Church Ministry

While much of church planting today is approached as an innovative new effort, church leaders can take comfort in the truth that they are simply stewards of what the faithful church has been doing for millennia. By rediscovering the foundations of our heritage, we are able to build healthier, more faithful, and more effective churches. At the same time, the act of planting new churches can breathe new life into these ancient traditions as they are applied to a variety of cultural contexts.

The United States stands as the wealthiest, most powerful nation on the face of the earth. But now, in the midst of skyrocketing federal debt, severe economic troubles, political uncertainty, declining morality, a weak church, growing spiritual apathy and apostasy, historic natural disasters, and a myriad of other daunting challenges, many wonder if America’s best days are behind her. Will history’s greatest democracy stage a miraculous comeback, returning to the forefront of the world’s economic and spiritual stage?

As faith-filled Catholics, we are called to go out and spread the good news of the Gospel, build up the Church, and fuel its mission. We are supernaturally empowered by God to do this through the charisms we receive at baptism. Learn about each charism, what they are, and how discipleship unleashes these powerful gifts to produce fruit that lasts.

The first section summarizes the case laws. The author tenderly illustrates how the law is for our good, and makes clear the difference between the sacrificial laws and those that apply today. The second section vividly shows the practical implications of the law. The examples catch the reader's attention; the author clearly has had much experience discussing God's law. The third section shows that would-be challengers to God's law produce only poison and death. Only God's law can claim to express God's "covenant grace in helping us."

Traditional leadership teachings and styles haven't changed much in years. But the world is changing and so are Christian leaders—women need room for their natural gifts to shine and people of color need space to elevate the values they bring into their roles. Even seasoned leaders are growing weary of the status quo, craving innovative ways to lean into new ways of thinking for the good of their organizations and the emerging generations they serve.

From the New York Times-bestselling author of Stony the Road and one of our most important voices on the African-American experience, a powerful new history of the Black church in America as the Black community's abiding rock and its fortress. The companion book to the upcoming PBS series. For...

We live in a leadership paradox: In a time that needs leadership more than ever, people are more reluctant than ever to take on the responsibility of leadership. In addition, the average leader in our churches or faith-based organizations doesn’t necessarily have the time or desire to pore through shelves of leadership material. To Lead: A Practical Guide for Leaders in Churches and Faith-Based Organizations is Joel Milgate’s contribution toward filling that gap.

To disciple the youth in our student ministries today, we have to understand the unique characteristics of Generation Z and apply lessons learned from recent decades of youth ministry. Pastor and Professor Timothy McKnight brings a wealth of new insights, resources, and guidance for reaching today's adolescents.

Guided by current research from Barna Group, Mettes illustrates the profound physical, emotional, and social toll of loneliness in the United States. Surprisingly, her research shows that it is not the oldest Americans but the youngest adults who are loneliest and that social media can actually play a positive role in alleviating loneliness.

The church reached a turning point in the 16th century. Worship had become a spectacle, the gospel was distorted, the sacraments were replaced by superstition, and ministers lived in immorality. To restore the church to the teachings of Christ, the Reformers cried out for a return to God’s authoritative word. In this classic treatise, John Calvin presents four areas of the church’s life and doctrine that must be carefully guarded and guided by scripture. This timeless call for biblical faithfulness beckons us today. How will we respond?

Churches are full of differences. Those differences might be rooted in culture or personality or even musical style. In recent years, differences over political and social issues have frayed the unity of many churches. Yet if a church is centered on Christ alone, then unity at church will sometimes require building genuine friendships that bridge across all those differences. How can Christians navigate those relationships? This practical guide explores 8 truths from Romans 12–15 that show us how to find God-exalting unity at church with those we struggle to love.

The teachings of Jesus Christ have been updated in light of the hidden Gnostic texts and the ancient teachings of the Far East, where these wisdom teachings originated thousands of years before the advent of Jesus. Special emphasis is given to his emphasis on finding the Light within, which Jesus called the Father. His use of the I AM, the secret name of God, is highlighted.

Church Planting Thresholds explores both the why's and the how's of church planting, providing "Thresholds" that serve as progress mileposts along the church-planting journey. This simple guide will encourage ordinary Christians as they seek to fulfill the great commission through planting churches.

In Becoming a True Spiritual Community (formerly titled The Safest Place on Earth), Larry Crabb explores such a place, where God can heal disconnected people and allow them to reconnect with each other and, ultimately, with Him. In today's frenetic society, people rarely develop intimate...

Feeling fragmented and longing for wholeness? Pastor Heath Hardesty reveals how apprenticeship to Jesus can reintegrate your life, offering a fresh vision for spiritual formation that leads to true human flourishing. “Heath Hardesty is a pastor whose emerging voice needs to be heard.”—John...

Written with humor and personality, this debut memoir recounts a woman’s spiritual quest of experiencing thirty religions before her thirtieth birthday. Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome is for questioners, doubters, misfits, and seekers of all faiths, and tackles the universal struggle to heal...

Being a pastor is not a regular 9-to-5 job. There is an unending list of important things to do as you seek to serve others sacrificially. The demands of ministry make it difficult to find a healthy rhythm of life and work, and can leave you running on empty. How can we develop a sustainable pattern of ministry that both honors the Lord and the people we care for and that will also protect us from burnout?

In this practical guide, seasoned pastors Ray Ortlund and Sam Allberry help weary leaders renew their love for ministry by equipping them to build a gospel-centered culture into every aspect of their churches. Emphasizing the importance of healthy doctrine, they explain that failing to also nurture a healthy culture can be frustrating, polarizing, and even unbiblical. This encouraging guide features Scripture-focused advice on honesty, honor, preaching, leadership, and mission to support leaders and help them regain a beautiful, Christ-centered vision for their ministries.

In our quest to renew the church, Christians have walked through seeker-friendly, emergent, missional, and other movements to develop new expressions of the body of Christ. Now, in the post-Christian world in North America, we're asking the question again: Is there a way to be the church that engages the world, not by judgment nor accommodation but by becoming the good news in our culture?

In A Change of Allegiance, Taylor takes the listener on a moving journey through the Scriptures, Christian history, and his own life's story demonstrating the incompatibility of Christianity and war. Ultimately, Taylor challenges his listener to consider where their allegiance really lies.