Author: J. Mack Stiles Publisher: Crossway ISBN: 1433544687 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 130
Book Description
Christians often struggle to know where to start when it comes to telling others about God, Jesus, sin, and salvation. In this short book, J. Mack Stiles challenges us to view evangelism as something we do together instead of something we do alone, helping churches cultivate a culture of evangelism that goes beyond simply creating new programs or adopting the latest method. The seventh volume in the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series, this book will help Christians joyfully embrace evangelism as a way of life as it equips them to share their faith with those who don't yet know Jesus. Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series.
Author: Mark Dever Publisher: Crossway ISBN: 1433540010 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 306
Book Description
Now in its third edition and featuring a new foreword by New York Times best-selling author David Platt, pastor Mark Dever’s classic book is not an instruction manual for church growth. Rather, it is a wise pastor’s recommendation for how to assess the health of a church using nine crucial qualities often neglected by many of today’s congregations. Church leaders and church members alike will resonate with the principles outlined here, breathing new life and health into the church at large. In this newly revised edition, fresh arguments have been added (for example on expositional preaching, about the nature of the gospel, on complementarianism), illustrations have been updated, appendices have been changed, and cover has been improved.
Author: Shannon Jung Publisher: ISBN: 9780687016068 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 250
Book Description
Grounded in social research, Rural Ministry evaluates the diminishing establishment of the church in rural America, which is linked to the fifty-year-old crisis in rural ministry. It names the primary issues for leaders of Protestant and Catholic churches to ponder: the graying of the population; the closing of schools, hospitals, and factories; and the corporate buyout of farms during the 1980s. In addition to retelling the history of this crisis, Shannon Jung and the other contributors to this volume offer a set of Christian principles that respond to social problems in rural life. The situation is so intense that the book offers examples from around the heartland of cooperative or collaborative parishes that blend denominational and theological differences across the Protestant and Catholic spectrum. Key Benefits: Offers a vision of nationwide renewal in rural America; Advocates true ecumenical solutions to issues confronting the rural church in America; Sidebars feature examples and illustrations; Informs new rural ministers of the culture and issues about to confront them, allowing them to better handle the challenges and opportunities of the rural environment; Motivates congregations to activate ministries in new and provocative ways, insuring the spread of the gospel; Can help troubled churches survive.
Author: Steve Willis Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1566995558 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 116
Book Description
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.
Author: Thom S. Rainer Publisher: B&H Publishing Group ISBN: 0805447997 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 296
Book Description
Now in paperback, this multi-awarded national best seller shares a clear message from case studies of 400 North American congregations: church is done best when it's kept simple.
Author: Priscilla Pope-Levison Publisher: Baker Academic ISBN: 1493427385 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 180
Book Description
Many sincere Christians dismiss evangelism due to enduring evangelistic caricatures. This book helps readers move beyond those caricatures to consider thoughtfully and practically how they can engage in evangelism, whether it's through one-on-one conversations, social media, social justice, or the liturgy of worship services. At once biblical, theological, historical, and practical, this book by a seasoned scholar offers an engaging, well-researched, and well-organized presentation and analysis of eight models of evangelism. Covering a breadth of approaches--from personal evangelism to media evangelism and everything in between--Priscilla Pope-Levison encourages readers to take a deeper look at evangelism and discover a model that captures their attention. Each chapter introduces and assesses a model biblically, theologically, historically, and practically, allowing for easy comparison across the board. The book also includes end-of-chapter study questions to further help readers interact with each model.
Author: Gabe Lyons Publisher: Multnomah ISBN: 0385529856 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 274
Book Description
“I recommend The Next Christians, which will give you great insight into the hopes and aspirations of the next generation…." —Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship “Provocative, yet massively optimistic!” —Louie Giglio, pastor and founder of the Passion Movement Gabe Lyons is optimistic that Christianity’s best days are yet to come. His best-selling book, UnChristian, revealed the pervasiveness of culture’s growing disregard for Christians. Now, in The Next Christians, Lyons shows how a new wave of believers are turning the tide by bringing the truth of the Gospel to bear on our changing, secular society. “Restorers,” as Lyons calls them, approach culture with a different mentality than generations past. Informed by truth, yet seasoned with grace and love, these believers engage the world by drawing it to the sensibility and authenticity of the Christian life. You can be one of these “next” Christians and change the negative perception of Christianity by living a life that is faithful to the Gospel, yet credible and coherent to your friends and neighbors.
Author: Hal Seed Publisher: Hal Seed ISBN: 0978715306 Category : Apologetics Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
"How do I know that God is real? Is the Bible really the Word of God, or is it just an ancient book? Why are Christians so exclusive? Is there really only one way to heaven? All of these are tough questions, but in The God Questions, they are addressed head on with hard-hitting facts that tell the truth. The God Questions gives brief, simple, and easy to understand answers to the eight key questions everyone asks about Christianity. Divided in 40 short, readable chapters, this book will help you understand God and the universe He created.'"--Book cover
Author: Kevin G. Harney Publisher: Zondervan ISBN: 0310120160 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 289
Book Description
Could sharing your faith be the secret to developing your spiritual maturity? For many followers of Jesus, discipleship means doing certain things to deepen our connection with Jesus Christ. But our spiritual growth checklists are often disconnected from the mission of reaching a lost world with the gospel message. Taking a holistic approach that unites evangelism and discipleship, Kevin and Sherry Harney demonstrate how God's plan for our spiritual growth is intimately connected to his mission to the world. In Organic Disciples, the couple lead ordinary followers of Jesus through seven markers of spiritual maturity, showing how simple shifts in our Bible reading, prayer, community life, giving, service, and other biblical practices can connect us with God's work of reaching people with his love. You'll learn: Why true spiritual maturity will always lead believers outward to engage the world with the good news and truth of Jesus. How to overcome the common roadblocks and false narratives that stand in the way of spiritual maturity. How to design a personal pathway of growth to be more like Jesus in character and mission. Along with the Organic Disciples book, churches and individuals can utilize a free, self-directed online tool at OrganicOutreach.com to help each person identify where they are in their growth journey. Also look for eight-session small group curriculum—Organic Disciples Study Guide (9780310139089)—to take congregations and Christians deeper on this journey.
Author: J. Mack Stiles
Author: Jason Byassee
Author: Mark Dever
Author: Shannon Jung
Author: Steve Willis
Author: Thom S. Rainer
Author: Priscilla Pope-Levison
Author: Gabe Lyons
Author: Hal Seed
Author: Kevin G. Harney