Community Ministry

Fellowship among believers is more than just talking over coffee after church service. Biblical fellowship in New Testament times - or koinonia - had rich and varied meanings, including covenant relationship, partnership in the gospel, communion with God and others, and the sharing of earthly possessions. In True Community, best-selling author Jerry Bridges guides you through koinonia and its implications for today’s church.

"It's My Time," blends psychology, spirituality and motivation to inspire the reader to dig deeper and believe that more is possible. It's time to push past previously established boundaries. It's time to think outside of the standard realm of reality. It's time to move into the destiny that you've always believed you could. From the same author that brought you "Your Best Day Today," "One Day at a Time," "Passion 101," "Dollar and a Dream: Succeed or Die Trying."

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians provides access into an underrepresented and misunderstood community and will change the way listeners think about transgender people, faith, and the future of Christianity. By introducing transgender issues and language and providing stories of both biblical characters and real-life narratives from transgender Christians living today, Hartke helps listeners visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the confidence and tools to change both the church and the world.

Researchers have uncovered the following three trends: First, distrust of institutions, including the church, is at an all-time high. Second, young people raised in the church are leaving at alarming rates and not returning. Third, loneliness and social isolation are at pandemic levels. What’s the connection? It appears that an entire generation is starving for the very thing the church is called to provide but has chosen to look for it elsewhere. Why is this happening?

How did one man's unshakable faith shape the future of thousands struggling to break free from the grip of addiction, poverty, and sin? Join Gary Wilkerson as he shares a never-before-seen look at the incredible life and legacy of his father, bestselling author and evangelist David Wilkerson.

What do we call each other? It’s a deceptively simple question, because how we refer to one another is how we understand our relationships. Not recognizing the power of our words makes it harder for us to trust and serve one another―to love one another. In More than Christians, Norman Hubbard explores how the early church used common words in uncommon ways to make sense of their relationships with God and with one another. His research and contextualization of the cultural background to the New Testament is as practical for today as it is urgent.

This book seeks to provide a guided examination of what unites and divides the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic communities. With over 25 years of experience teaching in the subject area, Dr. Fritz Wenisch begins to unravel this complex and often contentious topic by first discussing the legal injunctions applying to religious studies courses at secular U.S. universities. He investigates the type of monotheism each religion shares before providing an in-depth overview of each religion, one by one.

With humor, insight, and a gift for storytelling, Ortberg shows how community pays tremendous dividends in happiness, health, support, and growth. It’s where all of us weird, unwieldy people encounter God’s love in tangible ways and discover the transforming power of being loved, accepted, and valued just the way we are.

It’s easy to dream about the “perfect” church - a church that sings just the right songs set to just the right music before the pastor preaches just the right sermon to a room filled with just the right mix of people who happen to agree with you on just about everything. This audiobook is a call to embrace the uncomfortable aspects of Christian community, whether that means believing difficult truths, pursuing difficult holiness, or loving difficult people - all for the sake of the gospel, God’s glory, and our joy.

Bitterness often grows out of a small offense. Perhaps a passing word, an accidental shove, or a pair of dirty socks left in the middle of the living room floor. Yet, when bitterness takes root in our hearts, its effects are anything but small.

Have you joined a church or small group in hopes of experiencing real life change, only to be disappointed? Have you sat through inspiring sermons about what is possible when Christians gather together in mutually edifying relationships, only to recognize how cynical you have become after many failed attempts? Community may be one of the most over-promised, under-delivered aspects of the Christian life today. Individuals remain selfish and stuck in their ways.

Pastor Mike Mather arrived in Indianapolis thinking that he was going to serve the poor. But after his church’s community lost nine young men to violence in a few short months, Mather came to see that the poor didn’t need his help - he needed theirs. This is the story of how one church found abundance in a community of material poverty. Viewing people - not programs, finances, or service models - as their most valuable resource moved church members beyond their own walls and out into the streets, where they discovered folks rich in strength, talents, determination, and love.

God is good, all the time. Jim Wilson was born in 1927 and raised in a Depression-era farming family. At the age of 16, at the height of World War II, he became the primary breadwinner for his parents and four younger siblings. At age 17, eager to fight for his country, he enlisted in the Navy. Germany surrendered while he was in the recruiting office, and the war was over by the time he entered boot camp. But God had a plan for Jim Wilson in the US Navy.

Our bodies are designed to heal. But while our skinned knees easily heal, it can sometimes feel like our emotional and relational wounds are left gaping open, broken beyond repair. If our bodies instinctively know how to heal physical injuries, could they also help us understand how to restore painful emotional and relational ruptures? Physician Jennie McLaurin and scientist Cymbeline T. Culiat present Designed to Heal: a fascinating look at how the restorative processes of the body can model patterns we may adapt to heal the acute and chronic wounds of our social bodies.

Sometimes when we look for black and white, all we find is more grey. Sometimes we are waiting on God to answer our prayer before we feel like we can trust he’s even listening. Toby Slough, a seasoned leader and pastor of a large church, shares candidly about his public battle with anxiety and depression. Through his story, you will find God at work in the most unlikely, “un-churchy” things.

In Build My Church: Church Growth Formulas, Dr. Carl C. Liggin offers an indispensable guide for pastors, church leaders, and congregations committed to cultivating vibrant, growing churches that serve as transformative forces within their communities. This contemporary and comprehensive work is rooted in biblical principles, informed by historical insights, and enriched with practical strategies to achieve sustained spiritual and numerical growth. Drawing on decades of pastoral experience and scholarly expertise, Dr. Liggin provides a holistic framework for addressing modern churches' ...

Are you tired of hearing people dismiss the church as an irrelevant relic? (Do you secretly wonder if they are right?) Don Everts explores an exciting reality that is revealed in Scripture, shown throughout history, and confirmed in the latest research: When Christians pursue the common good of the neighborhood, the world stands up and notices.

If you're longing to become more attentive to God - to listen to him, know his voice and experience his love, spiritual direction can point the way. In Seeking God Together, experienced spiritual director Alice Fryling offers a unique introduction specifically for group spiritual direction: a place where individuals can experience what it means to be listened to and loved by others, so that they can learn to listen more attentively to God in their daily lives and be used by God.

A man of God. Hopes for the future. He stood at the forefront of a religious revolution. Samuel Kader worked hard to forge a different world. A pastor and leader in the gay Christian community since 1975, he witnessed the spiritual movement of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and queer people grow into something amazing. And as one of the very few who realized that traditional faith needed to adapt, he envisioned empowering anyone to build a lasting relationship with the Creator, no matter their sexual identity. In a moving and heartfelt memoir, Rev. Samuel Kader reveals firsthand accounts of ...

Many bemoan the decline of the church. We hear a steady stream of reports about how droves of people, especially younger generations, are abandoning Christianity. But new research shows that unchurched Americans are surprisingly more receptive and open to the Christian faith than is commonly assumed. Researcher and practitioner Rick Richardson unveils the findings of the Billy Graham Center Institute's groundbreaking studies on the unchurched.