Download or read book Messages from the Small Country Church written by Rev C. Joseph Fifer and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2014-08-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this day and age of "bigger and better" or "bigger is better," even our churches are starting to follow suit. The alarming trend that is occurring now in America is the assumption that if a group is big, it must be right; if a church is bigger than others, it must be even "more" right. This assumption is not correct. This nation was built and became what it is today one small church at a time. Many of those small churches are still there today, right where they were first necessary. And they are still necessary today. They are still occupied by Christians who meet on every first day of the week. They gather to give the first of their week to worship He who is to be first in Spirit and in truth. With this book-a compilation of readings, sermons, observations, and an invitation-the Reverend Dr. C. Joseph Fifer (Pastor Joe), who serves a small country church in rural western Ohio, seeks to give voice to the message that millions are now missing.
Download or read book Messages from the Small Country Church written by Rev. Dr. C. Joseph Fifer and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2014-08-11 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this day and age of “bigger and better” or “bigger is better,” even our churches are starting to follow suit. The alarming trend that is occurring now in America is the assumption that if a group is big, it must be right; if a church is bigger than others, it must be even “more” right. This assumption is not correct. This nation was built and became what it is today one small church at a time. Many of those small churches are still there today, right where they were first necessary. And they are still necessary today. They are still occupied by Christians who meet on every first day of the week. They gather to give the first of their week to worship He who is to be first in Spirit and in truth. With this book—a compilation of readings, sermons, observations, and an invitation—the Reverend Dr. C. Joseph Fifer (Pastor Joe), who serves a small country church in rural western Ohio, seeks to give voice to the message that millions are now missing.
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 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 Transforming Church in Rural America written by Shannon O'Dell and published by New Leaf Publishing Group. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "No matter what size church you are a part of, this book will challenge your traditional thinking, force you to look beyond the status quo, and enable you to grasp a bigger vision of what God has in store for your ministry and your leadership." -Ed Young, Fellowship Church "Shannon O'Dell's passion for the rural church in America is contagious" -Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. 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 lives ways to create active evangelism in your community no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteers Focusing 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. MORE INFO
Download or read book Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church written by Michael Adam Beck and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2022-09-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn to cultivate the extraordinary gifts of Christian community in the countryside with Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church by Tyler Kleeberger and Michael Beck. The rural church was a community’s centerpiece. The place where people gathered to worship and hear a sermon, break bread together, and support each other through the joys and struggles of life with the land. In many ways, the rural church captured a central aspect of the church’s mission: to be the guiding hand for the life of a place. Can rural congregations flourish again? Can new Christian communities succeed in rural areas? Could healthy rural churches catalyze a better future for their declining communities? This book collects stories from the diversity of rural contexts across the US. It lays out a fresh theology for rural life and offers principles for harnessing the potential of what some consider the forgotten spaces. Each chapter includes a helpful Field Exercise—questions for discussion and suggested actions for leadership teams to work through together. Chapters conclude with a Field Story illustrating how the chapter’s main ideas can work in a real church setting. Praise for Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church offers hope for the renewal that can take place in “out of the way” places. In these sacred rural places folks can experience the love of God and neighbor, undergo true healing, participate in the renewal of community, and discover a place to belong. - Daniel G. Beaudoin, Bishop, Northwestern Ohio Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church helps us to reconsider our Wesleyan roots and the gifts of our rural contexts, a seedbed packed with possibility for new communities of faith to form and flourish. - Heather M. Jallad, Fresh Expressions specialist, North Georgia Conference, UMC Beck and Kleeberger have taken a sample of the good soil that is faithful rural mission, identified the challenges, celebrated the riches, and offered us a powerful way to learn and be in partnership and connection with the gifts of God. - Ken Carter, Bishop, Florida and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church; co-author, Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church from Abingdon Press
Download or read book Messages from a Rural Church written by Lawrence C. Bundgaard and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book God s Country written by Bradley Roth and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the poetic force of Kathleen Norris and the pastoral warmth of Eugene Peterson, Kansas pastor Roth sets forth a vision for vibrant rural churches, for ministry in congregations that bear a profound sense of both loss and possibility, and for harvesting fruits of transformation and renewal. Rooted in stories from Scripture, his own ministry, and interviews with rural church leaders, Roth offers a sturdy theological and practical alternative to church-growth strategies that rely on success stories and flashy metrics. Reclaiming God’s vision for the rural church, Roth writes, means learning how to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend, and dream. In God’s Country, rediscover the stunning abundance of God’s presence in rural communities. Name the ways that the rural church testifies to God’s glory and goodness. Learn to live and love and minister right where you are, no matter how small or unassuming it may seem. Winner of the Award of Merit, Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards, The Church / Pastoral Leadership category. Free downloadable study guide available here.
Download or read book Gospel Eldership written by Robert H. Thune and published by New Growth Press. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biblical church leadership requires more than good management principles or theological knowledge; it calls for deep, personal roots in the gospel. Gospel Eldership is a ten-lesson workbook to help pastors develop elders who are strong in the gospel and able to apply it to the real-time needs of the church.
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 A Spirit Empowered Church written by Alton Garrison and published by . This book was released on 2015-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Spirit-Empowered Church, Alton Garrison points us to the heart of dynamic church growth: creating Spirit-empowered disciples who are involved in five activities--connect, grow, serve, go, and worship--to change individuals, families, and communities with the love and power of God's mighty Spirit.
Download or read book Reclaiming Rural written by Allen T. Stanton and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-05-15 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As rural America continues to undergo massive economic and demographic shifts, rural churches are uniquely positioned to provide community leadership. Leading a rural congregation requires a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, as well as a strong theological and community-focused identity. Allen T. Stanton describes how in establishing this identity, rural leaders build a meaningful and vital ministry. Reclaiming Rural explores the myths and realities of rural places, and how those common narratives impact the leadership of rural churches. Ultimately, rural congregations must practice a contextual understanding of vitality, which understands both the strengths and challenges of leading in a rural setting. Arguing for a practice of evangelism imbued with this mission of vitality, Reclaiming Rural promotes the church as a leader in economic and community development, modeled upon a Wesleyan theology of grace. Acknowledging the many challenges facing rural churches, this book is an energetic and encouraging guide to overcoming social and economic obstacles to build a thriving congregation.
Download or read book Words of Forgiveness in a Small Country Church written by Ernie Robinson and published by Trilogy Christian Publishing. This book was released on 2022-11-10 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We all have sinned and fallen short of the eternal goal of salvation. Forgiveness is our only hope! Words of Forgiveness in a Small Country Church assembles messages of love, hope, and, yes, forgiveness for your comfort in today's troubled world. In this book, you will meditate on words of reflection and encouragement focused on how God has not called you to a life of worry. Biblical truths contained within the book lead you to the realization that God loves you. His mercy is sufficient to meet all your needs, especially your eternal needs. The messages contain a common theme that will remind you that, despite what the world says, God is in full control.
Download or read book Sticky Church written by Larry Osborne and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: Why stickiness is so important Why most of our discipleship models don't work very well Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.
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 The Pastor s Book written by R. Kent Hughes and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2015-10-14 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastors are tasked with the incredibly demanding job of caring for the spiritual, emotional, and, at times‚ physical needs of their people. While seminary is helpful preparation for many of the challenges pastors face, there’s far more to pastoral ministry than what can be covered in the classroom. Designed as a reference guide for nearly every situation a pastor will face, this comprehensive book by seasoned pastors Kent Hughes and Doug O’Donnell is packed full of biblical wisdom and practical guidance related to the reality of pastoral ministry in the trenches. From officiating weddings to conducting funerals to visiting the sick, this book will equip pastors and church leaders with the knowledge they need to effectively minister to their flocks, both within the walls of the church and beyond.
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?
