Download or read book The Externally Focused Church written by Rick Rusaw and published by Group Pub Incorporated. This book was released on 2004 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can your church get the attention of your community? It's all about focus. Externally focused churches do more than confront their communities--they cooperate as well. They're quick to partner with community agencies. Open to building new relationships. They flood their neighborhoods with practical compassion. And through it all they carry the love of Christ. If non-Christians aren't asking what's behind the excitement of your church members, it's time to get externally focused!
Download or read book The Externally Focused Quest written by Eric Swanson and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Externally Focused Quest: Becoming the Best Church for the Community is designed for church leaders who want to transform their churches to become less internally focused and more oriented to the world around them. The book includes clear guidelines on the changes congregations must adopt to become truly outwardly focused. This book is not about getting all churches to have an annual day of community service as a tactic, but changing the core of who they are and how they see themselves as a part of their community. The Externally Focused Quest outlines ten changes needed for church leaders to transform their churches and presents a highly practical approach that shows leaders how to become more externally focused without having to give up programs that serve members. This book reveals what it takes to make the major shift from internal to external focus and how that affects church leadership.
Download or read book To Transform a City written by Eric Swanson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To Transform a City is a valuable guide for those who dream big about the spiritual and social changes possible for the cities and towns that surround their churches. Two visionary leaders examine the foundations, history, theology, and practical methods of community transformation.
Download or read book Church Unique written by Will Mancini and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by church consultant Will Mancini expert on a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes, and actions and shows how church leaders can unlock their church's individual DNA and unleash their congregation's one-of-a-kind potential.
Download or read book Creating a Missional Culture written by JR Woodward and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-09-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once upon a time, Moses had had enough. Exhausted by the challenge of leading the Israelites from slavery to the Promised Land, Moses cried out to God, "What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? . . . If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me" (Exodus 11:11, 15). If that sounds hauntingly familiar to you, you may be the senior pastor of a contemporary church. The burden of Christian leadership is becoming increasingly unbearable--demanding skills not native to the art of pastoring; demanding time that makes sabbath rest and even normal sleep patterns seem extravagant; demanding inhuman levels of efficiency, proficiency and even saintliness. No wonder pastors seem and even feel less human these days. No wonder they burn out or break down at an alarming rate; no wonder the church is missing the mark on its mission. In Creating a Missional Culture, JR Woodward offers a bold and surprisingly refreshing model for churches--not small adjustments around the periphery of a church's infrastructure but a radical revisioning of how a church ought to look, from its leadership structure to its mobilization of the laity. The end result looks surprisingly like the church that Jesus created and the apostles cultivated: a church not chasing the wind but rather going into the world and making disciples of Jesus.
Download or read book Leading Small Groups That Thrive written by Ryan T. Hartwig and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly every church is trying to help their congregants build relationships with others, grow as disciples, and/or engage in meaningful service through small groups. Many have argued that these small groups are the preferred vehicle for relationship building, disciple making, and membership assimilation in the local church, especially in large, multisite churches. Leading Small Groups That Thrive shows small group leaders, step by step, how to plan for, launch, build, sustain, and multiply highly effective, transformational, healthy small group experiences where people grow spiritually together. Based on a large-scale research study of small group pastors, leaders, and members, Leading Small Groups That Thrive gives church leaders both what they want--practical, straightforward, actual small group member voices and experiences, and compelling guidance on how to build transformational groups complemented with real-life examples and data of successful small groups--and what they need--substantial, challenging insights and a data-driven model grounded in the latest research on church small groups.
Download or read book The Missional Quest written by Lance Ford and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-08-26 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lance Ford and Brad Brisco walk leaders through the major shifts involved in converting consumer-model churches into congregations on a quest for the kingdom of God. Addressing everything from sowing the seeds of incarnational thinking to stepping out in the local community, The Missional Questwill prepare your church for the long run.
Download or read book Renovate Or Die written by Bob Farr and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bob Farr asserts that to change the world, we must first change the Church. Rearranging the pews, painting the fellowship hall, or paving the parking lot are just not enough. With clear language and practical tips, this book will inspire and help you organize your church for new life. Learn how to grow your church and discover the commitments that leaders must make to guarantee the fruitfulness of local congregations. --Book Jacket.
Download or read book Hybrid Church written by Dave Browning and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-08-20 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hands-on resource for both large and small churches It has been predicted that in the twenty-first century extremely large churches would emerge in America that resemble neither an elephant nor a field of mice. Which is better? At one time the answer would have been either/or. Now it's both/and. We want both the intimacy of smallness and the impact of bigness-we want a hybrid of the two. Hybrid Church is a practical guide for clergy and leaders who want to have the best of both church worlds: the intimacy of small "house church" groups and the impact of very large mega-churches. Offers a guide for churches who want to capitalize on their strengths to build intimacy with impact Written by the pastor of one of the "fastest growing" and "most innovative" churches in America with thousands of members organized in small house groups Outlines a vision for how the church of tomorrow could look like the early church. Given that the trend is toward very large and very small, with few churches in the middle, this book will be a welcome resource for both large and small churches.
Download or read book The Neighboring Church written by Brian Mavis and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2016-08-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Leadership network title, to be filled in at a later date by editor.
Download or read book Test Train Affirm and Send Into Ministry written by Brian Croft and published by Dayone C/O Grace Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Practical biblical perspectives on how to recognize and support a call to the ministry
Download or read book Who Runs the Church written by Zondervan, and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-05-26 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Churches have split and denominations have formed over the issue of church government. While many Christians can explain their church's form of rule or defend it because of its "tried and true" traditions, few people understand their church's administrative customs from a biblical perspective. Who Runs the Church? explores questions such as: What model for governing the church does the Bible provide, and is such a model given for practical or spiritual reasons? Is there room for different methods within Christianity? Or is there a right way of "doing church"? And, finally, how (and by whom) should the church be governed? Four predominant approaches to church government are presented by respected proponents: Episcopalianism - represented by Peter Toon Presbyterianism - represented by L. Roy Taylor Single-Elder Congregationalism - represented by Paige Patterson Plural-Elder Congregationalism - represented by Samuel E. Waldron As in other Counterpoints books, each view is followed by critiques from the other contributors, and its advocate then responds.
Download or read book Introducing the Missional Church Allelon Missional Series written by Alan J. Roxburgh and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2009-11-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many pastors and church leaders have heard the term "missional" but have only a vague idea of what it means, let alone why it might be important to them. But what does it actually mean? What does a missional church look like and how does it function? Two leading voices in the missional movement here provide an accessible introduction, showing readers how the movement developed, why it's important, and how churches can become more missional. Introducing the Missional Church demonstrates that ours is a post-Christian culture, making it necessary for church leaders to think like missionaries right here at home. Focusing on a process that allows a church to discern its unique way of being missional, it guides readers on a journey that will lead them to implement a new set of missional practices in their churches. The authors demonstrate that living missionally is about discerning and joining God's work in the world in order to be a witness to God's kingdom on earth.
Download or read book Waking to God s Dream written by Bishop Dick Wills and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The demands of congregational ministry are many, the rewards sometimes seem few, and burnout becomes a real possibility. Small wonder, then, that churches become stuck in a state of arrested spiritual development. When the pastor is functioning in a survival or maintenance mode, the church's vitality is often the first casualty. Yet Wills's own experience demonstrates that churches can turn around; the wind of the Spirit can be felt anew. This happens when the congregation is infected by the vision of what God is doing in their midst--a vision which the leaders, particularly the pastor, must bring before them. In Waking to God's Dream, Richard Wills shares the spiritual disciplines and insights which he believes account for the transformation of the congregation he serves from a large church in decline to one that is growing and reaching out to its community in a variety of creative ministries. Detailing the steps and initiatives that led to this turnaround, Wills demonstrates how personal commitment on the part of the congregation's leaders and ministers have been the key to the work they have accomplished.
Download or read book Church State and Public Justice written by P. C. Kemeny and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-09-20 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abortion. Physician-assisted suicide. Same-sex marriages. Embryonic stem-cell research. Poverty. Crime. What is a faithful Christian response? The God of the Bible is unquestionably a God of justice. Yet Christians have had their differences as to how human government and the church should bring about a just social order. Although Christians share many deep and significant theological convictions, differences that threaten to divide them have often surrounded the matter of how the church collectively and Christians individually ought to engage the public square. What is the mission of the church? What is the purpose of human government? How ought they to be related to each other? How should social injustice be redressed? The five noted contributors to this volume answer these questions from within their distinctive Christian theological traditions, as well as responding to the other four positions. Through the presentations and ensuing dialogue we come to see more clearly what the differences are, where their positions overlap and why they diverge. The contributors and the positions taken include Clarke E. Cochran: A Catholic Perspective Derek H. Davis: A Classical Separation Perspective Ronald J. Sider: An Anabaptist Perspective Corwin F. Smidt: A Principled Pluralist Perspective J. Philip Wogaman: A Social Justice Perspective This book will be instructive for anyone seeking to grasp the major Christian alternatives and desiring to pursue a faithful corporate and individual response to the social issues that face us.
Download or read book Young People and Church Since 1900 written by Naomi Thompson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Sunday School pioneers saw a need in their communities in the late eighteenth century, their response provoked a 200 year movement. These early Sunday Schools met a clear social need: that for basic education. By the 1960s, they faced rapid decline – a rigid institution amidst societal change. Over recent decades, Christian youth work has emerged as a response to further youth decline within churches. Many youth workers engage with young people’s self-perceived needs by delivering open-access youth provision in their local communities alongside more specifically Christian activities. Tensions emerge over whether the youth worker’s role is to serve community or church needs, with churches often emphasising the desire to see young people in services. Drawing together historical and contemporary research, Young People and Church Since 1900 identifies patterns and change in young people’s engagement with organised Christianity across time. Through this, it provides a unique analysis of the engagement and exclusion of young people in three key time periods, 1900–1910, 1955–1972, and the present day. Whilst much commentary on religious decline has focused on changes external to churches, this text draws out the internal decisions and processes that have affected the longevity of Christianity in England. This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars of young people and Christianity in the twentieth century and today, as well as youth ministry students and practitioners and those interested in youth decline in churches more widely.
Download or read book Missional Communities written by Reggie McNeal and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third book in the trilogy that explores the popular missional movement From Reggie McNeal, the bestselling author of The Present Future and Missional Renaissance, comes the third book in the series that helps to define and illuminate the popular missional movement. This newest book in the trilogy examines a natural outgrowth of the move toward a missional orientation: the deconstruction of congregations into very small Christian communities. For all those thousands of churches and leaders who have followed Reggie McNeal's bold lead, this book details the rise of a new life form in churches. Discusses how to move a church from an internal to an external ministry focus Reggie McNeal is a recognized leader in the missional movement Outlines an alternative to the program church model that is focused on the projects and passions of the congregants This book draws on McNeal's twenty years of leadership roles in local congregations and his work over the last decade with thousands of clergy and church leaders.
