Small Church

Many people believe they don’t need the local church. They are like my friend, Jim, who prayed the “sinner’s prayer.” I had been witnessing to Jim for a long time, and he now was a Christian—or so I thought. Over the months, I noticed that Jim did not like to attend church, telling me that he was very private and didn’t like to share his life with others. After many months, I felt the need to challenge his individualistic thinking. I said to him, “Those who know Jesus are willing to have others hold them accountable. They don’t hold on to a privatized religion and their ...

Jayce is wallowing in grief and drowning in his many new responsibilities, having just lost his family in a tragic plane crash. Tanner Creek Ranch, located in Northern Michigan overlooks majestic fields of hay and alfalfa. It has been owned by the Tanner family for generations. Once a working farm producing crops and raising cattle, it has now turned into a therapy ranch for the rehabilitation of a variety of domestic and specialized animal populations. Jayce studied accounting and had his future plans in hand. But, with his four-year-old grieving sister, one huge ranch to run, and a host ...

Hope Anderson’s heart is finally starting to thaw. Even Tommy Love’s is melting around the edges. They both want Rainbow Lake Lodge. Only one of them can have it. For Hope, reopening the lodge and seeing it bubbling with families, children, and laughter again means new life. It’s the only way she can honor her late husband's legacy. For Tommy Lubinski of Tommy Love and the Love Notes fame, Rainbow Lake means coming home - peace, quiet, seclusion - and a second chance at stardom. Once he’s bulldozed the lodge and built his dream house overlooking the lake, everything will be perfect....

Empowered to Pastor equips pastors to understand how to guide a small group-based church to greater fruitfulness. Each of the 21 chapters covers a distinct, essential aspect of the small group-based church. The themes include the Biblical base for small group ministry, key principles, how to make the transition, simple church planting, equipping the members, coaching, and children and youth in small groups. Each lesson includes a short video, discussion questions, Internet resources, and a downloadable PowerPoint. This book is packed with valuable material designed to help you make more and...

He considered those amazing eyes that always had the power to make him feel like he was drowning in them. Tanner Creek Ranch, located in Northern Michigan overlooks majestic fields of hay and alfalfa. It has been owned by the Tanner family for generations. Once a working farm producing crops and raising cattle, it has now turned into a therapy ranch for the rehabilitation of a variety of domestic and specialized animal populations. Thea Wellesley is a successful executive who has been avoiding her struggling relationship with her father, a long-time farmer in the area.. She was contacted by...

Heston has a vision for the future, despite a rocky start in life. He wants to develop a line of goat cheeses, soaps, and other products that will compliment his little eatery in Detroit. Tanner Creek Ranch, located in Northern Michigan, overlooks majestic fields of hay and alfalfa. It has been owned by the Tanner family for generations. Once a working farm producing crops and raising cattle, it has become a therapy ranch to rehabilitate various domestic and specialized animal populations. Heston has fallen in love with the city of Detroit and all of its diverse and unique commerce ...

I would love to see where this spark between us can go. The Cross in the Woods, a cattle ranch entrusted to Rebecca as the fourth-generation steward, becomes a crucible of transformation and romance. Determined to preserve the family legacy and seeking additional revenue streams to sustain the land, Rebecca faces the harsh reality of her self-reliant, loner nature. Seeking help is a challenging endeavor for her, but her prayers are answered one by one as individuals arrive at the ranch, igniting not only the flames of newfound business ventures but also the sparks of unexpected romance. ...

Why do some small groups thrive and grow while others struggle and falter? The authors have surveyed over 3000 group leaders in more than 200 churches. Their findings will place practical, applicable principles into the hands of small group leaders and pastors. This book also includes access to additional resources from the author's website.

It’s a race to the finish to plan Sophie’s winter wonderland Christmas Eve wedding. With little time to spare and so much to do, will her dream wedding come together in time? It’s been a rough road for Sophie and Zach, the only couple in the Charles Town group of friends who suffered a breakup. But finally, God’s love pulled Zach from the darkness of his former wife’s death, and now Sophie has a ring on her finger and happiness in her heart. But it’s October, and that leaves only two months to put together her dream of a Christmas wedding in the snow. Meanwhile, Kate and Paul ...

The community that loves and heals can also be the town that jeers. How will Brandon recover from the rumor mill regarding his best friend’s actions overseas?The Fruits of Orchard County is a Christian Romance Series predicated on the Fruits of the Spirit verses found in Galatians 5:22-23. The setting is a rural Michigan county where there is an abundance of orchards and fields of vegetables. Life in Orchard County is laid back and full of rich traditions and family values. This clean romance series will give you a heartwarming perspective of the trials and celebrations of life through ...

Benjamin is challenged with cancer while his nursemaid, Patience, helps him fight the disease on many fronts. What will come of their relationship over time? The Fruits of Orchard County is a Christian Romance Series predicated on the Fruits of the Spirit verses found in Galatians 5:22-23. The setting is a rural Michigan county where there is an abundance of orchards and fields of vegetables. Life in Orchard County is laid back and full of rich traditions and family values. This clean romance series will give you a heartwarming perspective of the trials and celebrations of life through the ...

She’s about to commit the ultimate holiday sin… When I started cheating on my cruel husband, I had one rule for myself: never go back for seconds. Living in a small town and being married to the preacher meant I had to be careful. A single hot interlude was fine, but an affair was a one-way ticket to someone getting caught. I’ve been banging my way through my husband’s friends and colleagues, getting revenge and trying to satisfy the itch my older husband doesn’t even try to scratch. And the more I do it, the more I want… Now that I've had a taste of how good things can be with ...

When she moved back to Cottonwood Springs after a divorce and the publishing company she was working for went bankrupt, Brigid never thought she’d have a ready-made teenage daughter, a huge Newfoundland dog, and a hunky neighbor who wants to get to know her better, a lot better. But first she has to solve Maggie’s murder. When a woman has stolen money and someone else’s husband, finding her murderer is not everyone’s top priority.

The emotional equivalent of a Category Six hurricane is raging through the small Southern town of Barksdale in the form of a rumor that a provocative African American newcomer might be of supernatural origin.

Does the cell church strategy work in North America? We hear about exciting cell churches in Colombia and Korea, but where are the dynamic North American cell churches? This book not only declares that the cell church concept does work in North America but dedicates an entire chapter to examining North American churches that are successfully using the cell strategy to grow in quality and quantity. This book provides the latest statistical research about the North American church and explains why the cell church approach restores health and growth to the church today. More than anything else...

Although the largest churches in the world are cell-based, many have questioned whether the model will work in North America. The Church In Many Houses: Reaching Your Community Through Cell-Based Ministry makes the case that the cell model will work— if key assumptions about spiritual growth and the nature of the church are reexamined and renewed. By drawing on scripture, research, and insights gained through personal experience as the pastor of a growing cell church, Steve Cordle identifies the four pivotal philosophical shifts necessary for the cell approach to work. These are mindset ...

I forgive myself for what I allowed my life to become, before I was strong enough to fix me. Those who come to Lost Arrow Ranch are enchanted by the beauty around them. A world-class trout stream running through serene meadows edged by oak and maple groves, creates a peaceful experience for those building a new life. A fully functioning ranch in northern Michigan, Lost Arrow strives to create second chance opportunities for those from the toughest of backgrounds. The Payne family devotes their lives to helping others find their footing, using a traditional ranching environment and ...

The Reverend Olympia Brown is offered free room and board on a small cruise ship in exchange for being a guest lecturer, but the dream-come-true trip turns into a nightmare when she learns an elegant and persuasive male passenger is targeting wealthy, single, gullible ladies for personal and heartbreaking gain. Olympia realizes that despite cruise companies' best efforts, they can't always keep their guests safe and happy because for some of life's miscreants a ship is a self-contained hunting ground where the unsuspecting prey are like fish in a barrel. Luckily for all, Olympia makes it ...

No. 7 in the Olympia Brown Mysteries. Olympia accepts a winter contract in a picture-book church on Cape Cod, but someone in that idyllic setting is watching and waiting. When Olympia is trapped inside the old church along with her stalker in a killer New England blizzard, husband Frederick is too far away to help, and the police can't reach her. Olympia becomes both the hunter and the hunted, and only she or the predator will survive the night.

Rev. Olympia Brown has been invited to the island of Martha’s Vineyard to officiate at the wedding of a young woman she christened twenty years earlier. The groom is the eldest son of the sixth generation of the admired and respected island Adams shipbuilding family, and everyone concerned is delighted with the match. As the date approaches, everything is going according to plan...until it doesn’t. In a worst-case scenario, Mother Nature and an alienated and disillusioned childhood friend of the bride coincidentally join forces with near cataclysmic results. ... And the “Best Laid ...