Community Ministry

In An Honorable Heritage, Pandita Ramabai tells her story of being born into the privileged Brahman caste and leaving tradition behind for something far better—the light and hope she found in Christ. After years of searching for something more than the hopeless existence her religion offered to those not born into a high caste, Pandita had at last discovered someone who could uplift the downtrodden women of India—and every land.

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.

Leading Strategic Community Change explores the dynamics of leadership and strategic community change for churches and faith-based organizations. In doing so, it incorporates principles and practices from the fields of strategic planning, leadership, and organizational development. At the end of chapters there are exercises designed to reinforce the concepts discussed in the chapter. The appendices also include activities for churches and faith-based organizations to use with their congregations, boards, and executive ministry teams to develop a more effective plan for engaging the ...

God created us as a tripartite, having a body, soul and spirit; but most importantly He created us to be relational – with Him, and with others. In His Great Commission, found in Matthew 28, He instructed us to “Go Make Disciples”; and the best way to do that is not in the ‘rows’ of churches, but in the complementing ‘circles’ of Small Group Ministries within and outside of the church. This book is designed to introduce you to the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Small Group Ministries – starting with the WHY. Whether you are just forming your Small Group Ministry, or ...

Do you want to love your neighbor as yourself but don’t know where to start? This practical, accessible guide to bridging the dividing lines of politics, race, and economics, both individually and as the church, will help you amplify Jesus in your community and build God’s kingdom.

A Journey to Unlock the Transformative Power of Collective Prayer Are you yearning to witness the miraculous power of prayer in your life and community? Dive into "Corporate Prayer: Understanding the Efficacy and Power of Corporate Prayer," a groundbreaking book that uncovers the untapped potential of praying together. This book is not just a guide; it’s a spiritual awakening that will revolutionize your understanding and practice of corporate prayer. Imagine a community united in prayer, experiencing God’s divine intervention and miracles on an unprecedented scale. This book provides a...

Michelle Sanchez has discovered through her own journey that it’s impossible to separate racial discipleship from our relationship with God. In fact, deeper racial discipleship catalyzes a deeper relationship with God. Whenever we choose to courageously resist racism, we will discover new opportunities to encounter Christ in fresh and exciting ways. Color-Courageous Discipleship is our guidebook to a deeper connection with God through the adventure of racial discipleship.

Like so many saints before him, Samuel Rutherford did his best work while he was imprisoned for the gospel. While in exile from his hometown, he wrote hundreds of letters to his friends and members of his congregation. Christians of all walks have drawn strength from Rutherford's letters, which were printed several years after his death in 1661 and have been called “the most remarkable series of devotional letters that the literature of the Reformed churches can show.” The Loveliness of Christ is a collection of short excerpts from these letters.

In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It’s a strategy that enabled Osborne’s congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation - without any marketing or special programming.

The premise of serving as a small group leader sounds simple: Invite people to join you in studying the Bible. But the real-world implications of that role are incredibly complex. Today's small group leaders are asked to function as semi-experts in theology, psychology, evangelism, worship, apologetics, counseling, education, and nutrition—all in service to God and His church. The Field Guide for Small Group Leaders provides basic training and support to help small group leaders succeed in the critical mission of leading others toward spiritual growth and transformation.

Everyone needs advice, and everyone gives advice. In a world of dysfunctional families, churches, and societies, professional counseling is in great demand as a solution to our problems. The weak link in this solution is the inability to determine a counselor’s qualifications apart from his professional accreditation. Academics can give you knowledge, but no learning or books can give you wisdom. There are no graduate degrees in love or compassion. You cannot get a PhD in virtue. However, these things are available to everyone freely through Christ.

Jesus’ death paid for our sins – the guilt, the death, and the punishment. Jesus does not repay the man who got ripped off when we stole from him. According to the Bible, the person who comes to the Lord in repentance is to pay the one he stole from the value of the stolen goods plus one fifth of the value. But what if it is a candy bar you took twenty years ago? The amount stolen and the time since the theft do not make it yours.

Men were designed, created, and commanded to bear responsibility, but our history of failure in this area stretches all the way back to Adam. Today, irresponsibility is considered normal, even a birthright. Jim Wilson outlines the causes and results of this failure, the biblical principles and characteristics that define a responsible man, and how men can apply them both in their own lives and in raising their sons.

We love our kids, but do we love like God loves…without conditions, reservations, or reluctance? In this excerpt from his popular book How to Be Free from Bitterness, Jim Wilson identifies the troublesome consequences of insufficient parental love and points listeners to the glorious fruit of superabundant kindness, tolerance, and patience. With decades of pastoral wisdom, Wilson helps parents apply the eternal truths of Scripture to grow peace and joy in their homes.

Disobedience. It’s normal, right? For hundreds of years, the Church has struggled with how to overcome sin in the Christian life. We know that the cross takes care of our past sins at salvation and assures us life after death. But what do we do with the time in between? In Dead and Alive, Jim Wilson discusses the neglected requirement of obedience and explains God’s provision for it from Scripture. May the thoughts in it lead you into a victorious, obedient life in Christ.

You love God. You love your kids. So why don’t they love Him? God promises lovingkindness to a thousand generations for families who love and obey Him (Deut. 7:9). Why are children who grew up in Christian homes leaving the faith, and how do we get them to come back? No matter how old your children are, there is a solution.

Mitch Kruse learned the hard way that going to church three times a week while growing up did not answer the question: Have you ever thought about changing the scorecard of your life from money to wisdom? His pursuit to find the answer sparked a lifelong journey through the ultimate wisdom book, Proverbs, one that connects God's heart with street smarts.

Muslims who come to Christ face momentous spiritual, psychological and social obstacles that drive many to abandon their faith. Often conversion and discipleship are framed by individualistic Western models that do not acknowledge the communal cultural forces that constrain and shape new believers. Effective discipleship requires a more relational, holistic process of Christian identity development and spiritual formation in community.

In every position of power—from executives and world leaders to church elders and parents—lies the potential for life-giving leadership or destructive corruption. Driven by sinful pride or opportunism, many people abuse their God-given authority, harming the ones they're called to lead and contributing to a skeptical attitude toward leadership. The answer to bad authority, however, is not no authority, but good authority—the kind that, according to Scripture, causes those under it to flourish.

I’m surrounded by people at church...so why do I feel so alone? You show up at church every Sunday. You see people you know. You listen to a sermon together. And then you go home feeling just as isolated as you did before. What’s going on? We all know that a church is supposed to be a community. The trick is to actually make it one. Communities don’t happen by chance - certainly not in our Lone Ranger culture that values independence and individualism.