Download or read book Becoming a Welcoming Church written by Thom S. Rainer and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2018-03-01 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most church members don't see their churches clearly. In almost all of Thom S. Rainer's consultations, church members perceive their church to be friendly. But as he surveyed guests, he found that the guests typically saw church members as unfriendly. The perception chasm existed because the members were indeed friendly . . . to one another. The guests felt like they crashed a private party. Bestselling author Thom Rainer (I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Deceased Church) has a game plan for churches to become more hospitable. In a format that is suitable for church members to read individually or study together, Rainer guides readers toward a practical framework for making a difference for those who visit their church. Churches may use Becoming a Welcoming Church to assess and audit where they are on a spectrum between welcoming and wanting. Additionally, churches can use the companion book We Want You Here to send guests home with a compelling vision for what pastors want every guest to know when they visit.

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 Hope When It Hurts written by Sarah Walton and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2017-04-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thirty biblical meditations for women that offer hope in times of suffering. Thirty biblical meditations for women that offer hope in times of suffering. Hurt is real. But so is hope. Kristen and Sarah have walked through, and are walking in, difficult times. So these thirty biblical reflections are full of realism about the hurts of life-yet overwhelmingly full of hope about the God who gives life. This book will gently encourage and greatly help any woman who is struggling with suffering-whether physical, emotional or psychological, and whether for a season or for longer. It is a book to buy for yourself, or to buy for a member of your church or friend. For anyone who is hurting, this book will give hope, not just for life beyond the suffering, but for life in the suffering. Each chapter contains a biblical reflection, with questions and prayers, and a space for journaling.

Download or read book Fight Your Fears written by Kristen Wetherell and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2020-02-18 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What are you afraid of? You could probably fill this page with a list of your fears. Fears about the future; fears about your health, job, and family; fears about inadequacy and failure (and maybe success); fears about how much fear itself seems to affect your decisions, plans, and growth in this life. You might even fear what God thinks about your fears. After all, in his Word God commands us not to be afraid hundreds of times. But how is this possible? We're troubled by evil, we're slammed with bad news, and we can't know what tomorrow will bring. How can we learn to trust God and not be afraid? Kristen Wetherell is in the fight with you. She is a fearful fellow traveler on the road of the Christian life, making strides alongside you in this battle. In Fight Your Fears she carefully searches 10 of God's great and precious promises, equipping you with the practical tools to overcome the fears and anxious thoughts that are robbing you of your joy. Each chapter ends with Scripture exercises, a memory verse, questions to ponder, and a prayer. Discover truths that will bring peace to your soul as you learn to fear God and nothing else.

Download or read book We Want You Here written by Thom S. Rainer and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2018-03-01 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The message is basic but profound. We want guests to know they are welcome to the church. This book is a gift to guests to communicate that very message. Bestselling author Thom S. Rainer (I Am a Church Member, Autopsy of a Deceased Church) has created a tool for churches to become more hospitable through a brief, welcoming book that introduces the ministry of the local church to guests. We Want You Here is a clear and instructive message to be given to church guests. Rainer facilitates the follow up conversation that every pastor would have, if they had the opportunity. By giving away the book to guests, they are encouraged, in a non-intrusive manner, to continue to reflect on the decision to visit their church. Those churches who share We Want You Here will be able to tell their guests: • We Really Want You Here • This is Not a Place for Perfect People • We Would Like to Get to Know You • This is Where Families Grow Strong • Getting to Know the One Who Made Us • Come Make a Difference with Us • Thank You for Being Here

Download or read book Eternity changes everything written by Stephen Witmer and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2014-02-03 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thrills Christians about their eternal future, and shows how that future changes their present. Our view of the future affects how we feel and act in the present. Stephen Witmer excites us about where the world is heading, gives certainty about where we as individuals are heading, and thrills us about how eternity really does change everything in our daily lives. If you are worried about your future... or if your future doesn't seem to make any difference to your now... or if you simply want to get more excited about where you will spend eternity... read this book!

Download or read book Welcoming the Stranger written by Matthew Soerens and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2018-07-03 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World Relief staffers Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang move beyond the rhetoric to offer a Christian response to immigration. With careful historical understanding and thoughtful policy analysis, they debunk myths about immigration, show the limits of the current immigration system, and offer concrete ways for you to welcome and minister to your immigrant neighbors.

Download or read book Welcome to a Life of Faith in the Episcopal Church written by Megan Castellan and published by Church Publishing. This book was released on 2019-11-17 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Perfect for newcomers and confirmation classes The Episcopal Church has a language and a practice all its own. For a newcomer, these can seem intimidating at first glance. This book takes readers through a Sunday worship experience, and explains the what, the why, and the how of what they might encounter. Worship is explained, with a quick survey of the Book of Common Prayer, along with frequently encountered vocabulary. How we read the Bible and what we believe about core points of theology are also discussed, especially as these points may differ from what many people assume to be Christian norms. How faith is practiced and its connection to our social and moral lives is discussed. What is the Jesus Movement and how can the Way of Love be lived every day? Finally, a short overview of Episcopal history is included, for the visitor who wonders how we came to be here. The book concludes with a few of the most frequently asked questions by adults who join the Episcopal Church.

Download or read book New Patterns for Worship paperback written by Church of England and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 2016-01-20 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This versatile collection provides a wealth of supplementary material to help you customize Common Worship services for any locality, age group, special occasion or festival. It offers: • Advice and guidance on planning, preparing and structuring services. • Over 250 pages of prayers and liturgy, conveniently organised by function, e.g. Gathering and Greeting, Praise and Thanksgiving, Action and Movement. • 22 easy-to-adapt sample services for eucharistic, non-eucharistic, all-age worship and seasonal services.

Download or read book So You Don t Want to Go to Church Anymore written by Wayne Jacobsen and published by Windblown Media. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed. Compelling and intensely personal, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anything relates a man's rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, "There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life."

Download or read book Welcome to Our Church written by Jason Horine and published by . This book was released on 2020-09-23 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Welcome to our church. You are our guest, and we are glad that you have chosen to worship with us. We know that you have some questions about us. This book will help you to learn more about our church family, our beliefs, and what God is doing among us. We love you, and we are thankful for you. We pray that God will lead you to join us on this amazing journey of grace!

Download or read book Missionary Seer written by and published by . This book was released on 1919 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Sabbath Recorder written by and published by . This book was released on 1918 with total page 906 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Radical Welcome written by Stephanie Spellers and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the fifteenth anniversary of its publication, this revised edition features a new introduction from the author on the state of the church and its “radical welcome” today, along with new reflections on how it continues to reshape the church. This book is at once 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 gifts, voices, and power of marginalized groups bring new life to the mainline church. Based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations all around the United States—in urban, suburban, and rural settings—it asks the question: How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God’s radically welcoming people? Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on to embrace change as a welcome part of community life. This new edition features essays from Michael B. Curry, Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, and Mark Richardson.

Download or read book Church Helper written by and published by . This book was released on 1897 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Real Good Church written by Molly Phinney Baskette and published by The Pilgrim Press. This book was released on 2014-06-16 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is a practical manual of everything our church did," says author Molly Phinney Baskette, "to reverse our death spiral and become the healthy, stable, spirited and robust community it is today—evident in the large percentage of children and young adults in our church, and a sixfold increase in pledged giving in the last decade." "Real Good Church" is a testament to Baskette's and First Church Somerville UCC's success, and a gift of hope for all churches that find themselves struggling to keep their doors open. What makes "Real Good Church" unique in the field of church growth books? It's practical. It actually tells churches what they can do—and how to do it. It offers beginning and intermediary steps for growth and renewal. Churches, no matter what situation they're in, will be able to jump in and get to work. It has a sense of humor. Baskette's easygoing, often self-deprecating writing style and approachable strategies will empower the reader and their church to revitalize itself. (If her church could do it, we can, too!)

Download or read book Life Events written by Sandra Millar and published by Church House Publishing. This book was released on 2018-03-07 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Baptism, weddings and funerals bring the Church of England into close contact with hundreds of thousands of people every year. Life Events considers this central ministry from a fresh perspective, exploring how those who come to local churches at these key moments really think and feel. Based on rigorous research in this area, it offers pastoral wisdom, practical insights and ideas for best practice. It will encourage churches in every location to reflect on the mission and ministry opportunities of the occasional offices.