Download or read book The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church written by Sam Rainer and published by Tyndale House Publishers. This book was released on 2023-09-05 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Opportunity Lies Right Down the Road. There’s hope for your church. Respected church expert Sam Rainer envisions an exciting new wave of revitalized neighborhood churches that are growing and thriving. In the not-so-distant past, churches tended to relocate away from their neighborhoods and build large campuses at major intersections. At the turn of the 21st century, a dramatic shift occurred: A new generation began looking to neighborhood churches to foster life-giving friendships, provide opportunities for service, and create a community dedicated to worshiping God. Sam Rainer describes this movement and answers the most common questions about this surprising new phenomenon: What are the marks of a healthy neighborhood church? What are the most common myths about the neighborhood church? What are the obstacles to church growth? What are the best strategies to reach your neighbors? The neighborhood church is primed for a comeback. The potential is huge. God wants to do incredible things. Are you ready?

Download or read book Scrappy Church written by Thom S. Rainer and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2018-09-25 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How many times have we heard these statements… “We can’t compete with the megachurch in our town!” “A new church was started two blocks from us. We’ve got plenty of churches without them!” “The church brought another one of their campuses near us. It’s totally unethical what they are doing.” “We can’t reach young families. They all go to the big church that has all the children’s and student stuff.” “We don’t have the money or the people the other churches have.” Bestselling author Thom S. Rainer (I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Deceased Church) has heard comments like these hundreds, if not thousands, of times. They are statements of hopelessness. They are statements of despair. They are statements of defeat. Church leaders don’t want to feel this way. They desire to break out of the mediocrity of the same, lame, and tame existence of their churches. They want their churches to make a difference. There is hope. God’s hope. God’s possibilities. What does a scrappy church look like? Let’s take a look together.

Download or read book The Church Revitalization ChecklistThe Church Revitalization Checklist written by Sam Rainer and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2022 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Your church has the opportunity of a lifetime. The world has shifted, and a new, brighter tomorrow awaits. The Church Revitalization Checklist is a tool to help you start fresh, leverage your strengths, and discover hidden opportunities for church growth. God has placed you exactly where He wants you. But let's be honest, if you're leading a church, it isn't easy. Maybe your church has been in the doldrums for years. Maybe you're hearing a lot of complaints, and you're simply tired or disheartened. Maybe you've been hurt. But you are not alone. Many church leaders have sore backs from carrying a heavy load. This book will lighten that load. The Church Revitalization Checklist provides a step-by-step path to a hope-filled future for both you and your church. Popular church expert Sam Rainer will walk you and your leadership team through a seven-point checklist--everything from reconsidering your priorities to evaluating your location and facilities. It is an extremely practical tool to unleash your congregation and help them step into God's unique purpose for them. Your brighter future starts now.

Download or read book The New Parish written by Paul Sparks and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-04-04 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Headlines rage with big stories about big churches. But tucked away in neighborhoods throughout North America is a profound work of hope quietly unfolding as the gospel takes root in the context of a place. The future of the church is local, connected to the struggles of the people and even to the land itself.

Download or read book A History of Evangelism in North America written by Thomas P. Johnston and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Encounter North American evangelism from the Great Awakening to the present day A History of Evangelism in North America guides readers on a tour through circuit riders and tent meetings to campus evangelism and online ministries. Academic research combines with gospel faithfulness and love for the lost in this historical survey. Encountering these prominent evangelism movements will inspire innovation and courage in the call to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Few Christians recognize the historical backgrounds of various evangelistic ministries, their theological traditions, or their guiding principles. A History of Evangelism in North America explores evangelism methodologies and legacies from the early 1700s to today. Experts deliver current scholarship on twenty-two evangelists and ministries, including the following: John Wesley and itinerant preachers The camp meeting movement The American Bible Society and Bible distribution evangelism The Navigators and personal discipleship Billy Graham and crusade evangelism Campus ministries The Jesus Movement 21st-century evangelistic approaches A History of Evangelism in North America promises to have lasting value for those who study evangelism, missions, Christian history, and the church in North America.

Download or read book Surprise the World written by Michael Frost and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sharing your faith doesn’t have to be complicated. Christians are called to be a witness for Christ in daily life, to surprise people around us with the good news of the gospel. Yet putting that mission into regular practice can seem overwhelming. Author Michael Frost, a renowned expert on evangelism, offers refreshingly simple tactics to make evangelism fulfilling, exciting, and effective. Surprise the World teaches clear and practical tools for making evangelism part of your daily life. This short and easy read covers the BELLS method, along with thought-provoking questions and prompts for applying each habit. You’ll learn about each of the five habits: Bless others Eat together Listen to the Spirit Learn Christ Understand yourself as Sent by God into others’ lives Ideal for personal use or training groups on evangelism, the inspiring lessons in this book will transform your view of evangelism in daily life. “A timely wake-up call for believers. A concise and helpful encouragement to those seeking to live on-mission in their communities.” —Ed Stetzer, author and pastor “Eminently doable, entirely practical, and exceptionally effective!” —Felicity Dale, author of An Army of Ordinary People “If every believer developed a lifestyle that included these 5 habits, I’m convinced a great spiritual awakening would take place.” —Al Engler, mission director of Nav Neighbor

Download or read book The Post Quarantine Church written by Thom S. Rainer and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A trustworthy and respected guide for pastors and church leadership in the post-quarantine world, providing hope and vision for the future of your congregation. From thousands of surveys of church leaders and in-person consultations, Thom Rainer and his Church Answers team have gathered the essential wisdom you will need to face the challenges and opportunities that the quarantine crisis creates for the local church, including: New and better ways to lead the gathered church A wide-open door for growing the digital church A moment to rethink the facilities New strategies for church growth . . . and much more! This book is, in effect, your personal church consultant, helping you plan and prepare for the future. In the midst of heartbreak, tragedy, and struggle due to Covid-19, here’s hope, wisdom, encouragement and vision. This book is valuable for those looking for local church and pastor resources to enhance church leadership, grow your church, and serve digital and online church communities in the post-quarantine world. As a former pastor and founder of Church Answers, Thom S. Rainer is intimately familiar with the ever-present demands that pastors face. He has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of the local church.

Download or read book Dear White Peacemakers written by Osheta Moore and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dear White Peacemakers is a breakup letter to division, a love letter to God’s beloved community, and an eviction notice to the violent powers that have sustained racism for centuries. Race is one of the hardest topics to discuss in America. Many white Christians avoid talking about it altogether. But a commitment to peacemaking requires white people to step out of their comfort and privilege and into the work of anti-racism. Dear White Peacemakers is an invitation to white Christians to come to the table and join this hard work and holy calling. Rooted in the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus, this book is a challenging call to transform white shame, fragility, saviorism, and privilege, in order to work together to build the Beloved Community as anti-racism peacemakers. Written in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Dear White Peacemakers draws on the Sermon on the Mount, Spirituals, and personal stories from author Osheta Moore’s work as a pastor in St. Paul, Minnesota. Enter into this story of shalom and join in the urgent work of anti-racism peacemaking.

Download or read book To See a World in a Grain of Sand written by Loyd L. Fueston and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2006-05-15 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With some modifications, certain insights of St. Thomas Aquinas can be used to make good sense of this dynamic universe of evolving things. These foundational insights cover the nature of human knowledge and the importance of acts-of-being. The human mind is formed by interaction with God's effects in His creation and this interaction takes place during three billion years of evolution and also during the lifetime of an individual human being. Creation is a manifestation of thoughts which God wishes to share with us. God Himself is His own Act-of-being or the Supreme Act-of-being while all the underlying stuff of created things is ever and continuously brought into existence by God's acts-of-being. Complex things and living beings are brought into existence by acts-of-being best described as parts of a story being told by God. Even metaphysical and mathematical truths are better described as being facts created by the same God who created things. God is the source of all being and all truths.

Download or read book Encounter God in the City written by Randy White and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-09-20 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God is at work in the city. And he invites his people to join him. But the city is not merely a mission field for Christians to target. The city is also the environment where Christians are discipled and lives are forged into the image of Jesus. Urban ministry veteran Randy White shows how God transforms you when you answer God's call to the city. Urban life peels away your sin and self-deception and challenges your unexamined assumptions about privilege, race, class and power. Experiential discipleship moves you from abstract theory to hands-on learning and on-the-ground action, revolutionizing your perspective and making a difference in local neighborhoods and beyond. Passionate and practical, White's vivid narratives of experiencing God in the city show you how your spiritual health is intertwined with the health of the metropolis. Seek the welfare of the city, and both you and the city will be transformed.

Download or read book The Church Cracked Open written by Stephanie Spellers and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-03-17 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book will make a profound difference for the church in this moment in history." — The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry Sometimes it takes disruption and loss to break us open and call us home to God. It’s not surprising that a global pandemic and once-in-a-generation reckoning with white supremacy—on top of decades of systemic decline—have spurred Christians everywhere to ask who we are, why God placed us here and what difference that makes to the world. In this critical yet loving book, the author explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus, walk humbly with the most vulnerable and embody beloved community in our own broken but beautiful way. The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation.

Download or read book Essential Church written by Thom S. Rainer and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do so many young adults (18 to 22) leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back? This important question is examined and duly answered in Essential Church?, a follow-up to Thom S. Rainer’s best-selling Simple Church cowritten this time with his son, research expert Sam Rainer. The book is based on a study of one-thousand so-called "church dropouts" who were interviewed about why they left. Their answers are quite surprising, having less to do with "losing their religion" and more about the desire for a community that isn’t made stale by simply maintaining the status quo. In turn, the Rainers offer churches four concrete solutions toward making their worship community an essential part these young people’s lives again: Simplify - develop a clear structure and process for making disciples. Deepen - provide strong biblical teaching and preaching. Expect - let members know the need for commitment to the congregation. Multiply - emphasize evangelism, outward focus, and starting new churches.

Download or read book The Art of Neighboring written by Jay Pathak and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once upon a time, people knew their neighbors. They talked to them, had cook-outs with them, and went to church with them. In our time of unprecedented mobility and increasing isolationism, it's hard to make lasting connections with those who live right outside our front door. We have hundreds of "friends" through online social networking, but we often don't even know the full name of the person who lives right next door. This unique and inspiring book asks the question: What is the most loving thing I can do for the people who live on my street or in my apartment building? Through compelling true stories of lives impacted, the authors show readers how to create genuine friendships with the people who live in closest proximity to them. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book perfect for small groups or individual study.

Download or read book A Church Called Tov written by Scot McKnight and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Scot and Laura do an amazing job of teaching us what a good church looks like.” —Beth Moore What is the way forward for the church? Tragically, in recent years, Christians have gotten used to revelations of abuses of many kinds in our most respected churches—from Willow Creek to Harvest, from Southern Baptist pastors to Sovereign Grace churches. Respected author and theologian Scot McKnight and former Willow Creek member Laura Barringer wrote this book to paint a pathway forward for the church. We need a better way. The sad truth is that churches of all shapes and sizes are susceptible to abuses of power, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse. Abuses occur most frequently when Christians neglect to create a culture that resists abuse and promotes healing, safety, and spiritual growth. How do we keep these devastating events from repeating themselves? We need a map to get us from where we are today to where we ought to be as the body of Christ. That map is in a mysterious and beautiful little Hebrew word in Scripture that we translate “good,” the word tov. In this book, McKnight and Barringer explore the concept of tov—unpacking its richness and how it can help Christians and churches rise up to fulfill their true calling as imitators of Jesus.

Download or read book Radical Welcome written by Stephanie Spellers and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2006-08 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the transforming gifts, voices, and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church.

Download or read book The Complete American Pilgrim written by Howard a. Kramer and published by Complete Pilgrim, LLC. This book was released on 2018-08-28 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Complete American Pilgrim is a traveler's guide to 250 of the most sacred and historic religious sites in the United States. It is based on the travels and research of the author, who over the last few decades has visited countless religious sites around the world. The Complete American Pilgrim invites casual travelers and die-hard pilgrims alike to explore some of the most sacred destinations to be found in the United States. These places, chosen for their religious, historic and architectural importance encompass centuries of the American religious experience. From the historic colonial churches of New England to the magnificent missions of California, discover what hidden treasures of faith may be found in your own neighborhood.

Download or read book In the Neighborhood of True written by Susan Kaplan Carlton and published by Algonquin Young Readers. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A powerful story of love, identity, and the price of fitting in or speaking out. “The story may be set in the past, but it couldn’t be a more timely reminder that true courage comes not from fitting in, but from purposefully standing out . . . and that to find out who you really are, you have to first figure out what you’re not.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of A Spark of Light and Small Great Things After her father’s death, Ruth Robb and her family transplant themselves in the summer of 1958 from New York City to Atlanta—the land of debutantes, sweet tea, and the Ku Klux Klan. In her new hometown, Ruth quickly figures out she can be Jewish or she can be popular, but she can’t be both. Eager to fit in with the blond girls in the “pastel posse,” Ruth decides to hide her religion. Before she knows it, she is falling for the handsome and charming Davis and sipping Cokes with him and his friends at the all-white, all-Christian Club. Does it matter that Ruth’s mother makes her attend services at the local synagogue every week? Not as long as nobody outside her family knows the truth. At temple Ruth meets Max, who is serious and intense about the fight for social justice, and now she is caught between two worlds, two religions, and two boys. But when a violent hate crime brings the different parts of Ruth’s life into sharp conflict, she will have to choose between all she’s come to love about her new life and standing up for what she believes.