroom, Annette Brownlee explores six questions to help preachers listen to Scripture, focus on what God does in the event of the sermon, and move from interpretation to text as they prepare weekly sermons. Each chapter contains theological reflections, guidelines for sermon preparation, and numerous examples and illustrations. Sample sermons are also included.
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Lifesaving Church : Faith Communities And Suicide Prevention
$14.99Add to cartIn The Lifesaving Church: Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention, pastor Rachael Keefe shatters the deadly silence around suicide by sharing her own painful story of life-long depression and suicidality — and how the church responded for better and for worse — to help equip other communities become lifesaving churches.
Equal parts memoir, theological reflection, clinical response, and action guide, The Lifesaving Church is critical reading for faith communities seeking abundant life for all of its members. With specific appendices for clergy and church leaders, suicide loss survivors, and those considering suicide — as well as provocative discussion questions at the end of each chapter — The Lifesaving Church is rich with resources for all to help break the silence and begin saving lives.
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Age Of Opportunity
$18.00Add to cartA companion to the author’s earlier book Designing an Older Adult Ministry (Discipleship Resources, 1999), this book will provide new information and outline ways to develop and strengthen ministries by, with, and for older adults that can, and will, enhance the spiritual growth and well-being of people of all ages. The church is beginning to recognize that there are vast numbers of older people in its membership. It is becoming aware of its indebtedness to them for the leadership, support, service, and faith that has made the church of today possible. The church is uniquely positioned to help older adults respond to the challenges of aging; to see the tremendous potentialities in the lives of older adult for making the church and community better; and to assist older people as they experience new meaning and purpose in their later lives. Chapters include “Why Older-Adult Ministries?”; “Understanding the Aging Process”; “Aging and the Spiritual Journey”; “The New Seniors: Boomers?”; “Intentional Ministry by, with, and for Older Adults”; “Organizing for Intentional Ministry in the Local Church”; “Organizing for Intentional Ministry in the Conference”; “Congregational Care Ministry”; “Additional Ideas for Intentional Ministry”; and “Trends in Aging.” Appendixes include a “Facts about Aging” quiz, information on creating and using older adult surveys, and suggested resources for further reading and study.
