One of the best and most comprehensive books ever written on the work of the ministry.

    Church leaders, conference speakers, and authors are weighing the merits of the attractional church movement of the past few decades, and where they find it lacking, prescribing changes in the way we need to approach our cultures with the Gospel. There has been a consensus shift among many churches, networks, and denominations to become more focused on mission. The result is a renewed interest in reaching the lost in our cities and around the world. The Church, in many places in the Western world, is in fact returning to a biblical missional focus. Yet there is something still to be addressed in the process: thehow. For centuries, God has called missionaries to cross cultures with the Gospel, and along the way, they have developed the necessary skill-sets for a cultural translation of the Good News. These skills need to be shared with the rest of the Church in order to help them as well be effective missionaries.Tradecraft for the Church on Missiondoes exactly that. This book, in essence, pulls back the curtain on tools once accessible only to full-time Christian workers moving overseas, and offers them to anyone anywhere who desires to live missionally."

    Using the simple device of telling the Christmas story backwards, Stephen Cottrell helps us encounter it as if for the first time.

    Biblical Church Revitalization calls us to an intentional commitment to church revitalization in the face of dying and divided churches.

    But community can't be forced, controlled, or easily created. The problem, says Joseph R. Myers, is that churches are too focused on developing programs instead of concentrating on environments where community will spontaneously emerge.Organic Community challenges key leaders to become environmentalists--people who create or shape environments. Outlining nine organizational tools for creating a healthy environment, Myers shows readers how to diagnose their current situation and implement patterns that will develop possibilities for healthy communities.

    In some cases these ideas were once peculiarly Baptists, though they are now more widely held among other groups. For Stan Norman, healthy Baptist churches intentionally and diligently adhere to their Baptist distinctives.

    God intends for this compelling vision of His people singing—a people joyfully joining together in song with brothers and sisters around the world and around his heavenly throne—to include you. He wants you,he wants us, to sing.

    It is different in a number of ways, all of which commend this volume to wide use by pastors whose task it is to introduce the members of their inquirers classes to an Orthodox way of life which will touch their lives in a full and complete way (Fr. Stanley Harakas). Chapters include: What We Believe About the One Apostolic Church, the Nicene Creed, Jesus, the Holy Trinity, the Divine Liturgy, Salvation, the Church Fathers, the Church Year, Symbols, the Sacraments, the Saints and the Theotokos, Life After Death, the Bible, Icons, Prayers for the Dead, and Prayer. Recently translated in Korean and Romanian.

    Concise, accessible, and historically informed, it teaches God’s design for church so you know what to look for in one—or even how to lead one.Useful for training in membership classes, discipleship groups, and elder boards—and even for devotional reading—The Character of the Church is at once theological, practical, and experiential. Readers will not simply be informed, but led to a deeper appreciation of the church of God and its essential marks:The word of God is faithfully preachedThe sacraments are rightly administeredLeadership is biblically formed and functioningDiscipline is practiced with graceThe mission of the church is shared by allThis book will bring churches and Christians back to the biblical picture of a local body, perfect for any believer eager to grow and help others do likewise.

    For Christians who are struggling to understand what it means to be pious and how to embrace the classic Christian practices of piety, Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey shows that acts of piety are not simply rules to keep in order to be a "good" Christian, but how the new life in Christ is lived out in day-to-day life.

    The changes are profound, especially when you consider the unchecked decline in the influence, size, and social standing of the church. There is an undercurrent of anxiety in the evangelical world, and a hunger for something new. And we’re sensing the urgency of it.We need fresh, creative counterintuitive ways of doing ministry and church and leading it in the 21st century. We need to adapt. Fast. Both in our practices and our thinking. The aim of this book is simple: When we understand the powerful forces at work in the world today, we’ll learn how something called The Third Culture can yield perhaps the most critical missing ingredient in the church today—adaptability—and help the church remain on the best side of history. A Third Culture Church and a Third Culture Leader looks at our new global village and the church’s role in that village in a revolutionary way. It’s a way to reconnect with the historical roots of what Jesus envisioned the church could be—a people known for a brand of love, unity, goodness, and extravagant spirit that defies all conventions. This book is part of the successful Leadership Innovation Series.

    . . faith communities begin connecting together, in and for the neighborhood, they learn to depend on God for strength to love, forgive and show grace like never before. . . . The gospel becomes so much more tangible and compelling when the local church is actually a part of the community, connected to the struggles of the people, and even the land itself.Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens and Dwight J. Friesen have seen--in cities, suburbs and small towns all over North America--how powerful the gospel can be when it takes root in the context of a place, at the intersection of geography, demography, economy and culture. This is not a new idea--the concept of a parish is as old as Paul's letters to the various communities of the ancient church. But in an age of dislocation and disengagement, the notion of a church that knows its place and gives itself to where it finds itself is like a breath of fresh air, like a sign of new life.

    It is a series of starting points for reflection discovered through everyday life, through mistakes and set-backs, through inspiration, through moments of dissension as well as unity. To Vanier, living with others is an adventure whose end is interior liberation -- the freedom to love and be loved. The greatest of Vanier's books, the distilled essence of his life work and thought

    What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Rick Warren believes that in order for a church to be healthy it must become a purpose-driven church, built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus. “The issue is church health, not church growth!” declares Warren. “If your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. Healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church.” Rick Warren shares a proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow • warmer through fellowship • deeper through discipleship • stronger through worship • broader through ministry • larger through evangelism The Purpose Driven® Church shifts the focus away from church building programs to emphasizing a people-building process. Warren says, “If you will concentrate on building people, God will build the church.”

    Biblical and practical, this book gets down to the real questions in the disciple making process: What is the biblical case for making disciples? How can I disciple others if I was never discipled? How do I select someone to disciple? How do I get started? How do I become the kind of close friend that can influence another? What sort of goals should we set? What kind of study content is most helpful? How can I foster a love of prayer in another? Why are some models followed more than others? How can I create a life-long thirst for doing ministry? How can I effectively coach my friend in his or her ministry? When can I release a disciple to independence? These authors are experts who have raised up hundreds of house church leaders and other Christian workers during their combined 60 years of experience.