Download or read book Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church written by James L. Killen and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to pastoral care for pastors of small membership churches. "If you spend your whole life serving small membership churches and doing it well, yours will have been a life well spent." Small membership churches have a real advantage when it comes to incorporating people into a fellowship where they are known and where their needs are met. These churches and their pastors have an opportunity for excellence in this area, and should make the most of it. Good pastoral care can be the key to effectiveness in all of the other ministries of the church.From getting acquainted with your congregation, weddings and funerals, picking up on subtle cues in a conversation to not-so-subtle conflicts, Killen shares insights from years of ministry in a small membership church setting. James L. Killen, Jr. is a retired elder of the Texas Conference, contributor to Circuit Rider, and author of Who Do You Say That I Am? A Personal Reader.
Download or read book Love Your Church written by Tony Merida and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to grow in love for your church. God calls us to be "devoted to one another in love" (Romans 12:10). What does this look like for us today? How can we be the kind of church member who makes a real difference? This engaging book by Tony Merida explores what church is, why being part of it is exciting, and why it’s worthy of our love and commitment. He sets out eight privileges and responsibilities of a church member: to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, to honour, to witness and to send. As we see how wonderful it is to belong to God’s family and be a part of his amazing witness to both the earthly and the heavenly realms, we’ll grow in our love for and commitment to our local church. This is a great book for every churchgoer to read, whether they’re new or have been attending for some time but need re-energising with God’s vision for the local church. With a discussion guide at the end of the book, Love Your Church is also a great resource for small groups.
Download or read book Small Church Essentials written by Karl Vaters and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2018-03-06 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you lead a small church? Big churches get all the love. Articles, books, conferences—they mostly feature leaders of large congregations. Yet big churches are a small part of the ecclesial landscape. In fact, more than 90 percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. That means small churches play a big part in what God is doing. Small Church Essentials is for leaders of these smaller congregations. It encourages them to steward their role well, debunking myths about small churches while offering principles for leading a dynamic, healthy small church. Based on the popular six-hour lecture that Karl Vaters delivers to church leaders across the country, Small Church Essentials will affirm small church leaders and show them how to identify what they do well, and how to do it even better. Readers will: Be assured that leading a small congregation does not make them ministry failures Come away inspired to lead with passion, regardless the size of their church Have field-tested principles for leading a church in their context Possess new metrics for biblically measuring vitality in small churches Have a toolkit of resources to use in their everyday ministry Karl Vaters has been a small church pastor for 30 years, is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking that Divides Us (2013), and travels extensively to churches and conferences to speak about leading a small church well. If you are pastoring a small church, this book will be a breath of fresh air. It will affirm your calling while giving you fresh tools to help you lead. It will help you: Stop believing lies about small churches Lead your church to fulfill the role only small churches can Understand your congregation’s strengths and weaknesses Turn around a dying or unhealthy church Identify good trends and bad in church and culture
Download or read book The Gifts of the Small Church written by Jason Byassee and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why the small- to mid-sized church remains God's best means to make disciples of Jesus Christ
Download or read book Caring for the Small Church written by Nancy T. Foltz and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: oth inside and outside the church, Foltz highlights areas where the natural gifts of womanhood nurture small-church ministries and vice versa. Each chapter ends with "Reflection and Conversation Questions" aimed at applying the book's lesson to your unique congregation.
Download or read book Imagining the Small Church written by Steve Willis and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-11-06 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagining the Small Church: Celebrating a Simpler Path bears witness to what God is doing in small churches. Steve Willis tells stories from the small churches he has pastored in rural, town, and urban settings and dares to imagine that their way of being has something to teach all churches in this time of change in the American Christian Church. Willis tells us in the introduction, 'This book boasts no ten or fifteen steps to a successful small church. Instead, I hope to encourage you to give up on steps altogether and even to give up on success, at least how success is usually measured. I also hope to help the reader imagine the small church differently; to see with new eyes the joys and pleasures of living small and sustainably.' The joys and sorrows Willis helps us see through the compelling stories of faith in the small church puts flesh and bones on the possibilities that lie ahead for congregations in the future as well as the here and now. From the foreword by Tony Pappas: 'In Imagining the Small Church, pastor, writer, and lover of small things Steve Willis takes us on a narrative and imaginative journey. Some readers will have a sense that what Willis is describing simply names what they have already known in their hearts about their small churches. For them the journey will cover some familiar ground, explore some territory from a fresh angle, but deposit them nearly home again, hopefully with just a bit more awareness and appreciation. For others, though, Willis will take them on a long journey to a far and foreign place. They probably won't bother to finish reading it, and they will miss his invitation to find pastoring a small church extremely rewarding and meaningful. They will find this a strange book weird, off-center, and impractical; unlivable in the twenty-first century and undesirable in any event. This is because Willis is taking on the ethos, the values of our age, and claiming that it needn't be so. We can live on a different basis. We can live on the basis of gospel values.' There will be a variety of paths as the Church seeks new ways of being in this time. Willis knows this. In Imagining the Small Church he presents us with one that embraces a life of faith on the periphery and challenges church leaders to do the same.
Download or read book Caring for One Another written by Edward T. Welch and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2018-07-20 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagine . . . an interconnected group of people who entrust themselves to each other. You can speak of your pain, and someone responds with compassion and prayer. You can speak of your joys, and someone rejoices with you. You can ask for help with sinful struggles, and someone prays with you. The goal of this book is that these meaningful relationships will become a natural part of daily life in your church. With short chapters and discussion questions meant to be read in a group setting, Ed Welch guides small groups through eight lessons that show what it looks like when ordinary, needy people care for other ordinary, needy people in everyday life.
Download or read book Small Church Big Impact Ebook Shorts written by Brandon J. O'Brien and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By gathering stories about effective churches from small-church pastors, Brandon O'Brien demonstrates that a church's success is not contingent on its size. This is a selection from Brandon O'Brien's book, The Strategically Small Church.
Download or read book Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused written by Brad Hambrick and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is your church prepared to care for individuals who have experienced various forms of abuse? As we continue to learn of more individuals experiencing sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of abuse, it’s clear that resources are needed to help ministries and leaders care for these individuals with love, support, and in cooperation with civil authorities. This handbook seeks to help the church take a significant step forward in its care for those who have been abused. Working in tandem with the Church Cares resources and videos, this handbook brings together leading evangelical trauma counselors, victim advocates, social workers, attorneys, batterer interventionists, and survivors to equip pastors and ministry leaders for the appropriate initial responses to a variety of abuse scenarios in churches, schools, or ministries. Though the most comprehensive training is experienced by using this handbook and the videos together, readers who may be unable to access the videos can use this handbook as a stand-alone resource.
Download or read book How to Care for Your Pastor written by Kent Philpott and published by EP BOOKS. This book was released on 2007-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are the problems, pressures, and needs of those who pastor the people of God? How can the fellowship of believers encourage and minister to these key members of the church family? The aim of this book is to provide some answers for these questions. Christians care about their ministers, elders, shepherds, priests, and pastors whatever the title may be for it is they who bear the burden of leadership. These pastors are the Moses, the Joshuas, the Davids, and the Timothys, the men God has called to speak his Word, bring guidance to the faithful, comfort the bereaved and afflicted, work with the rebellious, and encourage the hopeless. What, though, can the saints do to hold up the arms of those whom God has placed over them in spiritual authority? First, the leaders can be appreciated for who they are. Ministers are often seen as superstars, perfected saints, dictators, deluded persons, eccentrics, holier-than-thou types, and stuffed shirts. Such caricatures are usually errant and never helpful. Second, the problems peculiar to church ministry can be understood in relation to the minister. The real life of the pastor is often hidden, either intentionally or unintentionally, from the congregation. And third, believers can come to a fuller understanding of their relationship to Gods appointed authorities in the body. The shepherd is a sheep too, but has been made a shepherd of sheep; nevertheless, he is still one of the sheep. There will never be a perfect pastor. And there will not need to be as long as we know there cannot be. Jesus, who is himself the Head of the Body, is the only perfect one. Our Minister is perfect, wholly trustworthy and faithful, the King who will never fall offthe throne.
Download or read book Maximizing the Midsize Church written by David J. Peter and published by Kregel Ministry. This book was released on 2019-01-26 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly one in four congregations in the United States is a midsize church (150-400 worshippers per week), and the midsize church has its own distinctive culture, dynamics, and characteristics. Drawing on years of research and pastoral ministry, David J. Peter has written a comprehensive handbook for pastors and staff who direct these churches. Peter covers the most important issues leaders encounter, including: - The important role they play in advancing the kingdom of God - Common cultural characteristics - Typical problems and productive solutions - Advantages over both small and large churches, and how to capitalize on them - Practices for developing healthy programs - The responsibilities of the pastor - Guidance for hiring staff and recruiting volunteers Pastors of midsize congregations will find effective resources and encouragement for successful leadership.
Download or read book The Grasshopper Myth written by Karl Vaters and published by . This book was released on 2013-01-10 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 90% of the churches in the world have less than 200 people. What if that's not a bad thing? What if smallness is an advantage God wants us to use, not a problem to fix?
Download or read book Our Father s World written by Edward R. Brown and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2008-03-24 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does the Bible have to say about creation care and the responsibility of Christians? Edward Brown offers a biblical framework for creation care as well as practical steps that ordinary Christians can take to exercise good ecological stewardship.
Download or read book Administration in the Small Membership Church written by John H. Tyson and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For many pastors, church administration may be their least favorite area of ministry. But whether they love it or loathe it, they probably spend more time on administration than on any other single area of ministry. This book will help pastors create and maintain effective structures that will enable them to spend most of their time on what they truly value. Describes church administration as a ministry in the small membership church. Outlines key steps to organize and manage time, volunteers, and resources of the small membership churches including multi-point charges. Gives practical methods for creating and maintaining viable structures for effective church management * Helps pastors organize their church(es), so that they can focus on what gives them the most satisfaction in ministry. * Helps pastors recruit and retain the right people for the right jobs, thereby maximizing ministry especially where resources are limited. * Gives pastors ways to sharpen their vision for local church and mission beyond the local church ministry.
Download or read book Small on Purpose written by Lewis A. Parks and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2017-05-16 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small on Purpose: Life in a Significant Church is a joyful and honest look at the kingdom-enriching characteristics of small congregations. Lewis Parks demonstrates how to see and build upon those strengths. His premise is not better/worse. Instead, Parks shows us how life in a small congregation is profoundly significant and the important role these churches play. This book includes clear instructions on how leaders can streamline ministry to maximize the unique and powerful contributions small churches make in their communities. This book is inspiring and practical, a refreshing point of view for the church and church leaders. “Small on Purpose reimagines what it means to be a congregation of ninety, sixty, or thirty by not focusing on size. I especially appreciate Lewis Parks’s attention to why ‘soul care’ is critical for congregations under 150 as a means of discipleship and outreach. Parks sees soul care as a countercultural act that creates meaning for many who are seeking family-like relationships. This book challenges all congregations to take seriously the small things they are doing—like soul care—as a compelling way to move into the future.” —F. Douglas Powe Jr., Managing Director for The Institute for Community Engagement, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington DC; author of New Wine, New Wineskins and Not Safe for Church from Abingdon Press “Lewis Parks writes with pitch-perfect tone about the life of small churches. He appeals to the experience of smaller congregations as gathering places of worship and service. There he sees signs of the Spirit moving, of tradition revivified through song and word, of pastoral care shared across a congregation. Above all, he offers transformative words and perspectives with which small churches can claim their distinctive witness.” —Thomas Edward Frank, University Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Wake Forest College, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC “In a time when the culture is becoming more and more individualistic, Lew Parks strikes a chord for the great value of the gathered community of faith that is strengthened week by week through their faithfulness to the gospel and to one another. Gather in your small church and read this together. Your life and your community will be enriched.” —Bill McAlilly, Bishop, Nashville Area Episcopal Office, The United Methodist Church
Download or read book Church of the Small Things written by Melanie Shankle and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is my ordinary, everyday life actually significant? Is it okay to be fulfilled by the simple acts of raising kids, working in an office, and cooking chicken for dinner? It’s been said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away.” The pressure of that can be staggering as we spend our days looking for that big thing that promises to take our breath away. Meanwhile, we lose sight of the small significance of fully living with every breath we take. Melanie Shankle, New York Times bestselling author and writer at The Big Mama Blog tackles these questions head on in her fourth book, Church of the Small Things. Easygoing and relatable, she speaks directly to the heart of women of all ages who are longing to find significance and meaning in the normal, sometimes mundane world of driving carpool to soccer practice, attending class on their college campus, cooking meals for their family, or taking care of a sick loved one. The million little pieces that make a life aren’t necessarily glamorous or far-reaching. But God uses some of the smallest, most ordinary acts of faithfulness—and sometimes they look a whole lot like packing lunch. Through humorous stories told in her signature style, full of Frito pie, best friends, the love of her Me-Ma and Pa-Pa, the unexpected grace that comes when we quit trying to measure up, and a little of the best TV has to offer, Melanie helps women embrace what it means to live a simple, yet incredibly meaningful life and how to find all the beauty and laughter that lies right beneath the surface of every moment.
Download or read book Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church written by James L. Killen JR. and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2005-05-01 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to pastoral care for pastors of small membership churches.“If you spend your whole life serving small membership churches and doing it well, yours will have been a life well spent.” Small membership churches have a real advantage when it comes to incorporating people into a fellowship where they are known and where their needs are met. These churches and their pastors have an opportunity for excellence in this area, and should make the most of it. Good pastoral care can be the key to effectiveness in all of the other ministries of the church.From getting acquainted with your congregation, weddings and funerals, picking up on subtle cues in a conversation to not-so-subtle conflicts, Killen shares insights from years of ministry in a small membership church setting.James L. Killen, Jr. is a retired elder of the Texas Conference, contributor to Circuit Rider, and author of Who Do You Say That I Am? A Personal Reader.
