The local church is the engine of world missions. But where should a church begin?Churches don't need a complicated missions program. They need the Bible and the wisdom to know how to apply it. This book points to Scripture and offers practical steps for training and supporting missionaries, forming international partnerships, sending short-term teams, and engaging the nations both at home and abroad.Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series.

    Expert anthropologist shows missionaries how to better understand the people they serve and their historical and cultural settings.

    A church's philosophy of ministry is locked into its budget, and so the budget will either stifle or accelerate any attempts to move a congregation toward a biblical model of church health. As such, the church budget is a far more potent pastoral tool than many church leaders realize. Budgeting for a Healthy Church examines each section of the budget in light of Biblical principles to show how a church budget can lock in healthy approaches to ministry. Whereas most books on church budgeting are "how" books, explaining how the budgeting process should work, this is a "what" book, helping church leaders determine the pastoral implications of what they choose to fund in their budgets.

    From the iPod design to Google’s uncluttered homepage, simple ideas are changing the world.Multi-awarded #1 national bestseller Simple Church guides Christians back to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required. Based on case studies of 400 American churches, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove the disciple-making process is often too complex. Simple churches thrive by taking four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus.Simple Church examines each idea, clearly showing why it is time to simplify.

    AND helps Christian leaders recognize the best in different church models and see how to incorporate these values into a cohesive church movement.By the numbers, the American church enjoys the resources to profoundly impact the Kingdom. But despite the rapid growth of these evangelical movements, the church in the West is in decline. A growing schism has emerged between the movement with a strong emphasis on attracting people and the more missional communities that focus on releasing people into ministry.Church resource specialists Hugh Halter and Matt Smay have been observing these different church models, and they challenge the idea that churches have to choose between them—between the attractional and missional approaches to ministry.With professional insight and practical advice, Halter and Smay dial in on how to bring together the very best of the attractional AND missional models for church ministry by exploring:The balance between gathering a community together AND scattering them into the world.The harmony between centralization AND decentralization in church structure.The mindset necessary to invest in both the traditional AND the innovative.The drive to maintain both a vision for the future AND a depth of community for the present.As churches begin to develop these ANDs, they will be better positioned to influence the world according to the design of God instead of the whims of the people or the pride associated with production.

    God has given us basic principles that are keys to every problem we face in the twenty-first century. The answers lie between the covers of one book - the Bible. The Book That Transforms Nations demonstrates how, together, we can use the Bible to change the whole world. Loren Cunningham's fifty years of ministry have taken him to the world's poorest and neediest as well as to kings and presidents. Here he offers a solid reason to hope and work for a better future.

    Most pastors want to be intentional

    By the dawn of the twenty-first century, Christianity had become a truly global faith, with Christians in Asia, Africa and Latin America outpacing those in the rest of the world. There are now more Christians in China than in all of Europe, more Pentecostals in Brazil than in the United States, and more Anglicans in Kenya than in Great Britain, Canada and the United States combined. Countries that were once destinations for western missionaries are now sending their own missionaries to North America.Given these changes, some think the day of the Western missionary is over. Some are wary that American mission efforts may perpetuate an imperialistic colonialism. Some say that global outreach is best left to indigenous leaders. Others simply feel that resources should be focused on the home front. Is there an ongoing role for the North American church in global mission?Missions specialist Paul Borthwick brings an urgent report on how the Western church can best continue in global mission. He provides a current analysis of the state of the world and how Majority World leaders perceive North American Christians' place. Borthwick offers concrete advice for how Western Christians can be involved without being paternalistic or creating dependency. Using their human and material resources with wise and strategic stewardship, North Americans can join forces with the Majority World in new, interdependent ways to answer God's call to global involvement.In this critical age, the global body of Christ needs one another more than ever. Discover how the Western church can contribute to a new era of mission marked by mutuality, reciprocity and humility.

    Besides differences in food and fashion, we face significant contrasts of cultural orientation and patterns of thinking. As we travel across cultures, what should we expect? How do we deal with culture shock? And can we truly connect with those we meet? Experienced cross-cultural specialist Duane Elmer provides a compass for navigating through different cultures. He shows us how to avoid pitfalls and cultural faux pas, as well as how to make the most of opportunities to build cross-cultural relationships. Filled with real-life illustrations and practical exercises, this guide offers the tools needed to reduce apprehension, communicate effectively, and establish genuine trust and acceptance. Above all, Elmer demonstrates how we can avoid being cultural imperialists and instead become authentic ambassadors for Christ. Whether you are embarking on a short-term mission trip or traveling for business or pleasure, this book is both an ideal preparation and a handy companion for your journey.

    The question goes like this: "Look, I've read your book, and it expresses what I have always thought about Christian ministry. But as I kept reading, I had this sinking feeling that what actually happens in our church is still a long way from the kind of disciple-making ministry vision you outline and that I believe in. So my question is this: What can we do about it? How can we shape the whole culture of our church around disciple-making?" In "The Vine Project", Marshall and Payne provide a roadmap and resources for this sort of church-wide culture change. The book guides your ministry leadership team through a five-phase process for growth and change, with biblical input, practical ideas, resources, case studies, exercises and projects along the way. You will be helped to: • clarify and sharpen your convictions (Phase 1) • reform your own personal life to express these convictions (Phase 2) • honestly evaluate every aspect of your current church (or ministry) culture (Phase 3) • devise some key plans for change and put them into effect (Phase 4) • keep the momentum going and overcome obstacles (Phase 5). "The Trellis and the Vine" proposed a "ministry mind-shift that changes everything". "The Vine Project" shows how that mind-shift can and must shape every aspect of what you are doing as a congregation of Christ's people to make disciples of all nations. For more information and help in working through 'The Vine Project', as well as additional resources, templates, videos, case studies, the PDF of the Team Manual, and much more, visit thevineproject.com (a website is run by Colin Marshall and the team at Vinegrowers.)

    Is it growing? Is it diminishing? Is it somewhere in between? Acclaimed church leader, blogger, and founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan has identified the seven stages of a church's lifecycle that range from the hopeful and optimistic days of launch, to the stagnating last stages of life support.Regardless of the stage in which you find your church, it carries with it the world's greatest mission—to "go and make disciples of all the nations . . ." With eternity at stake the Church should be doing most everything within its power to see lives changed forever. The Church should strive for the pinnacle of the lifecycle, where they are continually making new disciples and experiencing what Morgan refers to as "sustained health."In The Unstuck Church, Morgan unpacks each phase of the church lifecycle, and offers specific and strategic next steps the church leader can take to find it's way to sustained health . . . and finally become unstuck.The Unstuck Church is a call for honest an assessment of where your church sits on the lifecycle, and a challenge to move beyond it.

    In our wider culture it's now tucked in the endnotes of book-club histories or forms the ghostlike ellipses in the six o'clock news. But in Introducing Christian Mission Today, Michael Goheen brings the vibrant history, motivation and challenges of Christian mission to the fore. Through the centuries Christian mission has always been recalibrating, retooling and reevangelizing. It has repeatedly taken surprising turns as it is carried along by the Spirit of God. Goheen's introduction to mission's biblical, theological and historical dimensions engages the present and anticipates the future. As he unfolds the major issues of the global and urban, the pluralistic and wholistic contexts of mission today, he lays the ground for engaging in God's great kingdom enterprise. This full-scale text incorporates the keen missional insights of Lesslie Newbigin, David Bosch and other formative thinkers. It will be a valued resource not only for those in crosscultural contexts but also for those engaged in reevangelizing the West.

    Offers a biblical and practical approach to church planting using cultural and experiential data to facilitate the founding of new churches in unreached areas of the world.

    Kent Edwards recalls a story that late pastor J. Vernon McGee told about seeing children in South Africa playing a game of marbles in the dust with real diamonds. The precious stones were being handled with no regard for their true worth. Edwards fears the same thing happens today when preachers offer Scriptural truth to listeners without being completely overwhelmed by its greatness themselves in the process.Deep Preaching is his call to "rethink" preaching. Edwards helps preachers learn to preach the word in ways that will powerfully change the lives of hearers. He contends that sermons "need not settle comfortably on the lives of the listeners like dust on a coffee table." He encourages preachers to join him in casting off the lines that moor their ministries to the status-quo and make every effort to steer their preaching out of the "comfortable shallows." He urges them to preach deep sermons rather than superficial ones, moving "beyond the yawn-inspiring to the awe-inspiring, from the trite to the transforming."

    Though many people today like Jesus, they are growing tired of traditional religious institutions. Even those who follow Jesus aren't so sure they always like what Christianity and the church represent.For many years, Dan Kimball would have agreed, until an encounter with a small group of Jesus followers started him on a journey that challenged him to rethink everything he had ever assumed about the church.andamp;nbsp; In Adventures in Churchland, Dan invites you to join him as he uncovers what the Bible really says about the church and reminds us that it's more than just buildings and institutions, it's a beautiful mess of broken people learning to follow Jesus together. As you journey with Dan, you'll begin to see the church as Jesus intended it to be: a community of forgiven misfits coming together to serve the world around them with passion, creativity, innovation, and grace. 'If you don't like the church, or if you're thinking about leaving, please read this book first. Dan's stories will make you laugh, make you think, and make you appreciate the church like never before.' -- Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker 'As a non-Christian, I was inspired and moved, and have been enthusiastically recommending it to my friends. This is a book for everybody.' -- Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of MAKE, founder of boingboing.net 'Dan encourages us to break through the tension and messiness that church communities inevitably encounter to experience the beauty of being in community and sharing God's infinite love with others.' -- Zach Lind, drummer, Jimmy Eat World'I am so glad that my friend Dan has written this book, because there is a lot of confusion out there about Jesus and the church.' -- Wanda Jackson, Queen of Rockabilly and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame