As soon as he was able, he left the community and moved as far away as he could. But through a remarkable turn of events, he reluctantly returned and found himself not only back in Englewood but also serving as a pastor ("Pastah J") and community leader. In Church Forsaken, Brooks challenges local churches to rediscover that loving our neighbors means loving our neighborhoods. Unpacking the themes of Jeremiah 29, he shows how Christians can be fully present in local communities, building homes and planting gardens for the common good. His holistic vision and practical work offers good news for forgotten people and places. And community stakeholders and civic leaders will rediscover that churches are viable partners in community transformation in ways that they may never have considered. God has always been at work in neglected neighborhoods. Join Pastah J on this journey and discover new hope for your community.

    Or your coworker grabbing you by the arm and asking you to stay late at work to talk about God just a bit longer. When Jesus talked about the Good News, people ran to him.We should expect the same response. Good News for a Change is about working together with Jesus to share the gospel in ways unique to each person’s situation.You will enjoy evangelism because it is a fun, deeply personal, community and person-oriented way to connect with people. You’ll be energized and focused on helping people discover why Jesus is good news for them.

    In these pages he shares incredible stories of God using ordinary people to do the impossible. And he shows that, when you begin to have faith in the power of God, take him at his Word, and understand his love for you, you will see his power released in healings, financial blessings, and miracles of all kinds.

    He shares practical ways for church leaders to move beyond the building walls and take the kingdom to those who need it most. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Scott argues that every believer, not just the leaders, can fill their city, workplace, and family with the beauty and power of Christ.   When believers become scattered servants, the Holy Spirit will equip them to advance the kingdom and change lives through their hearts and hands.

    These two trends define life in Western society today. We are increasingly addicted to habits―and devices―that distract and "buffer" us from substantive reflection and deep engagement with the world. And we live in what Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor calls "a secular age"―an age in which all beliefs are equally viable and real transcendence is less and less plausible. Drawing on Taylor's work, Alan Noble describes how these realities shape our thinking and affect our daily lives. Too often Christians have acquiesced to these trends, and the result has been a church that struggles to disrupt the ingrained patterns of people's lives. But the gospel of Jesus is inherently disruptive: like a plow, it breaks up the hardened surface to expose the fertile earth below. In this book Noble lays out individual, ecclesial, and cultural practices that disrupt our society's deep-rooted assumptions and point beyond them to the transcendent grace and beauty of Jesus. Disruptive Witness casts a new vision for the evangelical imagination, calling us away from abstraction and cliché to a more faithful embodiment of the gospel for our day.

    But most don't know how to build intentional relationships with people from different backgrounds.Across the Street and Around the World offers an answer to those Christians wondering, Is it possible to engage with people of other cultures right now, in my everyday world—or even beyond?Step by step, it helps them see how to prepare their souls, reshape their worldviews, and redesign their patterns of life to become the sort of people who can represent Jesus across cultural lines and take part in God's plans for their neighborhoods, their cities, and the world.

    We’ve got plenty of churches without them!” “The church brought another one of their campuses near us. It’s totally unethical what they are doing.” “We can’t reach young families. They all go to the big church that has all the children’s and student stuff.” “We don’t have the money or the people the other churches have.”   Bestselling author Thom S. Rainer (I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Deceased Church) has heard comments like these hundreds, if not thousands, of times. They are statements of hopelessness. They are statements of despair. They are statements of defeat.   Church leaders don’t want to feel this way. They desire to break out of the mediocrity of the same, lame, and tame existence of their churches. They want their churches to make a difference.   There is hope. God’s hope. God’s possibilities.  What does a scrappy church look like? Let’s take a look together.

    But they have been poorly equipped with methods that are no longer effective in today's post-Christian world. As a result, many people become frustrated, blame themselves, and simply give up. Evangelism in a Skeptical World is a textbook on evangelism that is ideal for the church or the classroom to equip Christians with the principles and skills they need to tell the unbelievable news about Jesus to friends in a skeptical world.Many of the older principles and methods of evangelism in the twentieth century no longer work effectively today. In a post-Christian, post-churched, post-reached world we need new methods to communicate the timeless message of the gospel in culturally relevant ways. Dr. Chan combines the theological and biblical insights of classic evangelistic training with the latest insights from missiology on contextualization, cultural hermeneutics, and storytelling. Every chapter is illustrated with real-world examples drawn from over fifteen years of evangelistic ministry. These are methods that really work - with university students, urban workers, and professionals - getting past the defensive posture that people have toward Christianity so they can seriously consider the claims of Jesus Christ.Field-tested and filled with unique, fresh, and creative insights, this book will equip you to share the gospel in today's world and help as many people as possible hear the good news about Jesus.

    But where do you start? How can you convey what's on your heart in a way that will be well received? Every relationship and situation is unique, and that's why these essays from respected scholars, apologists, and pastors—including Sandra Tanner, Robert Bowman, David Geisler, Bill McKeever, Mark Mittelberg, J. Warner Wallace, Lynn Wilder, and others—lays out a variety of creative methods for sharing the gospel effectively so you can...initiate authentic conversationsrespond with compassion and clarity to Mormon teachingsunderstand your Mormon friends and find ways to keep the dialogue goingSpeaking the truth to Mormons can feel daunting when you're unprepared. Let the suggestions in this book give you solid ideas for reaching those who are lost but don't realize it.

    More than ever, God is bringing people from other countries and cultures into our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools. But we often don’t know how to start building meaningful relationships with them. In Across the Street and Around the World, Jeannie Marie shows us that following Jesus’ final instructions doesn’t have to be as daunting or as impossible as we might imagine.Step-by-step, Marie walks us through the shifts in perspective necessary to align our hearts, minds, and everyday lives with God’s heart for the nations. Using personal stories and plenty of inspiration, she gently guides us away from common missteps, while offering practical tips and spiritual lessons for engaging in cross-cultural relationships with love and purpose. At the end of the day, connecting with people from different backgrounds simply starts with walking across the street as we join in God’s plans for our neighborhoods, our cities, and the world.

    Starting with John and spilling over into the lives of thousands more, Jesus is working to redeem whole communities across the world. From drug addiction, to drug dealing, to prison, to glorious salvation, restored family, godly marriage, and powerful ministry, Jesus has and is using John to help the Church reach people who would not walk into a church building. Read this. Let God show you the power of Jesus Christ in the transformed life of John Stroup.

    But often we get caught up in perfecting our homes and conversations before we open our doors.Over 7 sessions, look to Jesus as your model for hospitality. Discover how He lived a life full of interruptions, yet always welcomed people and invited them to follow Him. Learn to replace cultural expectations with biblical hospitality to create a legacy of invitation and reflect Jesus through simple acts of service.Features: Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groupsPersonal study segments with homework to complete between 7 weeks of group sessionsBenefits: Replace cultural expectations with biblical hospitality to create a legacy of invitation.Discover daily rhythms of kindness, generosity, and presence at home and on the go.Learn to view welcome as worship, and reflect Jesus through simple acts of service.Become a woman of influence through hidden hospitality.Create spaces of welcome in your heart, home, and beyond.

    But if we do something, we think we have to do everything—and do it in Africa. In Across the Street and Around the World, Jeannie Marie shows us we can change the world right where we already live, work, play, and study—by learning to grow genuine, spiritually deep friendships with people from other countries, cultures, and faiths.In a refreshing “you-can-do-this-too” style, Marie leads us by the hand with clear steps, try-it sections, and beautifully crafted prayers. She gently guides us away from common cultural missteps, so we can offer Jesus in a winsome way, while honoring culture, faith, and family. With confidence, courage and compassion, we’ll start small, start soon, and start somewhere we already are, by first going across the street—which just may lead us around the world!“Jeannie Marie shares a lifetime of invaluable experience with the rest of us. Her book is a treasure trove of insights and practical resources for engaging the nations in our own backyard and to the ends of the earth!” —David Garrison, author of Church-Planting Movements and Wind in the House of Islam

    It's also a very important book. Is has had a huge impact on the world - socially, morally, politically - and even on the language we use. This book is structured around 12 phrases that come from the Bible and uses them to explain the whole story - from the first book (Genesis) to the last book (Revelation). If you want to find out what the Bible is all about, and why it has changed the world, this book is for you.

    Motivated by a deep-rooted conviction that the North American church needs to be equipped for this important task, Micah Fries and Keith Whitfield have gathered a group of experts who are deeply invested in successful outreach to their Muslim neighbors. Unlike many resources that explore the topic of Islam as a dominant religion in the Middle East, Islam and North America focuses on the presence of Islam here in North America. Answering questions about the commonalities between Christians and Muslims, freedom of worship, the Quran, and Sharia law, this book will equip North American Christians to think about Islam theologically and missionally, engage their Muslim neighbors hospitably, and encourage readers to find new opportunities for missional engagement in their own backyards.

    In his bestselling book The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel retraced his spiritual journey from atheism to faith by showing how the evidence he obtained from experts in the field of history, archaeology, and ancient manuscripts led him to the verdict that Jesus truly was the Son of God.Now, in this six-week training course, Lee and coauthor Mark Mittelberg will equip you with practical tools to equip you articulate this same message to your unsaved friends and present evidence that backs up Jesus' claims and credentials.As you go through the course, you will discover how to: Help your unsaved friends and family members open up to consider the case for Christ Describe your own personal journey with Christ and how it has impacted you Share with confidence about the biblical record of Christ—that Jesus was real Present the evidence for the resurrection of Christ—that Jesus died and was raised to life Explain the central message of Christ in an authentic and compelling way Help your unsaved friends and family members respond to the truth of Jesus Sessions include: Helping Friends Consider the Case for Christ Describing Your Own Journey with Christ Backing Up the Biblical Record of Christ Presenting Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ Explaining the Central Message of Christ Encouraging Friends to Follow Christ Designed for use with Making Your Case for Christ Video Study (9780310095156), sold separately.

    Stone urges us to consider a new approach, arguing for evangelism as a work of imagination and a witness to beauty rather than a crass effort to compete for converts in pluralistic contexts. He shows that the way we lead our lives as Christians is the most meaningful tool of evangelism in today's rapidly changing world.

    However the real numbers, beyond the misunderstandings show differently. USA Today declared the Adventist Church the fastest growing denomination in 2011. The heartbeat is still the very relevant messages of Jesus. In this book, author Roger Walter seeks to provide a level of intelligence that moves beyond the urban myths, and show why it can still work and to give the reader a significant amount of wisdom as they seek to share Jesus in their communities. He delves into the science of evangelism and how to do it so that it's effective in reaching people for Jesus. Chapters cover such timely topics as 8 Myths of Evangelism, Adventist Churches Grow Differently, Creating a Culture of Evangelism, and much more that show how to bring out the message and get decisions for Christ.