This book helps readers match who they are--their unique spiritual gifts, passions, temperament, talents, and leadership style--with the ministry area for which God designed them. A practical guide, it takes dedicated Christians step by step through the process of reaching their full potential for Christ's kingdom. This new edition of Maximizing Your Effectiveness puts multiple tools, inventories, and worksheets in the hands of readers to empower them to minister according to God's unique design and purpose for their lives.

    The author describes what is, in his opinion, the only model of church which will enable growth - house churches.

    These "shepherds" are called to preach, pray, and care for the needs of God's people. But what does it mean to be a pastor? And what is the nature of this ministry, according to the Bible?In Gospel-Driven Ministry, Jared Wilson begins by looking at the qualifications for the pastorate, addressing the notion of a call to ministry and how an individual--and a church community--can best identify the marks of maturity and affirm a call. In each chapter, Wilson looks at one of the core practices of pastoral ministry, including: Preaching SermonsDeveloping a Vibrant Prayer LifeCaring and CounselingPastoring Married and SingleGospel-Centered LeadershipFighting Sin and Spiritual WarfareResolving ConflictPassing on the Ministry to OthersIn addition, Wilson provides practical resources including theological insights on baptism and the Lord's Supper, guidance for wedding and funeral sermons, outlines for leading elder and deacon meetings, tips for interviewing new pastors, questions to ask at ordination, and advice on knowing when and how to leave a pastor role. This is a comprehensive, practical guide to pastoral ministry that prepares new pastors and equips those currently serving for long-term, healthy ministry.

    But do visitors see it that way? Church consultant Gary McIntosh invites readers to take a look at their church through the eyes of visitors and potential visitors. His starting point, grounded in an understanding of God as a "welcomer," is that churches should see those who enter their doors as not merely visitors, but as guests, and themselves as gracious hosts. This practical book offers sound advice on assessing and improving the ways in which churches attract people, welcome them, do follow-up, and bring them into the church family. It also offers suggestions for making a welcoming attitude part of the very fabric of the local church.

    What does it look like to help others become more like Christ?In this concise guide, pastor Mark Dever outlines the who, what, where, when, why, and how of discipling--helping others follow Jesus.Following the pattern found in Scripture, this book explains how disciple-making relationships should function in the context of the local church, teaching us how to cultivate a culture of discipling as a normal part of our everyday lives.Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series.

    Too many remain in denial about the severity of pastoral stress, even as they are deteriorating emotionally and physically.Drawing from biblical, theological, and sociological sources as well as personal experience, author Kirk Jones discusses the fundamental importance of self-care for clergy and other professionals engaged in helping people. Filled with creative and practical strategies for integrating self-care into vocational life, this compelling resource identifies the factors that influence overload and outlines plausible strategies for escaping such bondage. Rest in the Storm is a lifeline for caregivers who feel overwhelmed by the demands of their calling or profession.

    In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals:how to generate growth through transformed livesways to create active evangelism in your communityno-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteersFocusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be.

    When those individuals intersected with your world, they became a new kind of leader for you.They were not new in the sense that they had never led anything before or they were radically different from other leaders.But they were new because … their influence gave you a new direction. their belief in you gave you a new sense of worth. they showed up at a new phase of your life, and their faith helped you solidify your faith in a new and authentic way.If someone showed up for you, then the question is, "How will you show up for someone else?"A New Kind of Leader explores seven beliefs and practical applications that will cause you to reimagine how you influence the next generation.Because when you hold the door open for a kid, you hold the door open for the future.For more resources like this, visit OrangeBooks.com.

    Despite his top-rank status, Tony’s list of responsibilities still included killing cockroaches whenever a freaked out co-worker spotted one in the building. That’s where this unconventional, unforgettable book on church leadership begins.Morgan’s point is that great leaders don’t have to do everything. The key is to play from your strengths while building a team that manages around your weaknesses.Written in a relaxed style similar to marketing guru Seth Godin, Killing Cockroaches’ 142 offbeat, on-target entries will delight and energize church leaders. Chapter titles include “10 Easy Ways to Make Your Church Services More Boring” (creative services), “Action Speaks Louder than Advertising” (meeting people’s physical needs), and “The Power of Simple” (eliminating noise).

    The authors, both pastors at The Journey Church of the City in Manhattan, offer specific strategies for beginning a church from scratch, based on their own experiences in launching a church with no members, no money and no staff and watched membership skyrocket to more than a thousand people in three years!  They offer clear, practical how to strategies for quickly raising funds, creating a team, planning services, effective evangelism and rapidly developing a growing membership. Specific advice is included for reaching that often difficult to target demographic, the 20 to 40 year old. You will also get an insider’s look at The Journey Church of the City as a model for church planting. The helpful strategies here will help you remove many of the barriers, questions and doubts encountered in starting a church from scratch. If these principles work in NYC, they will work for you!

    They decided to avoid the common mistake of bombarding people with so many little ideas that they suffered overload. They also recognized that leaders often don t insist that the truth be lived out to accomplish Jesus mission. Why? Because people s heads are swimming with too many little ideas, far more than they can ever apply. The Big Idea can help you creatively present one laser-focused theme each week to be discussed in families and small groups. The Big Idea shows how to engage in a process of creative collaboration that brings people together and maximizes missional impact. The Big Idea can energize a church staff and bring alignment and focus to many diverse church ministries. This book shows how the Big Idea has helped Community Christian Church better accomplish the Jesus mission and reach thousands of people in nine locations and launch a church planting network with partner churches across the country. This book is part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series."

    Maybe you chose to be, maybe someone else chose it for you—no matter how you got here, God has a plan to use you in ministry. You and your youth worker know that you’re new at this thing. You have leadership abilities, but you’re still a student—so how do you do it? Doug Fields has been a youth pastor for a long time, and he has helped a few students here and there figure out how to be leaders in his ministry. Now he’s here to help you. You may be afraid or overwhelmed, or you may feel privileged … or even a little cocky ... whatever the case, the tools in this book will help you get the most of your time as a leader. Here’s a little bit of what’s inside: • Learning how Jesus led others • Lightening the load of your adult leaders • Discovering the secrets of getting others involved• Deepening your own faith by serving others • Balancing your schedule—family, school, faith, leadership • Becoming an encourager You’ve been entrusted with leadership responsibilities, and Help! I’m a Student Leader! is full of hands-on leadership ideas and guidance that’ll help you discover the leadership role that you were created to fill.

    stands as one of the most thorough books yet offered regarding how to make disciples. In thirty brief, hard-hitting but easily accessible chapters, the entire scope of disciple making is presented in a way that will inspire and inform the reader to obey the Great Commission with great passion.Grounded on a solid biblical foundation, authors Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey -- both veterans of one-on-one, collegiate, small group, and local church discipleship -- share their practical insights on how to best reproduce reproducers of Christ’s message.Each compelling entry is set up to finish the sentence that begins with the book’s title. For example, Disciple Making Is . . . "Embracing the Cross," "Forsaking All to Follow Jesus," "Living on Mission," "Launching an Unstoppable Force," "Mentoring Disciples as Jesus Did," "Multiplying Disciple-Makers as Paul Did," "Creating a Healthy Church," and more.

    It is the quality of these, whatever the size of the organisation, which make the difference between organisations which thrive, and those which stagnate.This is not to argue for soft, easy and comfortable options. Instead it considers how top leaders manage to walk the line between the impossible and the possible, between the undoable and the doable, and to create conditions for productive work which transcend the difficulties which come towards us every day. Instead of dodging them, they embrace them. And by navigating high challenge, low threat, they show how others how to do the same.

    Experienced megachurch pastor and award-winning author offers church-smart advice to help newer pastors avoid 25 potential pitfalls to successful ministry.