Resources for Missionary Recruiting and Training

From college campuses and the Student Volunteer Movement to elaborate conferences, Americans pushed for a new commitment to overseas missions around the turn of the century. Fredrik Franson, revivalist and founder of the Scandinavian Alliance Mission, sought to Send the Light of the gospel to the entire world. Established in 1890, as an organization to send missionaries to foreign fields, the Mission urged its workers to be culturally sensitive, evangelize, and plant churches. In 1949, the Scandinavian Alliance Mission became The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM).

The history of TEAM illuminates a missing component in our understanding of how fundamentalism became embedded in American society. TEAM balanced religious distinctiveness with evangelical conformity, making it both a success and a failure. As an institution, it demonstrated the outcome of visionary fundamentalist leadership and became a standard for successful non-denominational parachurch organizations. But over the same period, TEAM de-emphasized the power of the individual before God and stressed practicality. Bureaucratic structure, coupled with increasing political compromises, increasingly constrained the evangelical mission through organizational control. While scholars portray a natural inclination of institutions to lose vision over time, TEAM demonstrates how active leadership within the organizational environment channeled the institution down a particular path.

This study follows a chronological format with allowances for important thematic divergence. TEAM’s history is filled with dynamic men and women who illustrate change in American culture as well as their work in overseas missions. Separate chapters on women’s roles after World War I and how China and Japan were affected during World War II bring a personal touch to the pages. The final stage of institutional growth and a modern utility for the evangelical mission emerges as TEAM reframed the evangelical mission within the burgeoning Cold War paradigm.

Missiologists have realized that the Church must contextualize the gospel to make its message relevant to the receptors. Contextualization of a Christian faith enriches, encourages, and dynamically empowers any people group to respond meaningfully to the Scriptures.

This book attempts to discover how to make the gospel and Christian truth culturally relevant to the Igbo and/or other cultural groups, while maintaining its supracultural status. Obviously, this establishes a foundation for Christian theologizing and Church nurture within the context of the peoples' worldview. The problem is that most churches in Igboland, and the ECWA Church in particular, have not realized the contextual relevance of the gospel.

This book develops a descriptive analysis of God, spirits, sin, and salvation adapting Hohensee's model, "Range of Variation for Contextual Theologies." Hohensee's methodology makes allowance for the cultural and psychological differences unique to certain individuals as they interpret the Scriptures.

The following assumptions are crucial to this study: (1) The Scriptures are the basis for all contextualization. (2) The worldview of a people is all-pervasive force that controls to a high degree the people caught in it. (3) A better understanding of the receptor's worldview can come about only by understanding the communicator's worldview. (4) Contextualization is the most viable option for the communication of the gospel. (5) The receptor's worldview must be the premise for all contextualization.

This book concludes that the need for contextualization stems from a world that has many cultures, and which needs to hear the unchangeable gospel in a way that will fit each culture while still communicating the same truth. The themes of God, spirits, sin, and salvation are very relevant in both the Scriptures and Igbo society.

God contextualizes his messages so should his messengers. In a society that is multidimensional, messages that meet multicultural needs are necessary.

St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, like many other churches, is struggling with an understanding of evangelism and how to go about doing evangelism. There is also confusion about who should evangelize and when evangelism should take place. The congregation needs to gain practical knowledge of how conversion and discipleship relate to evangelism. What is the realtionship between discipleship and evangelism? How should the pastor equip the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church congregation to rise from a sedentary position to become active witnesses beyond the church walls?

This book has four chapters. Chapter One introduces the project by stating the problem, discussing the ecclesiastical setting and the church's ministries. Chapter Two contains the review of biblical literature, the theological foundations for evangelism, and the role of evangelism in the African American Church. Chapter Three deals with the methodology as well as the execution of the Project.Chapter Four contains the findings. Chapter Four has the conclusion, evaluation, and recommendations.

Created For God’s Mission, is a prophetic call for the church to return to the mission going constitution of Christianity. Local churches must re-image faith and ministry in order to reach an age vastly different than the world of our forebears in the faith. The times have changed, but the Great Commission remains the same. The weakened condition among many local churches stems from a failure to understand and incarnate its basic God-given mission.

According to Dr. Clarke, “Many churches need more than a tune-up, but rather a major overhaul: the oil of ministry has not been changed in decades, corrosive rust is eating away at the missional infrastructure, the gospel tires are suffering from dry rot, the gas tanks of worship are empty, the teaching gears are slipping, and the engine of leadership is out of COMMISSION.”

Jesus commissioned the Church for mission; God’s mission! He gave the Church its purpose (Great Commission) and the power (Holy Spirit) needed to get it done! Carrying out God’s mission through congregational mission centers will foster vital, healthy, growing churches. Dr. Clarke provides practical and relevant insights beneficial for church leaders who desire to cultivate mission-oriented congregations heaven bent on transforming the world.

"Single adults are a mission field, but it can be equally true that single adults have a mission", writes Bill Flanagan. All of the minister leaders in this book balance mission field with mission. This reference and training guide replaces the two books, Single Adult Ministry, the Next Step and Single Ministry Handbook.

The first comprehensive, one-volume reference work to consider the history of world missions and contemporary study of the subject from an evangelical perspective.

In The Shaping of Things to Come Australians Frost and Hirsch present an innovative vision of how the church can be more relevant and responsive to the spiritual hunger seen in the Western world.

Sent and Gathered examines worship in church settings around the globe, describing the growing liturgical convergence and providing practical principles for shaping liturgies that are missionally focused, creative, theologically congruent, and appropriate to local contexts. The book broadens current ecumenical worship conversations, reveals insights drawn from the church at worship in the world, and argues for a common understanding of a theology of worship. It will appeal to students of worship and practical theology, pastors, and worship leaders.

It has recently become acceptable, and even fashionable, to refer to one's church as "missional." But many churches misunderstand the concept, thinking of "going missional" as simply being a necessary add-on to church-as-usual. This domestication of what is actually a very bold paradigm shift makes missional nothing more than one more trick to see church growth.

With a light hand and a pastoral spirit, Michael Frost points out how most of us are not quite there yet. He reestablishes the ground rules, redefines the terms accurately, and insists that the true prophetic essence of "being missional" comes through undiluted. This clear corrective will take ministry leaders from "not missional yet" to well on their way.

Small groups are a great place to connect with others, but you may wonder, is this all there is? Is sitting in a living room, talking about a book or watching a video, the extent of what we can do together? Isn't being a Christian community about something more?

Missional Small Groups will help you see beyond the borders of your small group and into the lives of those around you so that you can make a difference. It's filled with practical suggestions for becoming intentionally involved with your community and bringing Jesus's message and healing to a hurting world.

In this book, two leading ministry experts place the missional church conversation in historical perspective and offer fresh insights for its further development. They begin by providing a helpful review of the genesis of the missional church and offering an insightful critique of the Gospel and Our Culture Network's seminal book Missional Church, which set the conversation in motion. They map the diverse paths this discussion has taken over the past decade, identifying four primary branches and ten sub-branches of the conversation and placing over one hundred published titles and websites into this framework. The authors then utilize recent developments in biblical and theological perspectives to strengthen and extend the conversation about missional theology, the church's interaction with culture and cultures, and church organization and leadership in relation to the formation of believers as disciples. Professors, students, and church leaders will value this comprehensive overview of the missional movement. It includes a foreword by Alan J. Roxburgh.

The missional church movement is a sign that we increasingly feel the call to impact our communities, which is a good thing. But, says Alan J. Roxburgh, these conversations still prioritize church success over mission--i.e., how can being missional grow my church? But to focus on such questions misses the point.

Missional calls you to reenter your neighborhood and community to discover what the Spirit is doing there--to start with God's mission--and join in, shaping your local church around that mission. With inspiring true stories and a solid biblical base, this is a book that will change lives and communities as its message is lived out.

The Ministry of the Missional Church brings together theology and organizational theory in a way that inspires biblical and theological imagination about how to let the church be the church--a Spirit-led, missional community that seeks to participate fully in God's mission in its particular place in the world.

This new edition of a bestselling textbook (over 185,000 copies sold) draws on key biblical texts to demonstrate that worship is the ultimate goal of the church and that proper worship fuels missionary outreach. John Piper offers a biblical defense of God's supremacy in all things, providing readers with a sound theological foundation for missions. He examines whether Jesus is the only way to salvation and issues a passionate plea for God-centeredness in the missionary enterprise, seeking to define the scope of the task and the means for reaching "all nations." The third edition has been revised and expanded throughout and includes new material on the prosperity gospel. The book is essential reading for those involved in or preparing for missions work. It also offers enlightenment for college and seminary students, pastors, youth workers, campus ministers, and all who want to connect their labors to God's global purposes.

Ours is a post-Christian culture, making it necessary for church leaders to think like missionaries right here at home. In Introducing the Missional Church, two leading voices in the missional movement provide an accessible introduction, explaining how the movement developed, why it's important, and how churches can become more missional.

House Church and Mission offers scholars the first comprehensive summary of evidence concerning home churches in the New Testament and supplies pastors and lay leaders with a well-crafted discussion of the nature of "church" that explores the practical implications of house churches on outreach.

Has the contemporary evangelical church given away much of what it means to be the body of Christ? Indeed it has, argues David Fitch. The North American church has largely conceded its unique calling by relinquishing traditional church functions and adopting modern methods. As a result, the church's role in spiritual formation, leadership, worship, and other essential functions has become barely distinguishable from other societal institutions.

The Great Giveaway examines the many practices of the church, details how each has been compromised by modernity, and offers suggestions for how the church might recover these practices in a biblically faithful manner.

This fresh, comprehensive text fills a need for an up-to-date theology of mission. The authors, who are leading mission experts, discuss biblical theology of mission, provide historical overviews of the development of various viewpoints, and address current theological issues in global mission from an evangelical perspective. They offer creative approaches to answering some of the most pressing questions in theology of mission and missionary practice today.

Readable yet thorough, Encountering Theology of Mission integrates current views of the kingdom of God and holistic mission with traditional views of evangelism and church planting. It also brings theology of mission into conversation with ecclesiology. Topics covered include contextualization, the missionary vocation, church and mission, and theology of religions. Sidebars and case studies enable readers to see how theology of mission touches real-life mission practice. This unique text will benefit mission leaders, missionaries, and professors and students.

Urban areas around the world continue to grow in population and influence, and demands on Christian ministries in cities are increasing. Effective urban ministry requires that pastors, missionaries, and church leaders understand modern, socially complex centers of population, culture, and political power. This second edition of Cities provides the insights needed to be an effective urban servant. Four new chapters have been added and the text has been updated throughout.

Peppered with practical, experiential illustrations, Cities draws its biblical inspiration from the model of the Antiochan church in the Book of Acts. It provides foundations for the practice of urban mission and impresses upon hearts the vital importance of this field of ministry. End-of-chapter discussion questions are included.

The Church Comes Home is a handbook for those interested in home churches. It is both visionary and practical. It describes how home churches can be formed, how they should grow, and how networks of home churches can develop. It examines issues--for example, how to make decisions; how to determine doctrine; how to include children, singles, elders; and how to reach out to the community at large--and offers practical suggestions for their resolution.

We all want our worship services to be refreshing and transforming. But how can a pastor know what will best meet the worship needs of a particular congregation? How can worship in that place be practiced so that Christian disciples are formed and equipped for mission? Edward Phillips says there are many ways to do good worship, because there is no such thing as Christian worship in general. Each church has draws upon its own context to make disciples. Dr. Phillips makes the case that for today's American Protestant churches, there are five historical patterns that find various expression in, for example Traditional, Seeker, Praise, and Emergent worship. This book will give students a method for evaluating congregational worship so that their churches can practice the goals they truly want to achieve.

Keck shows how the church is suffering from malaise brought on by oversecularization in aspects of church life including worship, theology, ethos, and communication. This penetrating clarion call to renewal cuts through the conventional ideological labels of "liberal" and "conservative." Keck argues with passion that mainline churches today must neither pretend to be culturally triumphant nor whimper in fear. Rather, the church has grounds to be confident about its proper nature and mission.

Keck envisions a renewed church that has recovered a sense of what is basic to its nature and purpose--restoring the praise of God to the center of worship.

Of Lyle Schaller's 21 signs of the New Reformation, here are five: (1) a new era in Christian music; (2) hundreds of new information resources for congregations, including parachurches, teaching churches, independent entrepreneurs, theological seminaries, profit-driven businesses, retreat centers, and independent mission-sending agencies; (3) market-driven planning; (4) a new level of trust in the laity; and (5) the flattening of hierarchical structures.

Biblical texts create worlds of meaning and invite readers to enter them. When readers enter such textual worlds, which are often strange and complex, they are confronted with theological claims. With this in mind, the purpose of the Interpreting Biblical Texts series is to help dedicated students in their experience of reading and interpreting by providing guides for their journeys into textual worlds. The controlling perspective is expressed in the operative word of the title: interpreting. The primary focus of the series is not so much on the world behind the texts or out of which the texts have arisen as on the worlds created by the texts in their engagement with readers.

In this volume, Donald Senior provides an up-to-date introduction to the Gospel of Matthew. The seven chapters of Part One focus on modern biblical scholarship and the interpretation of Matthew, discussing the sources and structure of the Gospel, its use of the Old Testament, its understanding of Jewish Law, its setting as a part of the mission of Christianity to the Gentiles, its Christology, its understanding of the nature of discipleship, and the community from which the Gospel originated. The six chapters of Part Two provide a structured guide to reading and interpreting Matthew's Gospel.

Winning on Purpose offers leaders a way to organize congregations for success by creating structures that enable church life and health. As a comprehensive and powerful application of the biblical call to mission, Winning on Purpose sets forth the Accountable Leadership strategy. This model of leadership brings together standards for mission, boundaries, and accountability, and then shows how these standards come to life through the performance of four key players: the board, the pastor, the staff, and the congregation.

How is your church going to grow? Will it grow by fine-tuning worship, the preaching, the Christian education programs, and the like? Or will it grow by making strategic assessments of the people it is most likely to reach and focusing the ministries of the church on the goal of offering the gospel to those people? In this brief, practical book Harold Percy helps congregations answer these critical questions about their mission and ministry.

After assisting the reader with the crucial issue of motivation, Percy lays out the four main groups of people that any congregation can and should seek out: 1. Those in the pews; 2. Those who walk in; 3. Friends and family of current members; 4. Those who live in the neighborhood. Percy argues that these four types of people represent the congregation's best opportunity to lead people to become committed disciples of Jesus Christ. He offers solid, easy-to-follow advice on how churches can understand the needs of these groups and reach out to them.

One of the most crucial changes in North American life, Lyle E. Schaller explains, has been the shift from small to large institutions. Sixty years ago one-teacher, one-room schoolhouses still abounded, and the average number of students in all American schools was one hundred. Now new construction on elementary schools is often for facilities that will accommodate more than twelve hundred students, and average school size is over six hundred. Similar changes have happened in several other branches of American life. These changes, Schaller contends, mean that the rules have changed for everyone involved in organizational life.

Very large churches—megachurches—will increasingly come to embody the new rule-book for congregations. Extending their mission far beyond a single local neighborhood, they will draw large numbers of visitors, helping them move progressively from skeptics or seekers to believers to learners to disciples to apostles. The Very Large Church was written for those congregational leaders, both volunteer and paid staff, who recognize that their old rule-book is obsolete and who are eager to learn how to participate effectively in the very large church in a context that is defined by the culture, the societal context, clearly defined expectations, a theological belief system, a passion for evangelism, a high level of competence, creativity, innovation, and a new and different set of rules, rather than by local traditions, geographical boundaries, or yesterday’s stereotypes.

Be the Church Jesus calls us to be. Bob Farr asserts that to change the world, we must first change the Church. As Adam Hamilton says in the Foreword, “Read [this book] carefully with other leaders in your church. . . . You’ll soon discover both a desire to renovate your church and the tools to effectively lead your church forward.” If we want to join Robert Schnase and claim radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity, we must also engage pastors and motivate churches. We must renovate and overhaul our churches and not merely redecorate and tinker with our church structure.

With straightforward language and practical tips, this book will inspire and help you organize your church for new life on the mission field. Learn how to grow your church and discover the commitments that denominational leaders must make to guarantee the fruitfulness of local congregations.

Learn how to work for genuine and effective change in your church without trying to throw out everything that has gone before. Pastors and other congregational leaders are eager to institute meaningful and effective change in their congregations. They know that old attitudes and perspectives prevent the church from fulfilling its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Yet too often church advocates insist that if genuine change is to occur in the church, then everything must change. The board must be wiped clean, and new technologies, new worship styles, and even new theologies must replace what has come before.

In this helpful book, Kent R. Hunter provides clear, practical guidance not only on how to diagnose the difficulties a church is experiencing, but also on how to implement simple, direct strategies for change. He outlines the basic questions a church must ask itself if it is to identify its problems and opportunities for growth, and--most importantly--offers direct suggestions on how a congregation’s leaders can move and motivate its members to hear and follow the call to a deeper experience of mission and discipleship.

Move Your Church to Action will help readers understand what kinds of problems hold churches back from becoming alive with purpose and sense of mission, and they will learn how to implement simple, direct strategies for change.

The last forty years have seen transitions in mainline churches that feel, for many, like a journey into the wilderness. Yet God is calling us in this moment, not to grieve over the changes we have experienced but to hear the call to a new mission, and a new faithfulness.

In Journey in the Wilderness, Gil Rendle draws on decades as a pastor and church consultant to point a way into a hopeful future. The key to embracing the wilderness is to learn new skills in leading change, to reach beyond a position of privilege and power to become churches that serve God’s hurting people.

Most pastors are comfortable with the role of leader. Inspiring people and helping them discover and make use of their own gifts are tasks to which ministers generally feel called. Too many pastors and church leaders, however, forget that along with skills at leadership must come at least some acquaintance with the work of managing staff (whether it be paid or voluntary) and resources. What are the chief qualities and functions of a leader? Why are management skills necessary for an effective leader? Most important, how can pastors and other church leaders adapt these insights to their particular work as servants of the church?

In Leading & Managing a Growing Church, George Hunter brings together insights from the best writers and thinkers on leadership and management, and presents them in a brief, accessible introduction. With the clarity and style that is his trademark, he explores the most important ideas to emerge from leadership and management studies, and demonstrates how they can be put in the service of congregational vitality and growth.

This manual is designed to help clergy and denominational personnel understand the context, theology, ministry, and mission of cross-racial and cross-cultural pastoral appointments in The United Methodist Church. This book is written by persons who have successfully served in cross-racial and cross-cultural appointments. In a sense, it is what they wished they had known before they began and it is what they believe the church needs to understand in order to fulfill her theological mandate of inclusivity.

As the face of American Christianity becomes increasingly complex, there will be more and more cross-racial and cross-cultural pastoral appointments. This will be especially true for The United Methodist Church because because of the ecclesial commitment to insure the equal treatment of all clergy irrespective of race, ethnicity, or gender.

Good pastoral leadership is not a "by the numbers" proposition. It is a matter of heart and soul, of devoting the whole self to the vision God gives for the congregation in which one serves. Yet neither is it purely intuitive; it requires hard, careful thinking about the directions and details of the path down which God calls. When Adam Hamilton became pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, its membership consisted of himself and his family. Ten years later the church averages between five and six thousand worshipers per weekend. Throughout this remarkable period, Hamilton learned many serious lessons about both the broad visions and the specific details of pastoral leadership.

Bringing a depth of analytical skills often lacking in visionary leaders, in this book he goes beyond simply telling the story of Church of the Resurrection. He shares the questions that he learned to ask about the largely unchurched population to which Church of the Resurrection has reached out. Further, he demonstrates what he learned by listening to the answers to these questions, and how doing so has made possible a number of strategically crucial decisions the church has made. One of those crucial decisions was to make more traditional forms of worship and praise the center of the congregation's life. The result is that the example of Church of the Resurrection offers pastors and church leaders (especially those in mainline denominations) the realization that they need not completely change their liturgical and theological identity in order to reach out to the unchurched.

Drawing on his own experience, as well as the detailed research on the characteristics of highly successful congregations he undertook during a sabbatical leave, Hamilton offers pastors and other church leaders solid, substantive thinking on steps that congregations can take to become centers of vibrant outreach and mission.

Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius are two strikingly different, yet surprisingly similar pastors. One undertook to revitalize a moribund mainline church; the other, to plant a new nondenominational congregation. Coming from different generations, their ministries took place under dissimilar circumstances. Yet both have experienced substantial, even explosive, growth in congregational mission and membership. Along the way they learned some important lessons, such as the centrality of strong pastoral leadership, the need for an unhesitant pursuit of excellence in all areas of the church's ministry, and the requirement that you picture an audacious vision for your church and live into that vision.

The Leadership Manual and Media helps leaders see a comprehensive but flexible way that they can make the Five Practices a congregation-wide focus. Includes the Director’s Manual and DVD to help plan and implement the initiative. This includes sermon outlines, projection slides for worship, customizable promotion materials, Email templates, clip art, help with setting goals for full-church work day and a final celebration, and much more. There are also 5 DVDs to lead each of the Five Practices in a group setting, featuring Bishop Schnase teaching them.

Focus on the Five Practices - Complete Set includes one of each resource associated with the "Focus on the Five Practices: A Congregation-Wide Initiative" developed by Bishop Schnase.

Changes in denominational life in North America have left congregations with two difficult choices. On one hand, they can choose to act as though their ministries and programs can still best be established by national denominational offices. On the other hand, they can choose to act as though their denominational identity is completely irrelevant to their mission.

Underlying these difficult choices, writes Lyle E. Schaller, is the tremendous flux in the relationship between national denominations and their member congregations over the last forty years. The fact that relatively few visitors choose to affiliate with a congregation on the basis of denominational identity leads some to conclude (incorrectly) that the interdependence and cooperation between congregations of similar heritage and background is unimportant. At the same time, others conclude (also incorrectly) that there is nothing wrong with current denominational structures and that congregations need simply to align themselves with their denomination's directions more thoroughly.

To these bad choices, Schaller proposes an alternative. He observes that many congregations already seek to extend their mission and make their ministries more effective by participating in affinity networks--groups of congregations that share particular goals and visions. Schaller suggests the establishment of such networks within, rather than outside of, denominations. He argues that they should be established on the judicatory level. Rather than making state or regional boundaries the organizing principle by which congregations within a denomination align themselves, why not form judicatories around a particular sense of mission, or distinctive theological stands?

Schaller concludes that allowing and encouraging the formation of such affinity networks will recognize the differences between congregations within a denominations as the strength it truly is, and will, foster a greater unity of purpose between the denomination's churches.

Five Practices - Radical Hospitality is a planning workbook for use in group study. It helps lead the group to develop a plan to implement Radical Hospitality in your congregation.

Five Practices - Extravagant Generosity is a planning workbook for use in group study. It helps lead the group to develop a plan to implement Extravagant Generosity in your congregation.

Five Practices - Risk-Taking Mission and Service is a planning workbook for use in group study. It helps lead the group to develop a plan to implement Risk-Taking Mission and Service in your congregation.

Five Practices - Intentional Faith Development is a planning workbook for use in group study. It helps lead the group to develop a plan to implement Intentional Faith Development in your congregation.

Five Practices - Passionate Worship is a planning workbook for use in group study. It helps lead the group to develop a plan to implement the practices of Passionate Worship in your congregation.

Every year, more than 100,000 people serve in the United Methodist Volunteers In Mission programs. Walter and Betty Whitehurst, longtime leaders in the program, have gathered the thoughts and comments of several dozen long-term individual volunteers and presented them in this compelling book.

People are searching for a church shaped and sustained by Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. These fundamental practices are critical to the success of congregations. Their presence and strength demonstrate congregational health, vitality, and fruitfulness. By repeating and improving these practices, churches fulfill their mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Stewardship programs rise or fall on their ability to do two things: first, provide church leaders easy-to-grasp yet comprehensive help in planning and implementing the program; and second, connect stewardship to the spiritual lives of all the members. Plenty of programs have good ideas, yet they fail to provide leaders with suggested sermons and orders of worship, e-mail messages, letters, newsletter announcements, marketing messages, and other detailed, practical help. Many programs talk about the role of giving in the spiritual life, but they fail to involve church members thinking and praying about their financial discipleship on a day-today basis.

This teacher book contains complete plans for 26 individual study sessions presented in biblical order. For each session, teachers are provided with: the session's stated purpose-Bible background-a step-by-step teaching plan-a closing prayer.

Accurately counting the right things can profoundly impact ministry effectiveness. Knowing “the story in the stats” can inform decisions and lead to the things that produce the results most pleasing to God. Gathering and studying the right numbers can help a church wisely invest its resources of time, effort, people, money, and facilities. Effectiveness by the Numbers will help ensure that your church is measuring the right things for the right reasons. Counting what counts enables a church to fulfill its mission--making mature followers of Jesus Christ.

Mission is not just the task of one committee in the congregation or one line item on the church budget. Mission is our response to Jesus' call to serve the least, last, and lost in his name. Mike Slaughter's book, Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus, helped leaders examine various areas of church life to show how worship, education, fellowship, budget, facilities, and more all play a part in orienting our congregations toward global mission.

In this four-session video resource, Mike Slaughter guides leaders in visioning for themselves ways to transform their congregation of believers into a movement of disciples living out Jesus' mission in the world. Use this program for a weekend intensive leadership retreat or a four-week study for pastors, staff, lay committee members, and other key congregational decision-makers. Together you can lead your congregation to focus its time, its energy, and its budget to work for real change in a hurting world.

Becoming a Praying Congregation is designed to help leaders teach, inspire and example deeper prayer life for the entire congregation through worship, study, ministry teams and individual devotion.

"A beguiling image for the mission of the Church in our time. It combines the Samaritan parable's deceptive simplicity with a realism about what the Church is up against in this world."--Mark Trotter, Pastor, First United Methodist, San Diego. After describing the biblical mandates for the mission of ministry, Dr. Messer calls church leaders to: -understand the world as God's body -live as a covenant of global gardeners -work as bridge builders -form a company of star-throwers and peacemakers -embrace a community of fence movers.

Those who serve on mission fields in areas where Christian faith is not the dominant religion quickly come to understand a central truth: when one is sharing the gospel, one must have a place to start the conversation. If the person being addressed is unfamiliar with Christian concepts and terms, one must pick up on things with which he or she is familiar and relate these to the Christian message. Without this middle ground, there can be no effective witness to God’s salvation in Christ. Everyone who shares the good news today, Robert Tuttle points out, would do well to learn this basic truth for communicating the gospel. While the Christian message is universal—intended for all persons, everywhere—the language we use to convey this message may not be. The key is always to be sensitive to the deep questions with which one’s friends and acquaintances are struggling, and to look for ways to relate the life-changing message of the gospel to these questions.

Six sessions. Discussion guides designed to help people from a variety of spiritual backgrounds discover the powerful life and teaching of Jesus in the context of small group. Leadership Jesus Style: Focuses on the leadership principles taught and lived by Jesus.

The Story reveals the unfolding, grand narrative of the Scriptures. Using portions of the clear, accessible text of the NIV, this dramatized audio download of Chapter 29 — Paul’s Mission from The Story, NIV allows the stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible to come together in a single, compelling read.

As an introduction to the study of missions, this book equips present and future missionaries to understand the theological, cultural, and strategic foundations for effective mission work.

This collection from The Ideas Library has youth ministry ideas that contains how-tos for youth camps, fun retreats, at-home missionary work, and service projects.

The Missions Trip Prep Kit is an easy-to-use resource--including a leader’s guide and 5 student books that offers several options designed for training and preparing either middle schoolers or high schoolers for short-or long-term missions projects.

This innovative small group series, winner of the Silver Medallion award, combines insightful study questions with Closed Captioned DVD teaching from well-known Bible teachers such as John Ortberg, Bruce Wilkinson, and Joe Stowell. Doing Life Together is based on the five biblical purposes that form the bedrock of Saddleback Church. The DVDs and small group study guides are available individually or can be conveniently purchased in one complete kit.

The Missions Trip Prep Kit is an easy-to-use resource--including a leader’s guide and 5 student books that offers several options designed for training and preparing either middle schoolers or high schoolers for short-or long-term missions projects.

Help People Discover and Use Their Spiritual Gifts - As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10 (NKJV) You can help others discover their true purpose in life by leading them to an understanding of the unique spiritual gifts that God has given them. Once people recognize their spiritual gifts, they'll be able to use them to help the Church grow and reach out to the community. This easy-to-use study provides you with the tools you need. Through this course, participants will learn: The difference between gifts, talents and roles How to tell real gifts from counterfeit ones Five steps for using spiritual gifts to build God's kingdom In these 12 sessions you will help people discover their spiritual gifts and learn how to use them in ministry. This study provides biblical principles and insight drawn from C. Peter Wagner's more than 30 years of experience in studying and teaching on spiritual gifts. Help guide others to their God-given destiny with this life-changing study.

The world's best-selling Bible handbook now has a new look to reach a whole new generation of Bible readers and seekers. Henrietta Mears' timeless classic has been beautifully redesigned and carefully abridged for this sleeker, more reader-friendly edition. Still a comprehensive overview of God's Word, What the Bible Is All About is now illustrated with more than 500 all-new, full-color graphics, including maps, charts, timelines and photographs depicting life in the Holy Land, as well as actual locations of the events of the Bible. Includes a complete glossary for easy word identification. The perfect gift for Bible lovers of all ages!

The world's best-selling Bible handbook just got better! Henrietta Mears' all-time classic has been fully updated and revised. Trade Paper. Includes: Graphic symbols for identifying: Jesus revealed in books of the Bible; the nature of God; and keys to the Christian life. A complete Glossary for easy word identification. Selected Readings and short book Overviews to open each chapter. New maps, charts, and 1- to 2-year Bible reading plans. Better graphics, sharper type style and design.

The world's best-selling Bible handbook just got better! Henrietta Mears' all-time classic has been fully updated and revised. Trade Paper. Includes: Graphic symbols for identifying: Jesus revealed in books of the Bible; the nature of God; and keys to the Christian life. A complete Glossary for easy word identification. Selected Readings and short book Overviews to open each chapter. New maps, charts, and 1- to 2-year Bible reading plans. Better graphics, sharper type style and design.

The Church Planter's Guide to Success. Ralph Moore maintains that perhaps our greatest responsibility is to evangelize our own generation and that established churches are unable to do that. In fact, rising generations of Americans live in ignorance of Jesus Christ and have no moral absolutes. The answer, according to Moore, is aggressive church planting. Why? Because new churches focus on the needs of each new generation and present biblical truth in the cultural context that best reaches those people. This book hot only lays down the challenge to consider becoming a church planter; at the same time it screens out wishful thinking and focuses on the problems and practical challenges of church planting. This authoritative and edgy message is the next thing in evangelism.

In this captivating chronicle of the Native American story, Rosebud Lakota Sioux Richard Twiss sifts through myth and legend to reveal God's strategy for the world's First Peoples. With wit, wisdom and passion, Twiss shows God's desire to use the cultures of First Nations peoples--in all their mystery, color and beauty--to break through to those involved in new age mysticism, eastern religions--even Islam. Once Church, Many Tribes is a rallying cry for the Church to work as one so that the lost may walk in life and beauty, along the path of the Waymaker.

Creating an environment that both embraces our newcomers and excites them enough to return does not happen by chance. We must be prepared to be effective stewards of those God brings us. And, why shouldn't the Church be the epitome of service at its best, as modeled by the greatest server of all time? Built on The Journey Church of the City's Assimilation Seminar, Fusion embodies a step-by-step, biblically grounded, tested and proven plan for establishing a relationship with newcomers that ultimately prompts them to become fully developing members of our congregations. This innovative, practical guide is full of how-to information, testimonials from the recently assimilated and from participating church leaders, examples of the assimilation materials used and check points to make sure the reader is on track. Engaging, informative and immediately applicable, here is help for setting newcomers on the path toward true life transformation and spiritual maturity.

A Refreshing New Approach to Planting and Growing a Church If you want to plant a church, you need to dream big. If you want your seedling church to survive and ultimately bloom and blossom you really need this book! Written by church planters who have been there, done that, Community of Kindness is a practical, real-world guide to successful church planting credible, informative, inspirational, supportive and, most of all, 100 percent problem-solving oriented. All of the book's lessons are short, pithy and to the point. So you can use them to preplan your goals or refer to them every time the unexpected pops up (which is more often than not). Wherever your church-planting journey takes you, keep this book by your side and have copies for each member of your team members! Trade Paper. From the best-selling author of Conspiracy of Kindness.

Have you hit a wall with your church, ministry or non-profit organization? In spite of a genuine calling, an exceptional team and solid investment in the vision, have you noticed that the spark never catches fire? Media and marketing expert Phil Cooke wants every ministry to ask, Who are we? By identifying what makes your organization different from the thousands clamoring for attention, you can get your message heard. Cooke has consulted with many of the most recognized churches and non-profits in the world, and in Branding Faith: Why Some Ministries Impact Culture and Others Don't, he shares his road-tested strategies for using media and marketing to make your mark on people's minds and hearts. Whatever the size of your organization, his helpful hints and insider know-how will give you the tools to set your ministry's strategies ablaze.

George Barna is at it again with the second volume of his video seminars. What Good Leaders Do Right discusses how great leaders can deftly overcome the predictable barriers they confront each day. This seminar explores the challenges common to all leaders such as developing effective followers and understanding organizational life stages. In Preparing for Tomorrow's Trends, you will see that the time is right for the Church to provide meaningful solutions to problems people wrestle with in our turbulent culture including current faith trends and our society's immorality. Discover the challenges these trends present to your church and how to deal with them effectively. 2 DVDs, 75 and 60 minutes respectively; 135 minutes total.

In this expanded version of the best-selling Anointed for Business, Ed Silvoso reminds us that the heart of our cities is the marketplace. Yet the perceived wall between commercial pursuit and service to God continues to be a barrier to advancing His kingdom. Silvoso invites all Christians in business to knock down that wall and build the foundation for an unparalleled marketplace revival.

What happens when Christian believers take the Word of God literally and begin to apply it where they spend 60 to 70 percent of their waking hours? What happens when Christians move in a spiritual dimension in their work lives as few have endeavored to do before now? What happens is that lives, workplaces, cities and nations become transformed by the power of Jesus Christ. Called the "next great movement of God," ministry in the workplace is like a sleeping giant that is starting to take the nation by storm. In The 9 to 5 Window, Os Hillman, one of the leading authorities on "faith at work" today, introduces you to the new breed of worker who has gone beyond the status quo to become a transformer. Learn the facts on the current movement, how to bring the presence of God into your workplace, how to develop an intercessory prayer team at work, how to transform your workplace, city and nation for Christ, and much more. Chapters include:The Move of God Today and Why He Is Calling You, The Role of Adversity in Your Call, My Skill Versus His Power, You Can Transform Your Workplace.

A social worker from New England...a Texas airline pilot...a homemaker from California...a lawyer who has lived everywhere...a quilter in Oregon. What do they have in common? All are on the adventure of their lives.

Like many others among the 77 million baby boomers, these men and women don't want to retire from contributing when they retire from their careers. So they are using their time, skills, and resources to make a difference. Written in conjunction with Finishers Project, an umbrella organization that encompasses more than 100 mission organizations, this book will help baby boomers discover a second-half adventure that fits them and counts for eternity.

Janet Pope has memorized an amazing 90 chapters of the Bible, including 11 New Testament books. In His Word in My Heart, she enthusiastically shares with readers why memorizing Scripture is so important to the walk of the believer.

In The Simplified New Testament Study Bible, Dr. Glenn Rogers provides a contemporary translation and explanation of the New Testament that helps the reader understand and apply the biblical message to his or her life in meaningful ways. Note: This is not an audio CD. It is an electronic book on CD -- an exact copy of the paperback version.

In The Simplified New Testament Study Bible, Dr. Glenn Rogers provides a contemporary translation and explanation of the New Testament that helps the reader understand and apply the biblical message to his or her life in meaningful ways.

The anthropological study of Worldview as the foundation of culture is a missiological concentration of great significance. In his text, Glenn Rogers explains worldview from an anthropological/missiological perspective, illustrating how a people’s deep-level unconscious assumptions about life and about how the world works provide the underlying foundation for cultural structures and behaviors. Rogers also illustrates that understanding a people’s worldview is the key to effective cross-cultural communication in foreign missions or North American multiethnic ministry.

In The Mission of the Church: A Biblical Theology of Mission and Ministry, Glenn Rogers identifies the underlying metatheme of Scripture and traces it through the Old and New Testaments to reveal the mission of the church, which he concludes is participation with God in his mission in the world… the reconciliation of all people. In this thorough but readable missiological text, Rogers discuses: the creation narrative, the covenants, the symbolic language of Scripture, the incarnation, and the ministries of Jesus and Paul.

Understanding the way the Bible was impacted by human culture as it was produced is crucial if we are to understand God’s message for us today. Human culture impacted the Scriptures over the centuries they were being produced. Different cultural contexts are present within the Scriptures, and contemporary global cultures impact the way Scripture is interpreted and applied today around the world. If we fail to understand the significance of human culture in the production, presentation and interpretation of God’s Word, we run the risk of confused and irrelevant interpretations that are not central to a vital biblical faith that is culturally appropriate for contemporary believers in God’s global community of faith.

In this Introduction to the Bible, designed for college students or general readers, Dr. Rogers provides a solid introduction of the basic message of the Bible and the underlying theme that ties the various parts of the biblical narrative together. Rogers suggests a biblical theology of inspiration that is supported and illustrated within the biblical text itself. Standard introductory considerations such as the production and divisions of the biblical text, the Bible as it relates to ancient history, a brief history of English translations, basic tools and methods of Bible study, and examples of textual studies are included as well. What sets Rogers’ material apart from other similar books is his discussion of the nature of the biblical text, especially as it concerns the role of culture, both ancient and contemporary, in the interpretation and application of God’s message.

This missiological text provides a thorough, readable and engaging analysis of the foundational concepts of ministry and mission in the early church as presented by one of the earliest Christian historians, Luke. Luke's skill as a storyteller and teacher become evident as he weaves his ministry and mission themes and agenda throughout the text of his two-volume work--The Gosple of Luke and The Book of Acts. This very readable text is appropriate for college students, missionaries or ministers interested in a biblical perspective on mission and ministry in today's global, multicultural society.

Evangelizing Immigrants is an investigation into why so many immigrants become Christians after immigrating to America. After discussing immigration trends and statistics, as well as the challenges of immigration, Dr. Rogers discusses the results of 50 interviews he conducted with immigrants from seven different cultural contexts who were converted to a conservative protestant expression of the Christian faith after arriving in the U.S. Each interviewee explains why he or she was converted and offers advice to church leaders who want to work effectively with immigrants. Ministers who lead immigrant churches are also interviewed and provide advice for effective outreach in immigrant communities. In synthesizing the results of his research, Dr. Rogers provides a foundational way for church leaders to think about how to serve this important and growing segment of the American population.

No longer is it necessary to travel abroad to be a missionary. With the proliferation of ethnic communities across North America, it is now necessary for almost all churches to build bridges across cultural divides so the Good News can be carried to ethnic minorities. Rather than provide a lock-step program, Dr. Glenn Rogers offers guiding principles for building bridges to ethnic communities. His research is based upon interviews with immigrants who converted to Christianity upon their arrival in America. The insights are strategically startling, making this book required reading for any church that wants to reach the wonderful mosaic of cultures that has become contemporary America.

In Becoming A Multiethnic Church, Dr. Rogers offers insightful information and helpful suggestions to church leaders struggling to respond appropriately and effectively to America's growing ethnic diversity. From ethnocentric Anglo assumptions to the role of worldview in shaping ethnic perspectives, from the cultural aspects of spirituality, to strategies and models for meeting the spiritual needs of an ethnically diverse society, to the unique challenges church leaders face in leading healthy, growing multiethnic churches, Rogers explains the challenges and offers workable solutions that can help churches, large or small, respond effectively to the spiritual needs of America's ethnically diverse population.

In North American Cross-cultural Church Planting, Dr. Glenn Rogers explains how to plant churches cross-culturally… Of the 300 million people who call America home, nearly 100 million of them are unchurched people. America has one of the highest unchurched populations in the world. Many of those 100 million unchurched people are non-Anglo people who have immigrated to this country. They need to hear the story of Jesus. Planting churches cross-culturally is the best way to reach ethnically-other people, sharing with them the story of Jesus, leading them into a reconciled, renewed relationship with God.

Missionaries are called by God to tell the story of Jesus to people of other cultures. To do their job effectively, missionaries need a thorough theological education, and they need to learn the language of the people among whom they will be working. But there is more to effective missions than theology and language learning. In this introduction to missions and missiology, Glenn Rogers explains the interdisciplinary nature of missions studies and illustrates why it is essential for missionaries to be educated in a broad range of disciplines including anthropology and history as well as theology.

Starting a new ministry is always a challenging, yet rewarding experience. With the help of Beginnings, a one year study for new Christians based on the New Testament book of Mark, your new endeavor will not only grow, but thrive as missions permeates the DNA of the new group.

CD contains practical helps for the associational missions leader. Categories include graphics, workshops, drama, exercises, leadership skills, web resources, and where to find. A handy reference for now and years to come.

Avoiding and overcome unhealthy dependency in the Christian movement. The book contains a description of the dependency syndrome, its historical development and how to overcome it. Though unhealthy dependency is widespread, it does not need to be considered an incurable illness.

Learn about churches that were once victims of unhealthy dependency but learned themselves how to overcome it, along with many practical illustrations and suggestions for those in Christian service who face the challenge of avoiding or overcoming unhealthy dependency. Other items include medical mission institutions, short-term missions, and, most significantly, long-term missionary service. Several chapters are a basic introduction to cross-cultural issues for missionaries and church leaders. Author Glenn Schwartz welcomes interaction with those who want to seriously deal with the mentality of dependency in the Christian movement. 373-pg paperback.

The Terry Snow Story: The Gospel’s Triumph Over Fear in Haiti … Facing death, enduring false accusations, and becoming a prisoner himself, missionary Terry Snow moved out in faith and boldness to share the gospel with the town of St. Marc in Haiti.

Amidst the tumult of civil war, gang-fighting, and terrorism, Terry’s powerful ministry to the people of St. Marc took him from having a gun pointed to his head to being invited to pray in the presidential palace. His inspiring story shows how one man’s obedience to God brought miraculous healing to gang leaders, prisoners, government officials, and the transformed town of St. Marc. 154-pg paperback.

Motivated by the obvious need for a manageable tool, Dale Hanson Bourke has compiled the essential information in a simple and straightforward way, explaining medical and political issues in everyday language. This book will prove to be an invaluable resource for your education and involvement in the global AIDS crisis.

Why are so many people still poor, and what—if anything—can be done to help them? The Skeptic’s Guide to Global Poverty provides answers to the challenging questions many people have about the poor. Ranging from how poor people feel to ways governments keep their people poor, the book discusses various aspects of poverty and its affects. It also considers various approaches to solving issues relating to poverty, including child labor, malnutrition, sex trafficking, refugees, and national debt. The book looks at institutions such as the World Bank and USAID and explains what they do, how they do it, and why some people criticize them.It redefines current events such as the minimum wage, immigration issues, health insurance, and debt forgiveness. It helps explain many of the issues humanitarian organizations are seeking to address, such as infant mortality, food security, and child development, and will be a useful tool for donor education.

Cargo cult villagers march in formation at the base of a rumbling and fiery volcano. Their ancient prophecies predict the return of a mysterious messenger. Are there prophecies about to come true? Sail with the crew of a medical mission ship the middle of the hopes and history of this unreached Pacific people group.

Pages: 192 (paperback)

On every continent, in every nation, God is at work in and through the lives of believers. From the streets of Manila to mysterious Albania to the jungles of Ecuador and beyond. This and every title in the International Adventures series emerges as a dramatic episode that could be directed only by the hand of God.

In our society dominated by technology, have we lost the ability to understand fully what Jesus meant when he used the words sowing, reaping, and harvesting in relation to evangelism? There is a timelessness in the teachings of Jesus as he purposely chose agrarian language—sowing, reaping, harvesting—when he taught his disciples. We recognize these words but have lost first-hand experience with them in our urban lives. Jesus used these words not only because they came from the culture of the time, but because they were vital to illustrate the organic nature of growing God's kingdom.

Sometimes the best way forward is to go back. The best way to move forward in evangelism is to go back to an agrarian mindset that is all but lost in our fast-paced, technocratic world—a paradigm lost.

Dr. Foltz is in no way advocating that we move back to the farm, but he wants us to view Scripture through a farmer's paradigm. In Paradigm Lost, he explains how technology has reshaped our worldview, and then he takes us back through agricultural processes, giving them spiritual application. This book is a call to the church to restore the harvest mentality of Jesus' words and gives step-by-step examples of how to implement this farming paradigm for more effective evangelism in our neighborhoods, our country, and the world.

Researcher and author Paul Hattaway graphically presents prayer profiles of more than 200 Buddhist people groups around the world, beautifully illustrated with color pictures throughout. In addition, experts have contributed articles on various aspects of Buddhism, helping the reader to learn, pray, and work until that day when "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).

Having served as a missionary for eighteen years with his family in Brazil, the author knows all too well the importance of being prepared to serve the Lord overseas. Sharing the gospel is one thing, but living out the life of Jesus on a day-to-day basis is quite another. And how do you do that? Ed works in interesting, profound, and very practical ways with Romans 6–8 and other texts to explain the crisis and process of how to live a genuine life of holiness that will be evident to those with whom we come in contact.

Operation World is the definitive prayer handbook and reference guide. Packed with informative and inspiring fuel for prayer about every country of the world, it is essential for anybody who wants to make a difference. This "missions handbook" was the winner of the 2002 Gold Medallion Book Award and has been quoted in numerous journals and articles. In contains information for all the continents and every country in the world.

With Jesus as our mentor and role model and an emphasis on personal character, Dr. Krallmann walks the reader through the training Jesus did with His disciples. The author demonstrates how the leadership skills Jesus developed in His disciples can be used in current day ministry.

With little doubt, this handy, nearly exhaustive book is the “bible” of any and all overseas-related mission construction projects. Complete with helpful drawings and simulating (but not complex) illustrations, this hard-cover handbook is an immense work drawn from multiple years of building experience in some of the most challenging construction situations in the world — well-organized through the author’s formal academic training in construction management. The author’s desire is that we build “well enough so that our work will last for eternity … we are working in construction as members of the body of Christ … to affect the lives and hearts of people in response to Christ’s Great Commission.”

James Fraser was only twenty-two when he abandoned a promising career and went to China. At first sight of the Lisu tribes people of Yunnan province he felt an immediate affection for them, and for the rest of his life he labored to bring them to Christ and to Christian maturity. Eileen Crossman has brought him to life for today’s readers in this superb biography which reveals the secret of his success.

Revised and updated with two new chapters on urban missions and evangelizing Muslims, this volume offers insights to help students, churches, missionaries, agencies, and Christians from outside the West grasp the big picture and take practical steps for more effective involvement. This edition contains extensive notes, expanded suggestions for further reading, and discussion questions.

Mission Now is about having a passionate heart to know Christ as well as a passionate heart for all the people of this world. It challenges the readers to make sure that their professed beliefs match their daily actions and reminds us that we can all make a difference - across cultures, across the street, and across international boundaries. In a clear and lively way, the writers draw on their extensive experience of mission to fully explore the topic. We discover what exactly a mission lifestyle is, how to get one, and the way mission and the church interrelate. Mission has changed and this book will tell you how.

In God's design, the manpower for global mission comes, not from one small group of Christian disciples (vocational missionaries), but from every believer. This book demonstrates how the local church can use its diverse gifts and ministries to strategically reach the unreached people groups of the world. Planting churches amid unreached peoples is a complex process. It calls forth every ministry gift and the contribution of every believer. Imagine a businessman, a construction worker, a schoolteacher, and an engineer all working together to support the development of a local church amongst an unreached people group in another part of the world. Church members must be affirmed, developed and released right where they live, in the context of their local church.

When thousands of young people checked out of Western society and sought enlightenment in the East, Floyd and Sally McClung set aside the comforts of American suburbia and answered God’s call to reach out to them with the gospel.

In Kabul, Afghanistan, a key stop on the hippy trail, and later in Amsterdam, Holland, the West’s own window to that trail, the McClungs committed themselves to meeting the penniless, the drugged, the sick, and the disillusioned right where they were. Whether among hippy seekers or the addicts and prostitutes of Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District, the McClungs lived out a message of hope.

Living on the Devil’s Doorstep is a dramatic example of the difference one family can make when they are willing to trust God and walk in obedience to His call for their lives. 196-pg paperback.

This book — a nation-by-nation guide to praying for the 10/40 Window — is invaluable to any intercessor praying for the unreached! Christians worldwide have joined in a prayer campaign for this region co-sponsored by sponsored by CBN, Global Harvest Ministries, Campus Crusade, All Nations Institute, and more.

An estimated 95% of the world's unreached people and 85% of the world's poorest of the poor live in an area referred to as the 10/40 Window. This region spans the globe from West Africa through East Asia between 10 degrees and 40 degrees north of the equator. Of its staggering 3.6 billion people, as many as 1.4 billion have never had the chance to hear the Gospel.

In this area, hundreds of millions of people are lost without Christ. The exciting news is that we are living in the time of the greatest revival in the history of the church. Today the spirit of God is bringing millions of people into His kingdom simultaneously on every continent.

In light of this mighty move of God, now is no time for believers to stand on the sidelines. This book is written to inform you … to stir your heart … to move you to prayer … to challenge you to action. May we commit ourselves to seek God's heart for the part we are to play in this great harvest for His glory!

Each page includes a country, facts, information, and prayer points. 180-page paperback.

Lift the Label starts with a call to be a good neighbor to the global poor—particularly those who supply our food and clothes. It tells the stories of some of our neighbors who work in the garment and food industries for our benefit but at great personal cost to them.

Taking you on a journey into the Bible to expose western Christianity's great blind spot, we discover how much the poor matter to God. The action we are called to ties in with worship, evangelism and time-honored discipleship.

Written to inspire and empower, this contains creative and practical ways to shop differently. It explains fair trade and provides a much-needed directory of ethically-minded shops to help you to "stop shopping quietly."

The decisions we make with our money can have farreaching consequences. Don't you need to know more?

The author integrates all of the positive teachings in Islam (concerning the Christian faith and Jesus Christ) to help Muslims believe the gospel and to see the divinity of Jesus Christ and the salvation He wants Muslims to experience. The book highlights parallel passages in the Qur'an and the Bible about the person of Jesus Christ, such as His unique sinlessness and His unique virgin birth.

This book argues that the church, as the visible community of God, is given the task of blessing the poor. Asserting that what people do flows from what they believe, Hughes explores the place of religion in perpetuating poverty. From this foundation, kingdom principles are applied to the worlds of economics, politics, ethnic identity, and gender.

Going Glocal (102-pg paperback) takes a fresh look at how local churches can accomplish global ministry regardless of their size, location and resources. It challenges traditional ideas about mission and ministry, and offers practical ideas for reaching the world from the local congregation.

Representing over twenty nations, a group of nearly fifty missionaries and practitioners gathered to consider how Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus Christ. They shared an interest in understanding how God is at work in drawing people into the faith journey from the way of Islam to faith in Jesus Christ. From the Straight Path to the Narrow Way is a compilation of papers presented at this consultation.

The contributors point to the various ways in which God is at work in the lives of Muslims. While the papers reflect diverse global settings, three core factors seem to repeat: a demonstration of God's love, a sign of God's power, and an encounter with the truth of God's Word.

Church leader and missionary David Lundy explores the changing face of "doing mission" today. He offers answers to key questions such as "How can the church better interact with the global and local community?" and "What's a borderless church and how do we become one?"

His case studies of churches around the world help with these questions—churches such as Mars Hill in Michigan with 10,000 members, a shopping mall meeting place, lively services, a sense of community, and most of all, a true passion for local and global outreach.

This book contains real life stories—church case studies—that put flesh on the bones of theory. As so many of the stories illustrate, if you want to breathe life into your church, go global! This book will inspire and encourage you to think again about the role of your church in global mission and offer you a wealth of new ideas.

Jeffery and Chalke recognize the new and exciting opportunities the Christian church has to work together as a global network. In a globalized, interconnected world we have the tools we need to truly be part of God's community—learning and growing together. Connect! presents a new paradigm of mission for the 21st century church.

Viv Grigg challenges us to reexamine our strategies and design new approaches that will build Christ's kingdom among the poor—who comprise nearly half the world. When he entered the Manila squatter settlement of Tatalon in 1979, Grigg knew what he wanted to do but not how to do it. The need was obvious—to establish a Christian church among Asia's forgotten people, the impoverished slum dwellers of its vast megalopolises. The challenge was to find a way that did not treat people's spiritual needs in isolation from their poverty, without simply becoming another economic or social relief program with no evangelistic component. This book is the enthralling story of how the author met and solved this problem. But in a sense, it is an unfinished story. What has begun is but the beginning of the founding of a Christian community in a dark place. This is not Viv Grigg's story alone, but God's story. For it is God who is working in Tatalon and urban slums like it, and giving people a hope that affects all of life. 240 page paperback.

Climb Another Mountain tells two stories, unquestionably and intricately intertwined, but still two stories. The first story is autobiographical and tells us of two persons who hear God's call to go beyond the normal way of life, into an exciting and personal pilgrimage that carries them literally around the world. It is the story of Chuck and Donna Thomas and their life devoted to connecting God, people, and need in healthy and demanding international ministry.

The second story is the inspirational account of the founding and development of a para-church organization that has grown from a family commitment to a widely respected and highly prized international network of relationships promoting practical hands on missions.

These stories reads like epic fiction, but are, instead, the stuff of real-life lived in a New Testament world This real message confirms when fully devoted followers walk in the footsteps of Jesus, you just never know what’s going to happen. But you can be real sure that it is going to be a good thing! A very good thing! Here are stories of faith, blessing, achievement, perseverance, and triumph.

This book examines the culture we now live in and suggests principles upon which mission in the future should be conducted. It contains real life stories of churches effectively engaging in mission within their culture, with cameos of personal experiences of how individuals have found faith. The failures and difficulties faced are examined as well as the encouragements and successes.

Cry of the Urban Poor analyzes the need for transformational churches to impact the slums of the mega-cities of the world. The urban poor now constitute an unreached people group that is the third largest in the world—one that is doubling every decade and among the most responsive to the gospel. The most strategic and needed actions to reach this growing population with the gospel relate to breaking the bonds of injustice—sin, oppression, and poverty—and modeling Jesus' approach for social change by establishing movements of disciples among the poor. This revised edition of Cry of the Urban Poor reports the findings by Viv Grigg and his co-workers after years of living and working in the slums of some of the largest cities in Asia, Latin America, and the United States. It describes their efforts to discover universal principles for church-planting among the poor. This combination of anthropological and sociological reflections, integrated with principles drawn from practical experience, will challenge the missing emphasis on mission in the world's great city slums.

Viv Grigg coordinates the Encarnacao Network of Urban Poor Mission Leaders and directs Urban Leadership Foundation. He is a graduate of Fuller School of World Missions and is working on his doctorate in Theology of Transformative Revival at Auckland University. Viv and his wife, I'da, have pioneered work in mega-cities around the world.

Consider the art of Indonesia—its batik and its believers. The process that brings striking color to Indonesia’s signature cloth can also be seen in the lives of its Christians. Heat and pressure in the hand of a master artist bring unique beauty. Allow the lives of Indonesian Christians to challenge, inspire, and encourage you as you prepare for your short-term mission trip. A beautiful four-color, hard-cover, 64-page book.

“God is not only power but also beauty. He weaves color and texture through His world, and creates us with a craving to do the same. In this book, Caryn Pederson has captured elegant patterns from Indonesia, both physical and spiritual. This is one of the loveliest Christian books ever published—a book for all occasions.”
—Miriam Adeney, author of Daughters of Islam

Napoleon once said, "When China is moved it will change the face of the globe." Today those words are becoming a reality through the powerful spiritual vision of the Chinese church to send 100,000 missionaries across China's borders to complete the Great Commission, even in this generation!

Here Brother Yun, Peter Xu Yongze, and Enoch Wang, three Chinese house church leaders who between them have spent more than 40 years in prison for their faith, explain the history and present-day reality of the Back to Jerusalem movement. Christians everywhere who are called to fulfill the Great Commission will be thrilled by this testimony and inspired to live bolder lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.

The needs of the poor in developing countries for more productive and satisfying ways to earn their living, and for better nutrition, education and health care are tremendous. God in his grace moves his people to contribute money, skills and other resources to meet these needs, often through the work of Christian development organizations. But the resources forthcoming from a fallen world are limited, and the call to exercise good stewardship over them is pressing.

This book equips Christians for "thoughtful stewardship": the application of God-given analytical abilities in making the most of the limited resources available. In particular, it calls Christian development professionals to collaborate in thinking flexibly about the range of programs and policies that might be used to help the poor, and in gathering the evidence required for making wise program and policy design choices. For those in all stages of relief and development efforts, this book provides an expert and accessible introduction to the choices and challenges that development organizations face today, it challenges received wisdom and pushes readers to consider ways of improving the status quo, and highlights areas in which research and participation might be especially useful to Christian development efforts.

Asia — where two-thirds of the world’s population live. See Asia from a biblical Christian worldview: its geography as God’s creation, its history as God’s plan unfolding, its religions as a Christian challenge, its culture as part of God’s diversity, and its contemporary issues as opportunity. Stimulating and challenging reading for every Christian. 180-page paperback.

This first-of-its-kind collection of stories documents the power of music within the global body of Christ. Agencies and churches around the world show how music has made as much impact in reaching the unreached as other methods of evangelism. Many of the stories come from far-off, exotic places where missionaries and musicians quietly fulfill their calling to encourage people groups to offer their indigenous songs to the Lord. CD included.

In A Vision of the Possible, Daniel Sinclair thoroughly covers practical whys and how-to's concerning pioneer church planting among unreached people groups, with applicable discussions from Scripture along the way. Its emphases include resistant environments and church planting in teams. It also includes the newly revised seven "Pioneer Church Planting Phases" which is widely used by mission agencies working among unreached peoples.

In the dark world of Brazilian street children, toddlers and teenagers search trash cans for food, steal knives to protect themselves at night, and live in fear of being beaten or ever killed by the police. For these desperately needy children, nothing was free — until they encountered the love of Jesus through the compassion of Jeannette and Johan Lukasse.

When this young Dutch couple asked God if He could use them to do something about the immense suffering they saw in the world, He led them on a winding path from their home in the Netherlands to the coast of Greece and eventually to the streets of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Their calling was clear: millions of orphaned and abandoned children were living and dying on the streets, caught in the deadly grip of drugs, violence, prostitution, and abuse.

What followed the Lukasses' step of faith is a stunning example of how God miraculously uses the surrendered lives of believers to transform the lives of others with His hope and healing. 224-pg paperback.

In this comprehensive one-stop guide, Dr. James Lindgren provides detailed logistics in recruiting, planning, and implementing a short-term medical mission clinic. The guide is comprehensive, plainly written and provides an abundance of information. The included descriptions, forms and illustrations will save time, energy and valuable resources for any group or individual interested in pursuing medical missions at the highest level.

Designed to equip Christian college students with a deeper awareness of the global AIDS pandemic, why their faith should inform their response, and how they can put their faith into action. This practical study examines HIV/AIDS through a variety of different disciplines and perspectives, such as the scientific, socioeconomic, political, and humanitarian impacts of the disease.

This Bible study classic explores how our intimacy with God grows as we keep Christ central in our lives.

Discover the reasons why Christ holds a central place in your life through this short Bible study.

This study focuses on the basics of the Christian life including why Christ came to earth, God’s love for us, the events of Christ’s life, and the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives.

Use these Scripture Memory Cards to help you learn and apply Scripture from Way of Jesus.

What does it mean to walk with Christ? What can He show you about Christian character? How do you become more like Jesus?

This Bible study combines Scripture memory and reading while examining what it means to live the Christian life.

In this revised DFD, study five vital aspects of your ongoing walk with Him: developing spiritual maturity, living under Christ's lordship, trusting God's promises to you, discerning God's will for your life, and living with the heart of a servant.

This Bible study offers a sampling of 10 spiritual disciplines and shows you how these ancient practices can deepen your relationship with God.

Today in America, half of the people won’t or don’t read that much. Begin creatively transforming the lives of this generation by using first-century methods of teaching--storytelling, drama, and dialog.

This downloadable sample will show how to effectively make disciples at all levels by using stories.

Today in America, half of the people won’t or don’t read that much. Begin creatively transforming the lives of this generation by using first-century methods of teaching--storytelling, drama, and dialog.

The “TruthSticks” strategy is a revolutionary approach using the DNA of the first century disciplemaking.

When everything we’re going through--pain, loss, tragedy, grief--suggests that God can’t help us or doesn’t care, it seems unwise to place our confidence in Him. But nothing could be farther from the truth.

This discussion guide to Trusting God by Navigator author Jerry Bridges features discussion questions that study what the Bible has to say about God's sovereignty, His mercy, and His love.

In an effort to strengthen his own trust in God during a time of adversity, Navigator author Jerry Bridges began a lengthy Bible study on God’s sovereignty. The revelations changed his life.

In Trusting God, he shares the scope of God’s power to help you come to know Him better, have a relationship with Him, and trust Him more—even when unjust things happen.

Tragedy, grief, loss, and death are part of life. Discover how Trusting God can reveal biblical truths about God.

Often times, after we have accepted God's love, we try to prove ourselves to Him instead of accepting what He has already done on the cross for us.

Available in an all-in-one book and group study guide, Transforming Grace Small-Group Curriculum by Navigator author Jerry Bridges teaches that God's grace is enough.

Grow in spiritual maturity through this topical Bible study as you explore God's character and deepen your relationship with Him.

Ideal for individual or small-group study.

Once we commit our lives to Christ, most of us find it easy to trust God for our eternal salvation. But to live daily by His grace is often a different matter.

In this discussion guide to Transforming Grace by Navigator author Jerry Bridges, you’ll discover release into the inexhaustible, transforming grace of God. The discussion questions will push you into a deeper understanding of spiritual transformation, of your identity in Christ, and the value of your relationship with God.

Discover God's freeing forgiveness and unending grace!

Use the Topical Memory System Kit (TMS), developed by The Navigators. to improve your knowledge of the Bible, deepen your walk with God, and memorize verses that will carry you through the hard times of life.

In this revised DFD, learn what it means to be filled by the Spirit so that obedience, Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and witnessing become natural, meaningful aspects of your life.

Jerry Bridges believes that just as culture has lost the concept of sin, the church faces the same danger.

Available in an all-in-one book and group study guide, Respectable Sins Small-Group Curriculum teaches that there is no sin that is acceptable in God's eyes.

This topical Bible study Includes wide margins for taking notes, and discussion questions at the end of each session.

This 9-week topical Bible study can be used as a tool for discipleship and can be done on your own or in a small group.

God’s love is infinite in measure. No one loves more deeply or forgives more readily. This Bible study explores God’s endless love and encourages readers to model His perfect example.

Learn how to study New Testament books chapter by chapter while gaining an understanding of Bible study principles and methods.

In Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer (John 17), He offers a generational vision for ministry—one we must not miss, for in it is the hope that the world may believe! Mike Treneer offers this as the pattern of ministry for The Navigators’ worldwide work.

In John 15, Jesus commanded His disciples to abide in Him and share His very life. He promised that if they did, they would be fruitful. Scripture suggests three ways in which modern-day disciples can share in the life of Jesus: through the mind in meditation, through the affections in communion, and through the will in choosing and obeying.

In this classic Navigator message refreshed for a new generation, author Jim Downing explores each method, giving practical instruction and encouragement to readers who want to experience a more abiding relationship with God.

With its emphasis on the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, the book of Matthew forms a natural bridge between the Old and New Testaments. From the visit of the Magi to the words of the Great Commission, the larger sphere and interests of the Messiah are clear.

Explore the life and character of Jesus in this Navigator study that has impacted so many lives.

In this corresponding study by The Navigators to Lessons on Assurance, you will learn to recognize the importance of the Bible, the church, good works, witnessing, and more in your daily life.
A great study for new Christians or in a missional setting.

This book includes five short topical Bible studies on basic promises God gives to Christians.

A child’s sandbox is a place where creativity and fun are synonymous. Likewise, our ministries should be fun, inspiring, and challenging. Leading from the Sandbox is a how-to manual for developing high-impact teams in your ministry or church. Discover what your local church, missions organization, or ministry is all about.

This leader's resource is ideal for the pastor or leader who wants to deal with team members in a positive way, determine a central ministry focus, mentor others, and much more.

Start your journey to becoming more like Jesus with this topical Bible study. By learning more about Jesus' life and character, you'll learn the essentials of the Christian life as you continue growing spiritually.

This book lays out what a biblical disciple of Christ looks like and how the church can create an environment geared toward making disciples and helping its people grow in spiritual maturity.

This perennial best-selling discipleship tool is the classic Bible studies Lessons on Assurance and Lessons on Christian Living in one package. These Navigator Bible studies are a great leader's resource to explain the fundamentals of the Christian life.

An ideal gift for a new believer or someone who has an interest in Jesus. Tear-out Scripture memory verse cards are included in KJV, NIV, NASB, and NRSV.

This first book in The 2:7 Series is designed to help you build a strong foundation for your Christian life through enriching Bible study, Scripture memory, and group interaction. With its biblical and practical approach to discipleship, this workbook will yield long-term, life-changing results.

This classic Bible study helps readers learn what Christians should aspire to be in Christ

This booklet provides the format for telling others about salvation and the Christian life. Topics include putting Christ first in your life, relying on the Lord's strength, the importance of the Bible, and love.

Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of scores of prophecies regarding the promised Messiah. The Holy Bible’s four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—chronicle that fulfillment through their accounts of His life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Author Carl W. Wilson carefully lays out the harmony of these four gospel accounts, demonstrating their remarkable parallels. But what makes The Fulfillment truly unique from other harmonies is that Wilson also provides fresh, meaningful commentary on the gospel accounts to give his readers a truly unique experience studying God’s Word.

This book equips you to invest your life in others who will in turn invest their lives in future generations. Develop good habits for healthy discipleship by learning how to minister life-to-life and by relying on God's power and promises through prayer.

Discover tools to effectively use the Bible as a resource in teaching others as well as disciple the emotionally wounded. With this book, you will be empowered by God to minister to others for a lifetime, resulting in generations of women on this journey of discipleship.

Get a disciple's perspective on God, His Word, the Holy Spirit, spiritual warfare, and Christ's return through this revised DFD Bible study.

This personal guide to discipleship is practical, friendly, and manageable. It shows how God can use anyone--even the person who considers himself not gifted in discipleship--to build His kingdom.

This topical Bible study shows how the symbolism in the tabernacle, the role of the priests, and the meaning of the feasts point to Jesus. Broaden your worship, sharpen your service, and heighten your anticipation of what is to come by studying the tabernacle and its rich order of worship.

Learn what the biblical truth is about.

When a tree takes root, it’s not long before the action is mirrored above ground. And so it is with you. The deeper you root your life in Christ, the stronger you’ll become. In this Bible study, you’ll first learn how to make Christ the Lord of your life. Then you’ll discover how easy it is to branch out by reviewing your spiritual life and sharing it with others.

Recently updated, The 2:7 Series focuses on having a more relational relationship with God. Now with more room to write answers and journal, your course in personal discipleship just went deeper.

Explore the 6 key relationship essentials from the Bible.

Whether you're considering starting a small-group ministry or already have one in place, this digital download can help everyone involved--pastor, coaches, and leaders--understand the basics and be on the same page.

Practitioner Eddie Mosley shares from his wealth of experience basic principles and processes that you can adapt to fit your ministry's needs.

It’s hard to argue the importance of being in a small group. Members discuss the issues and challenges of life as they form friendships. They pray and care for one another and are missed if they don’t show up. Life happens in small groups.

Whether you are considering starting a small-group ministry or already have one in place, this practical guide is ideal for an entire small-group ministry--pastor, coaches, and leaders--to read. Practitioner Eddie Mosley shares from his wealth of experience basic principles and processes that you can adapt to fit your ministry's needs.

We are all interdependent on each other, which is why connecting with others plays such an indispensable role in healthy development. Having access to the wisdom, experience, vision, and direction of others can put you years ahead of where you’d be on your own.

Mentoring relationships can be key to effective discipleship and evangelism. This book shows you how to do it effectively.

Well organized and readily accessible,The Complete Book of Discipleship pulls together into one convenient, comprehensive volume relevant topics to discipleship

The final court of whether or not you are becoming like Jesus is not attending another church program but how you act in daily life. Christlike aims to change outward actions by inner spiritual growth through uncomplicated obedience in our relationship with God.

Author Bill Hull uses his experience as a pastor and his background in disciplemaking and spiritual formation to show how Scripture memory plays an integral role in your discipleship. Explore what it means to be a Christian and what your role is in the kingdom of God.

Bridges on the Journey will help you and your discipleship group learn the basics of the Christian life—Bible study, living in community, sharing your faith, memorizing Scripture—that will keep you going for a lifetime of relationship with Jesus.

Through fundamental spiritual disciplines, you’ll get started on the right path to begin a discipling process in your life and the lives of other women.

Written by several Navigator authors especially for women, this Bible study will help you form habits and attitudes that will result in a deeper relationship with God and spiritual growth.

This intriguing faith experiment begins with a question: What would happen if we allowed Jesus to fully inhabit every part of our being? The startling answer, chronicled in detail, will encourage and inspire you to impact your world one person at a time.

Ready to go on a missions trip? This is a time to listen to God as you pack your bags and travel. To be a disciple of Jesus in a foreign culture is a challenge and as you use each day for the Lord, the events and the messages the Lord gives you need to be recorded in a journal. This journal will help you understand the path the Lord has ahead for you. Included are challenges to help you be different and to do different since you have been with the Lord on this trip. It will also help you to challenge others to want to know how the Lord is leading and changing you. This journal is a must for anyone going on a missions trip. It changes your time from a trip to an experience with the Lord.

139-page paperback. For sending organizers who need checklists and step-by-steps, this British perspective "how-to-do-it" book gives quick, succinct overviews. This book should be one of the resources in every church's mission library, and referred to often.

LeaderTreks has trained thousands of teams to participate in missions all over the world, from Argentina to Zambia. And we’ve made some interesting discoveries. We’ve found that no matter where teams serve on mission, most of them describe their trip in the same way when they return. “I went on the trip to help others. But I’m the one who changed and grew the most!”

No doubt, a mission trip is a powerful kingdom endeavor and can be a life-changing event for participants. Participants on mission trips grow spiritually in many ways.— They identify materialism in their lives.— Many go on to serve God full-time as adults.— Others spend their lives giving to and supporting world missions.

So we made available to all our training program, which spends more time preparing for this significant spiritual and emotional benchmark in their Christian faith. In the midst of busily planning logistics and finalizing ministry schedules, effective mission trip leaders ask themselves: What will happen to my team spiritually, emotionally, and personally on this trip? And are we prepared for all that God has in store?

We know planning a mission trip is hard enough — training for it should not be. We’ve designed Passport: Experiential Team Training for Missions to maximize your mission trip with proven training tips and unique insights that will prepare your students to participate in missions.

The self-contained training sessions include everything you need for a highly successful, interactive pre-trip training event. Each lesson includes— Accompanying PowerPoint presentation— Introductory goals and objectives— Insightful teaching principles that coordinate with blanks in the participant guide— Activities that will help teams interact with and understand the principles, and— Application-oriented assignments and/or activities

These lessons provide the framework for a four-week training emphasis or a pre-trip weekend training.

Passport Training Kit Includes: 10 Participant Manuals, 1 Team Leader Manual, and PowerPoint Presentation

Locate the countries you are praying for and build a global picture. It's a wonderful resource not only in homes but also in churches and schools. Complete with a border of all the countries' flags. Map size 22" x 36". A great accompaniment to Operation World, Window on the World, and WindowKids Recipes.

You work hard planning mission trips. Now make mission trips work for you and your group. Headed to inner-city America? Appalachia? A border shantytown? Overseas? Wherever your destination, the Mission Trip Prep Kit contains all you need to prepare your students for an unforgettable cross-cultural experience and tools to debrief them and they’ve returned back home to their worlds.

Use this Kit to get on-site impact as well as long-term spiritual change in your kids whether you’re a mission-trip novice or a savvy traveler outside your comfort zones — or whether your group’s trip is geared toward reaching others with the gospel or to disciple your young missionaries. Use the Kit in several sessions spread over a month or two — or in an intensive, two-day training session or retreat.

Welcome to the 5th and final annual edition! A 100-pg, full-color resource guide to help equip your church and your missionaries (long-term and short-term) for God's worldwide mission during 2009. Learn exactly how many people were alive at one second past midnight on New Year’s Day 2009 who know Jesus, and who don’t know Jesus. Learn where the world’s missionaries are — and are not. And discover how big the current short-term mission movement really is. And whether business has any place in Christian world missions.

Learn more about Lausanne III coming up in South Africa in 2010, and learn what shoe salesmen know that you, as a missionary, don't know. What are the major guiding philosophies of Christian mission, and how can that help your church or agency do a better job? What can a 1" wasp teach us about missionary deployment? What's larger — the amount of money we give to global foreign missions, or the amount of money that trusted church leaders embezzle each year? Does the rest of the world have safe drinking water? Would your church like a ready-to-roll checklist your mission committee can use? How about a checklist for your field partner ministries? Are you doing "missio Dei" or missio Me"? Are your sheep on fire?

Plus … actual unreached people groups you can pray for, dozens of mission-related advertisers that can help you with important pieces of the task God has given you, along with hundreds of Directory and QuickScan Listings to help you easily find organizations working in your area of interest, and a catalogue listing of 95 mission-related books and resources you can order at discount prices!

The 4th annual edition! A 100-pg, full-color resource guide to help equip you effectively and strategically for God's worldwide mission during 2008. Learn exactly how many people were alive at one second past midnight on New Year’s Day 2008 who know Jesus, and who don’t know Jesus. Learn where the world’s missionaries are — and are not. What does “MySpace” have to do with Christian missions? Where are we in terms of reaching the unreached? What is the mission of Christ’s supremacy? Can missionaries learn any lessons from business travelers? Is there a revolution going on in medical missions? What is “missions” anyway? Do telling stories have any power in our mission efforts? Would you like to meet four unreached people groups? — and pray for them? Plus short-term mission relief efforts in the Katrina-hit Gulf Coast states, 10 tips for future career missionaries, E.M. Bounds’ perspective on prayer and missions, hundreds of Directory and QuickScan Listings to help you easily find organizations working in your area of interest, and a catalogue listing of 70 mission-related books and resources you can order at discount prices!

The 3rd annual edition! A 100-pg, full-color resource guide to help equip you effectively and strategically for God's worldwide mission during 2007. Learn exactly how many people were alive on New Year's Day 2007 who know Jesus, and who don't know Jesus. Learn where the world's missionaries are — and are not. Will Saddleback's pastor Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan combat the global giants? Would you like some great questions to help debrief your short-termers? Will genuine indigenous music usurp the classic mission evangelist? Should we respect Muslims? Would you like to meet five unreached people groups? — and pray for them? Plus Christian perspectives of disaster relief and the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, sending/receiving partnerships, hundreds of QuickScan Listings to help you easily find organizations working in your area of interest, and a catalogue listing of more than 60 mission-related books and resources you can order at discount prices!

Mission Maker Magazine is an annual resource guide to help equip Christians for God's worldwide mission. This 84-pg 2006 issue features the 50-year martyrdom anniversary of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, & Pete Fleming; the 200-year anniversary of the Haystack Prayer Meeting; and other great articles along with several prayer and action items to help strengthen your mission involvement. Mission Maker Magazine also contains more than 100: mission-related product & service providers; mission ministry trainers & equippers; sending & receiving organizations -- plus a great resource catalogue featuring more than 40 mission-related books and resouces at discount prices!

Find everything you want to know about modern missions in the first year's edition of this comprehensive new annual mission magazine — information and resources covering everything from evangelism to water wells in 18 engaging, useful articles by Ralph Winter, Luis Bush, Scott Bessenecker, Miriam Adeney, Tim Dearborn, Roger Peterson, Wayne Sneed, Jim Reapsome, Daryl Nuss, and others. Topics include: "Lord of the Slums;" unreached peoples; field risk assessment for short-term mission; "Daugters of Islam;" cultural research questions for the short-termer; and others.

Inspire spiritual growth on your mission trip this year. This study includes 12 studies of the life of Nehemiah. It's designed to be used on a daily basis with your mission team. Give participants 30–45 minutes to dive into this study of one of the Old Testament’s fearless leaders: Nehemiah.

The Bible will come alive to you as you discover life and leadership principles from this godly leader.

238-page paperback. Helps you participate in world missions by breaking it down into manageable activities. Author & Pastor Rick Warren notes that this book "should be read by every Christian." The book teaches how you can be a part of God's global action — from your own neighborhood to the ends of the earth.

At nearly 3-times the size of the 7cm HIV/AIDS-Cube, the HIV/AIDS Cube-BIG folds out to 16” tall. Perfect for training or sharing with groups. The HIV/AIDS Cube is a clear, simple tool that presents the facts about HIV/AIDS and how to prevent the contraction and spread of HIV/AIDS. You can easily address both the contraction and spread of HIV/AIDS and ways to care for people living positively with the virus. The flip-cube uses seven colorful panels to help you clearly and simply teach people of all nationalities and eduction levels the basics of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention. Using the universal Language of pictures, you can share the Truth and represent the Love of Jesus Christ in a practical way that opens the door to knowing God personally.

It’s a perfect companion tool for all medical mission teams and most short-term mission teams. Be sure and take extra smaller 7cm individual Cubes with your mission team, which can be left behind after your team returns home, allowing national people to continue sharing God’s Truth and Love.

LeaderTreks has partnered with industry experts to bring you a unique spiritual gift test. Ministries have known for years the power of spiritual gift assessments, but never has one been put together specifically for teams. In this unique assessment, your team will discover their spiritual gifts as well as discover how that gift works in a team — and some of the potential pitfalls of those gifts.

Why do a spiritual gift assessment with your mission team? Mission team leaders know training before a trip is essential. Pre-trip training need to focus on understanding the culture you will be serving in and preparing yourself spiritually. An effective tool for preparing spiritually is a spiritual gift assessment.

This tool can help you understand who God has made you to be so you can serve more effectively and with great satisfaction and joy! God is calling you to serve and along the way He is going to teach you how He has gifted you to serve.

God wants His Church to be a home for the nations, where the redeemed will gather from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. But does the Great Commission seem so daunting that your church isn't sure where to begin? This practical manual, which has the small to medium church in mind, offers great tips on mission planning and execution to help you take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The Pastor's Resource Kit a companion resource to the not a fan™small group study. not a fan™ is a serious small group study that powerfully communicates this challenging but central message of the Gospel, and the Pastor’s Resource kit is designed to help you as a pastor in your mission to raise up a generation of completely committed followers of Jesus. If you’re ready to lead a movement of first century-like Christ followers, then dig deep into the not a fan™ small group materials, and take your church on the journey.

With Scripture from The Message, this 31-day devotional on leadership focuses on passages and themes from Proverbs. Discover how true leadership is developed in the wisdom and strength of God's Spirit.

In Honesty, Morality, and Conscience, Navigator author Jerry White takes a hard look at some of life’s gray areas. Examining the origin and depth of our conscience, our moral compass, and truthful living, he explains how God has given us everything we need to face the ethical questions of today in all areas of our lives. Explore issues of identity, integrity, and accountability as you look at your sources for discernment and wisdom.
This great leadership and character-building tool includes discussion questions.

We've all seen it before--experienced leaders failing due to some type of transgression. Author Tom Yeakley believes this happens because character flaws that were always present begin to come forward. Based on his 30-plus years of discipleship and coaching experience, Yeakley has developed Building Kingdom Character to help current leaders challenge emerging leaders to intentionally developing their character.

Teaching, exercises, and Bible study make this practical handbook a must-have for those involved in mentoring young leaders. The fruit will be integrity, maturity, and wisdom in a new generation of leaders.

With a biblically based approach, this groundbreaking textbook for life coaching explores a new coaching model, how-to sections field-tested for more than eight years, custom forms coaches can use, and more.

Building Bridges Not Walls is a practical, biblical workbook that shows you how to respectfully dialogue with people who hold opposing viewpoints.

These aren't bad things, of course. But they're safe and comfortable and easy. And there's a reason they're not satisfying your desire for something more significant and meaningful--we're created by God for adventure.

International Justice Mission president Gary Haugen has found that engaging in the fight for justice is the most deeply satisfying way of life. This book shows how we too can be a part of God's great expedition.

Mission is not an optional "extra" for those few volunteers who "like that sort of thing." The church is called to be God's agents and representatives, a community shaped by the cross and mandated to reproduce and grow so that Jesus Christ may be more and more glorified.

This exposition of fifteen passages of Scripture observes mission from the underside, giving attention to the connections between mission and suffering and even martyrdom, and to the historical importance of the church's conducting mission out of weakness.

All Christian mission has its fountainhead in the God revealed in Scripture, who sent his Son for us, sends his Spirit to us and summons all people to himself. In a unique East-West partnership, Howard Peskett and Vinoth Ramachandra explore the missional privilege and responsibility of the church: to testify by its words and deeds to Jesus Christ, God's unique Son, crucified, risen and ascended.

If all of the earth is God's domain, why are Christians so terribly provincial? We rarely leave our church buildings, and our spirituality rarely takes us beyond ourselves. Veteran church leaders Roger Helland and Leonard Hjalmarson observe that Jesus begins his mission in the temple, where he wows the religious elite and chides his parents by saying, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But Jesus doesn't stay in the temple; indeed, in Christ the temple of the Lord is on the move--even to the ends of the earth.

In this book the authors helpfully reconnect spirituality and mission, showing you how the spiritual life, when lived properly, follows a similar progression: we "come home" to Christ, loving him from our heart and soul and mind and strength. And then we set forth to love our neighbors as ourself. Discover how through this process you can reclaim the whole of God's kingdom for his glory and the fulfillment of your heart's longing.

The world is filled with religions. That is not a new observation. But the way we think about religious diversity, argues Harold Netland, is new. In this book Harold Netland traces the emergence of the pluralistic ethos that now challenges traditional Christian faith and mission. Identifying theologian and philosopher John Hick as the most influential apologist for religious pluralism, Netland interacts extensively with his thought. His incisive analysis leads to a sustained response to the philosophical questions raised about the nature of religious truth, the criteria for adjudicating rival truth claims and the implications for doing Christian apologetics. In his conclusion, Netland provides us with a framework for developing a comprehensive evangelical theology of religions.

This book is essential reading for students, teachers and scholars wanting a thorough analysis of our contemporary religious context and guidance for responding to it faithfully for the sake of Christian truth and mission.

The church has been called to participate in God's mission in the world. But without a robust, biblical sense of the Spirit's action, how can we be sure we're fulfilling that call? Gary Tyra employs a biblical theology of the Holy Spirit to deepen and inform our understanding of life as the church, the people of God. Since the church's mission to and into the world is both evangelistic and prophetic, the task calls for the working of the Spirit in our preaching, proclamation and service. Tyra brings together both charismatic and evangelical emphases resulting in a theological and practical synthesis that is richer than when either is taken separately.

There is a new trend afoot, one that goes against the prevailing Western model, influenced by the values and principles of international commerce. Presented here are five "signs of life," showcased by this network of movements best referred to as "new friars."

God's kingdom in the hands of the people of God, the contributors to this book show us, is first and foremost incarnational, which leads necessarily to gospel witness that is devotional, communal, missional and marginal. With a survey of the history of new friar movements and commentary by forerunner, this seminal book, edited by Scott A. Bessenecker, paints a picture of mission that is new only because it has been neglected for so long, a mission that is truly good news to the people in its path. With contributions from Viv Grigg, Craig and Nayhouy Greenfield, Derek Engdahl, Jean-Luc Krieg, Chris Heuertz, Darren Prince, Jose Penate Aceves, John Hayes and Ash Barker, this book brings together a chorus of voices at the front lines of what God is doing through the new friar community.

The city presents serious challenges that cry out for answers: poverty, racism, human exploitation and government corruption. How can the church move ahead in the midst of these demands with the gospel of hope?

Here, in one comprehensive volume, Harvie Conn and Manuel Ortiz, two noted scholars and proven practitioners of urban ministry, address the vital work of the church in the city. Their dual goal: to understand the city and God's work in it.

Through four great waves of development, Conn and Ortiz trace the history of the city around the world. Then they tackle the critical issue of a biblical basis for urban mission. How does the Bible view the city? Are we closer to God in the country than the city? Does the Bible have an anti-urban bias? These questions are given a thorough analysis that unveils God's urban mandate as reflected in both Old and New Testaments.

From this foundation the authors unpack the multifaceted nature of the city as place, as process, as center, as power, and as a place of change and stability. They move us beyond fragmented stereotypes to a new way of seeing that is holistic enough for a fully biblical ministry to develop.

In addition, Conn and Ortiz lay out what the social sciences have to offer urban mission, including ethnographic and demographic studies and they focus on the particular issues and needs of urban leadership, including a plan for developing and mentoring leaders while equipping the laity for ministry in the city.

This is the essential text for bringing God's kingdom to the city through the people of God. Now in paperback!

What motivates us in mission? What’s an unreached people group and how do we reach them? Get to know the heart of Pioneers through this DVD of 10 short films.

The fight for survival is real. You serve—or are preparing to serve—in the spiritually desolate areas of our world. The elements you face each day are intense. What can you do to prepare for the challenges? Dr. Robert Miller presents a preparedness strategy for surviving the wilderness of ministry that is helpful for the new and the experienced alike.

Developed by the Pioneers Member Development Team with pastor and author Dr. Robert Miller, the Spiritual Survival Handbook combines insight from cross-cultural church planters with contributions from theologians and thinkers in the area of spiritual formation and leadership. The handbook begins by exploring the world of identity and works outward to practical topics of spiritual warfare, relationships, leadership, and team-building.

Steve Richardson, president of Pioneers-USA, notes in the foreword, “I fully expect that the Spiritual Survival Handbook becomes one of a small number of key handbooks that will be used widely in Pioneers to guide and encourage our workers.” 111 pages, 2011.

This is a story about a man who had achieved success, but wasn’t content. Ted had a vision for the world, a vision for all people to have an opportunity to learn about Jesus. Ted reasoned, "Why should some hear the life-giving message many times before some had the chance to hear it once?"

Ted and his wife, Peggy, applied to become missionaries, but were declined. They were too old, had too many kids, and did not have the right education. All avenues for personal involvement in world evangelization seemed closed, so the Fletchers founded their own organization. Drawing on Ted’s experience as a Marine and as a corporate executive, they stepped out in faith to send others to places in the world where missionaries were not welcome. Despite the odds, the mission grew beyond any of their expectations.

This updated edition of When God Comes Calling includes two new chapters by Pioneers’ cofounder, Peggy Fletcher, who writes about the growth of the mission among the unreached since the first edition was published in 2001 and since Ted’s homegoing in 2003. 170 pages, 2010.

This passionate and scholarly book argues that cultural forms and religious practices are not neutral, and therefore the gospel must be communicated in forms that are formed by the gospel, not by Islam. By Sam Schlorff. 202 pages, 2006.

An easy-to-read book filled with practical helps for the missions team. Tom Telford's baseball stories and analogies make missions come alive for the reader. This would be a great book to give every new member on your missions committee. By Tom Telford. Published by United World Mission. 171 pages.

This is a collection of more than 200 documents developed or used by local churches for doing mission trips. It includes samples, forms, guidelines, procedures, policies, tips and hints - everything from Application Forms to Standards of Excellence. Trip Stuff: Stuff You Need to Know About Doing Mission Trips in Your Church is available only on CD in Microsoft Word format. Compiled by David Mays, ACMC, 2006.

An encyclopedia of all the things you wanted to know about doing missions but didn't know where to look. This is a compilation of one-page concepts, lists, outlines, forms, samples, and resources - covering everything from Becoming a World Christian to Missions Web Sites.
Church leaders and missions pastors have called it the best resource available to missions committees.

Four volumes and cumulative index are available on this CD-ROM in Microsoft Word format. THIS CD INCLUDES VOLUMES I-IV. Compiled by David Mays, ACMC. 2005.

Doing what’s right has never been more confusing. The complexities of 21st-century life can be bewildering. We all need a map for negotiating the intricacies of competing priorities and values. What can help us decide what is right and wrong?

David W. Gill finds "Ten Words" that God originally spoke to Israel to be just as pertinent today as they were when Moses first heard them. As Christians what we long for is not damage control, but mission control. The Ten Commandments offer a sound set of ethical principles that takes us beyond mere damage control to mission control, a guide that shows us how we can be proactive in fulfilling our dual purposes of loving God and others.

This rich, scriptural teaching will help Christians from every walk of life--whether engineers, bus drivers, managers, restaurant workers, PTA members, parents, neighborhood volunteers, nurses, teachers, coaches, attorneys, journalists or physicians--fulfill their calling to be salt and light within their own spheres of influence. A must-read book for a chaotic world.

How do you see the world? As lots of great vacation spots? As millions of people with problems too big to imagine? Missionary Paul Borthwick just might expand your view--or even explode it. He asks six dynamite questions that challenge you to look more closely at other countries, other cultures, other ethnic groups and other ways of acting on your faith.

Don't be fooled. Borthwick's questions may seem obvious. But have you really thought about your answers to them before? Have you thought through how your answers are connected to work, family, money, friends, or education?

Don't panic. Answering the questions Borthwick poses won't result in your immediate departure for the jungle or the desert--probably. But answering will very likely cause you to reorder your priorities, refocus your interests and even change your everyday choices: what to read, what to buy, what to do over the weekend. That's why reading this book is dangerous.

But, then, Jesus never promised that following him would be risk-free. Only that there would be joy.

"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed," Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew, "nothing will be impossible for you." That sounds good, but does it work in a world where seeds are genetically altered by an impatient few and hard to come by for countless others? In a world where the gulf between the very rich and the profoundly poor is constantly growing, can a mustard-seed faith make any difference? And can such a little bit of faith be sustained in a world whose future is so uncertain on so many fronts?

Tom Sine says yes, and he has the audacity to try to prove it in his latest book. In The New Conspirators Tom surveys the landscape of creative Christianity.

Individuals and communities of faith are coalescing in, and drawing energy from, these four streams to retrofit the church as it leads, serves and gives witness to the kingdom of God in the turbulent times facing us. Read the book and you'll want to-and be prepared to-join God's conspiracy to create a better future.

Their clothing is often distinctive. Their values are strongly held. They love their families. They comprise nearly one-tenth of the world's population, and they live everywhere around the globe. These are women of Muslim background. Many still belong to Islam, but some now belong to Christ.

In Daughters of Islam Miriam Adeney introduces you to women like Ladan, Khadija and Fatma. You'll learn about their lives, questions and hopes. You'll learn how they are both representative of and unique among their Arab, Iranian, Southeast Asian and African sisters. And you'll discover what has drawn them to Christ.

What does it mean to be white? When you encounter people from other races or ethnicities, you may become suddenly aware that being white means something. Those from other backgrounds may respond to you differently or suspiciously. You may feel ambivalence about your identity as a white person. Or you may feel frustrated when a friend of another ethnicity shakes his head and says, "You just don't get it because you're white."

In this groundbreaking book, Paula Harris and Doug Schaupp present a Christian model of what it means to be white. They wrestle through the history of how those in the majority have oppressed minority cultures, but they also show that whites also have a cultural and ethnic identity with its own distinctive traits and contributions. They demonstrate that white people have a key role to play in the work of racial reconciliation and the forging of a more just society.

Filled with real-life stories, life-transforming insights and practical guidance, this book is for you if you are aware of racial inequality but have wondered, So what do I do? Discover here a vision for just communities where whites can partner with and empower those of other ethnicities.

Jonathan Edwards has been recognized as the most influential evangelical theologian of all time. Before his death at the age of fifty-four, he had sparked a new movement of Reformed evangelicals who played a major role in fueling the rise of modern missions, preaching revivals far and wide, and wielding the cutting edge of American theology. He has never gone out of print, and Christians today continue to flock to seminars and conferences on him.

In this biography of the great preacher and teacher, historian Douglas Sweeney locates for us the core and key to Edwards' enduring impact. Sweeney finds that Edwards' profound and meticulous study of the Bible securely anchored his powerful preaching, his lively theological passions and his discerning pastoral work. Beyond introducing you to Edwards' life and times, this book will provide you with a model of Christian faith, thought and ministry.

In some circles public evangelism has fallen out of favor. Many churches are daunted by the prospects of reaching the unchurched out in the open, beyond the walls of their sanctuaries. And many Christians assume that the days of mass public evangelism have passed and instead rely on outreach through private, individual efforts.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ has always been a matter of public proclamation. From the earliest days of the church, in every age, the growth of Christianity has been tied to the public preaching of the good news.

In this landmark book, evangelists Lon Allison and Mark Anderson issue a stirring call for the revival of public gospel proclamation. They show how God has used evangelistic preaching in the past and how it can be practiced with relevance and effectiveness today. Recovering public proclamation, they argue, is key to the vitality and ongoing mission of the church.

An essential resource for evangelistically minded Christians from the local church to specialists in international missions organizations, this guide offers hope that Christianity can again reach the masses in the public square.

Many think evangelism is rooted in a method. It is rooted in something much deeper. It is found in what makes us whole and healthy messengers of God's truth about Jesus. Mack Stiles has lived the life of the healthy evangelist in homes and coffee shops, at universities and farms. He has lived out and spoken about the gospel to Kenyans, Koreans, Arabs and North Americans. What he has learned around the world and at home is summarized here in a few basic truths that can shape any of us into faithful people who bring good news to needy and hurting friends.

The whole gospel changes much more than our relationship with God. Stiles shows how it changes all of who we are and what we do. It means learning the whole gospel without shaping its message to meet our tastes. It means not just going through the motions of accepted behaviors. It means showing the unity of witness and justice. It means love. It means community.

Join Mack Stiles in a life-giving adventure of boldly knowing, living and speaking the gospel.

Environmentalists have pleaded with Christian leaders to take up the challenge of caring for the environment. How should Christians respond to the environmental crisis? What does the Bible have to say about creation care and the responsibility of Christians?

Edward Brown offers a biblical framework for creation care as well as practical steps that ordinary Christians can take to exercise good ecological stewardship. As a pioneering leader of the evangelical creation care movement, Brown provides a new model for "environmental missions," in which Christian organizations respond to ecological crises in ways that transform both the people and the land that sustains them.

This book is filled with ideas that students, churches, mission agencies and all concerned Christians can implement at home and around the world.

The worldwide church is more interconnected than ever before, with missionaries going from everywhere to everywhere. Africans work with Australians in India. Koreans plant churches in London and Los Angeles. But globalization also creates challenges for crosscultural tension and misunderstandings, as different cultures have conflicting assumptions about leadership values and styles.

James E. Plueddemann presents a roadmap for crosscultural leadership development in the global church. With keen understanding of current research on cultural dynamics, he integrates theology with leadership theory to apply biblical insights to practical issues in world mission.

Savvy discernment of diverse cultural underpinnings allows multicultural teams to work together with mutual respect for more effective ministry. The author shows how leaders can grow from an individualistic egocentric practice of leadership to a more global-centric approach.

The future of the global church depends on effective multicultural leadership. God has called people from various contexts to minister and lead in every land for the sake of the gospel. Whether you are teaching English in China, directing information technology in Africa or pastoring a multiethnic church in North America, discover how you can better work and lead across cultures.

Some emphasize Christian mission as verbal proclamation and "saving souls." Others focus on global justice issues or relief and development work. Can we do both? In this classic book, John Stott shows that Christian mission must encompass both evangelism and social action. He offers careful definitions of five key terms--mission, evangelism, dialogue, salvation and conversion. Through a thorough biblical exploration of these concepts, Stott provides a model for ministry to people's spiritual and physical needs alike.

Ultimately, Stott points to the example of Jesus, who modeled both the Great Commission of proclamation and the Great Commandment of love and service. This balanced, holistic approach to mission points the way forward for the work of the church in the world.

(Ebook edition) In 2003 Kent Annan left behind his prosperous, comfortable upbringing to face the world beyond its gates, where people wear his cast-off clothing and seek comfort from the heat in the long shadow of his homeland. Haiti, apparently, was where God wanted him. Of course, just because God wants you somewhere doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

Little did he know how important his work would be. Now, in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Annan's experience living and working in Haiti has become a powerful resource for those looking to learn more about this amazing country and find out how they can help Haiti rebuild and thrive.

In this book you'll enter into Annan's experience traveling and working in Haiti, and ultimately you'll be challenged to follow God into uncharted territory on a path that may lead to your local soup kitchen--or to a Haitian relief settlement. Either way, you'll learn what it means to become vulnerable in order to help others and share the embodied love of Christ.

Read Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle for a vivid picture of the Haiti Annan knows, the good work happening there through organizations like Haiti Partners, and the ways you can get involved. Whether you go or stay, you'll get a fresh sense of what it means to love God and love our neighbor when love is uncomfortable, even dangerous; to see what happens when God stretches you beyond your borders into his kingdom.

Theologian and veteran missionary Bernard Adeney addresses in-depth what may be the stickiest crosscultural communication problem of our day: differing approaches to morality. In this comprehensive treatment, he considers ethics across cultures, addresses the ethical import of other religions and gender relations, explores how the Bible and culture interact to produce ethical stances, and includes particular case studies. Strange Virtues will benefit not only missionaries, ethicists and students, but all Christians who want to better understand their neighbors here at home.

In 2003 Kent Annan left behind his prosperous, comfortable upbringing to face the world beyond its gates, where people wear his cast-off clothing and seek comfort from the heat in the long shadow of his homeland. Haiti, apparently, was where God wanted him. Of course, just because God wants you somewhere doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

Little did he know how important his work would be. Now, in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Annan's experience living and working in Haiti has become a powerful resource for those looking to learn more about this amazing country and find out how they can help Haiti rebuild and thrive.

In this book you'll enter into Annan's experience traveling and working in Haiti, and ultimately you'll be challenged to follow God into uncharted territory on a path that may lead to your local soup kitchen--or to a Haitian relief settlement. Either way, you'll learn what it means to become vulnerable in order to help others and share the embodied love of Christ.

Read Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle for a vivid picture of the Haiti Annan knows, the good work happening there through organizations like Haiti Partners, and the ways you can get involved. Whether you go or stay, you'll get a fresh sense of what it means to love God and love our neighbor when love is uncomfortable, even dangerous; to see what happens when God stretches you beyond your borders into his kingdom.

When you give money to a charity, what happens to it? Does the money actually reach a person who is in need? Does a small gift really make a difference to anyone? Several years ago Kay Marshall Strom discovered a new avenue for giving that especially intrigued her: gift catalogs. The catalogs, put out by various organizations, offer opportunities to provide specific material, educational and medical provisions for people all over the world, such as a year of school for a Chinese pastor's child, tuberculosis medicine for a patient in North Korea or animals for a family in Cambodia.

But Kay wanted to find out for herself what happened when the families actually received the gifts purchased. So, working with Partners International, she set out on an eye-opening expedition around the world. What she found was financial integrity, fulfilled promises and radically changed lives.

Through these pages you can travel with her on her journey. See the delight of families, and enter the stories of hope in the midst of struggle. Kay offers here an invitation to discover the power and joy of giving that changes lives--yours, and the lives of people all over the world.

Most Christians would agree that the Bible provides a basis for mission. But Christopher Wright boldly maintains that mission is bigger than that--there is in fact a missional basis for the Bible! The entire Bible is generated by and is all about God's mission.

In order to understand the Bible, we need a missional hermeneutic of the Bible, an interpretive perspective that is in tune with this great missional theme. We need to see the "big picture" of God's mission and how the familiar bits and pieces fit into the grand narrative of Scripture.

Beginning with the Old Testament and the groundwork it lays for understanding who God is, what he has called his people to be and do, and how the nations fit into God's mission, Wright gives us a new hermeneutical perspective on Scripture. This new perspective provides a solid and expansive basis for holistic mission. Wright emphasizes throughout a holistic mission as the proper shape of Christian mission. God's mission is to reclaim the world--and that includes the created order--and God's people have a designated role to play in that mission.

When Jesus commissioned his followers, he was not just inaugurating the historical church, he was founding a missionary movement.Originally released by Missional Press and now revised and expanded to include a multi-session discussion guide, Steve Addison's Movements That Change the World draws from biblical, historical and contemporary case studies to isolate the essential elements of a dynamic missionary movement. The church fulfills its mission today to the extent that it honors these essential elements, modelled perfectly in Jesus’ missionary enterprise.

Throughout the ages Jesus' followers have been called to continue his movement in the power of the Holy Spirit. Like many such movements, it changed the world. Unlike most movements, which have their historical moment and then fade away, Christianity is actively, continually changing the world for the better.

The global village has arrived. Recent census figures show that communities in the United States are more culturally and ethnically diverse than ever before. And you may be just one of many who find it challenging to build relationships with people from backgrounds unlike your own.

Crosscultural specialist Patty Lane answers these questions and more. She shows you how to develop hands-on relational skills that build crosscultural friendships. And she provides practical resources to help you navigate multicultural environments with sensitivity and savvy. Filled with vivid stories of real-life situations, her helpful guidebook explains frequently misunderstood aspects of culture, debunks stereotypes and suggests ways to resolve crosscultural conflicts. Above all, Lane demonstrates God's heart for building bridges across cultures and shows how you can reach out to people of every nation, culture and ethnicity.

Whether you are actively ministering to people of different cultural backgrounds, traveling to other countries for your business or simply want to make friends across cultural lines, this engaging handbook is a perfect introduction to the journey.

Thousands of North American Christians teach overseas every year. International teaching experiences can be tremendously rewarding. But often teachers are not fully prepared for the challenges of crosscultural life, and many are jolted and disillusioned by the realities of the overseas classroom.

Veteran educators Mike Romanowski and Teri McCarthy provide an essential guide for Christians teaching in overseas contexts. They explain how good teaching requires preparation, self-understanding and cultural skills, as well as a solid philosophy of education and grasp of worldview. Providing both the theoretical framework as well as practical tools, the authors offer concrete advice and real-life examples for classroom instruction, daily life and much more.

Get a more global picture of the kind of transformation your educational work can accomplish. Whether you are a recent college grad or a seasoned veteran educator, this book is an essential companion for your teaching journey.

With the new realities of global interconnectedness comes a greater awareness of cultural diversity from place to place. Besides differences in food and fashion, we face significant contrasts of cultural orientation and patterns of thinking. As we travel across cultures, what should we expect? How do we deal with culture shock? And can we truly connect with those we meet?

Experienced cross-cultural specialist Duane Elmer provides a compass for navigating through different cultures. He shows us how to avoid pitfalls and cultural faux pas, as well as how to make the most of opportunities to build cross-cultural relationships. Filled with real-life illustrations and practical exercises, this guide offers the tools needed to reduce apprehension, communicate effectively, and establish genuine trust and acceptance.

Above all, Elmer demonstrates how we can avoid being cultural imperialists and instead become authentic ambassadors for Christ. Whether you are embarking on a short-term mission trip or traveling for business or pleasure, this book is both an ideal preparation and a handy companion for your journey.

One of the biggest challenges in global mission work is money—not merely the need for it, but working through cross-cultural differences surrounding how funds are used and accounted for. Cross-cultural missteps regarding financial issues can derail partnerships between supporting churches and agencies and national leaders on the ground. North Americans don’t understand how cultural expectations of patronage shape how financial support is perceived and understood, and Western money often comes with subtle strings attached. So local mission work is hampered by perceived paternalism, and donors are frustrated with lack of results or accountability. How do we build financial partnerships for effective mission without fostering neo-colonialism?

Cross-cultural specialist Mary Lederleitner brings missiological and financial expertise to explain how global mission efforts can be funded with integrity, mutuality and transparency. Bringing together social science research, biblical principles and on-the-ground examples, she presents best practices for handling funding and finance. Cross-cultural partnerships can foster dignity, build capacity and work toward long-term sustainability. Lederleitner also addresses particular problems like misallocation of funds, embezzlement and fraud.

This book is an essential guide for all who partner in global mission, whether pastors of supporting churches or missionaries and funding agencies.

Duane Elmer asked people around the world how they felt about Western missionaries. The response? "Missionaries could be more effective if they did not think they were better than us." The last thing we want to do in cross-cultural ministry is to offend people in other cultures. Unfortunately, all too often and even though we don't mean it, our actions communicate superiority, paternalism, imperialism and arrogance. Our best intentions become unintentional insults. How can we minister in ways that are received as true Christlike service?

Cross-cultural specialist Duane Elmer gives Christians practical advice for serving other cultures with sensitivity and humility. With careful biblical exposition and keen cross-cultural awareness, he shows how our actions and attitudes often contradict and offend the local culture. He offers principles and guidance for avoiding misunderstandings and building relationships in ways that honor others. Here is culturally-savvy insight into how we can follow Jesus' steps to become global servants.

Whether you're going on your first short-term mission trip or ministering overseas for extended periods, this useful guide is essential reading for anyone who wants to serve effectively in international settings with grace and sensitivity.

Business as mission (BAM) is a mission strategy whose time has come. As global economics become increasingly interconnected, Christian business people and entrepreneurs have unanticipated opportunities to build kingdom-strategic business ventures. But Christian companies and business leaders do not automatically accomplish missional purposes. BAM requires mastery of both the world of business and the world of missions, merging and contextualizing both into something significantly different than either alone.

C. Neal Johnson offers the first comprehensive guide to business as mission for practitioners. He provides conceptual foundations for understanding BAM's unique place in global mission and prerequisites for engaging in it. Then he offers practical resources for how to do BAM, including strategic planning and step-by-step operational implementation. Drawing on a wide variety of BAM models, Johnson works through details of both mission and business realities, with an eye to such issues as management, sustainability and accountability.

Business as mission is a movement with enormous potential. This book breaks new ground in how faith and work intersect and are lived out in crosscultural contexts, where job creation and community transformation go hand in hand. Come, participate in what may well be one of the most strategic mission paradigms of the 21st century.

Few biblical topics are as important as mission. Mission is linked inextricably to humanity's sinfulness and need for redemption, and to God's provision of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This "good news" of salvation must be made known! The saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation for Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is its message.

According to Andreas Köstenberger and Peter O'Brien, this significant theme has rarely been given its due attention in biblical theology. Motivated by their passion to see God's mission carried out in today's world, they offer a comprehensive study of the theme of mission. In Salvation to the Ends of the Earth they explore the entire sweep of biblical history, including the Old Testament, the second-temple period, each New Testament Gospel, Paul and his writings, and the General Epistles and Revelation.

Among other questions, Köstenberger and O'Brien examine whether or not Old Testament Israel was called to mission, whether second-temple Judaism should be characterized as a missionary religion, whether Jesus limited his earthly mission to Israel or also embarked on a Gentile mission, and whether or not there is continuity between the missions of Israel and the missions of Jesus and the early church. They write, "It is our sincere hope that our Christian mission, which is first of all God's, will be founded on a biblical theology that takes its cue from the scriptural revelation as a whole." To that end, they offer this work as a service to the worldwide church.

In recent decades mission theology has quietly undergone a remarkable reorientation. No longer the exclusive enterprise of the West, like the global Internet, Christian mission has become decentralized. While places such as Pasadena, Wheaton and New Haven still represent important nodes of mission thinking in the United States, these are now part of a network that includes locations such as Nairobi, Manila and São Paulo. Christian mission now radiates from everywhere to everywhere, and mission theology has been enriched and shaped by this new reality.

The Dictionary of Mission Theology is the first reference book of its kind to reflect this new world of mission. With the majority of its 160-plus articles written by contributors from the Majority World, it reflects a variety of global contexts. The missiological implications of central Christian doctrines are explored, and a range of new perspectives are highlighted and weighed. Along with affirmations of time-tested foundations, one will find here original contributions to missiological thought, challenges to traditional views of mission, and an invitation to creatively integrate evangelism, liberation, healing and justice.

More than simply a look-it-up reference work, the Dictionary of Mission Theology is a handbook for church leaders and missionaries, and a textbook for teachers and students of mission theology worldwide. In every context where Christian mission is learned and practiced, the Dictionary of Mission Theology will set a new benchmark for mission theology.

Considering a career in crosscultural ministry? Veteran mission professionals Steve Hoke and Bill Taylor offer a practical guide for preparing for intercultural missions. They provide resources for personal spiritual preparation as well as crosscultural skills and hands-on missionary training. They outline the process for finding actual placement with a sending church, mission agency or organization, with key questions you should be asking along the way.

Christian mission is no longer a matter of missionaries from the West going to the rest of the world. Rather, the growth of Christianity in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia is eclipsing that of the Western church. In the third millennium of the Christian era, Christian mission is truly global, with missionaries from all places going to all peoples.

Veteran missiologist Samuel Escobar presents this introduction to Christian mission today. He explores the new realities of our globalized world and assesses the context of a changing mission field that is simultaneously secular and syncretistic. He also sets forth a thoroughly biblical theology of missions, considering how God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are at work around the world, with implications for how Christians are to go about the task of global mission.

How is it that a first-generation Jewish messianic movement undertook a mission to the pagan world and rapidly achieved a momentum that would have a lasting and significant impact on world history? This momentous question has surprisingly eluded the concentrated focus of historians and New Testament scholars.

Perhaps it is because the story of early Christian mission encompasses so much of the history of early Christianity. And to tell that history is to traverse a broad spectrum of issues in contemporary New Testament studies, all of which have been investigated in specialized depth, though frequently unconnected to a unified picture. On the other hand, as Eckhard Schnabel comments, those who have attempted to paint "the portrait of early Christian missions" have "often painted with brush strokes too broad." As a result, an "undifferentiated picture of early Christian mission" is widely held.

In this monumental study, Schnabel gives us both a unified and detailed picture of the rise and growth of early Christian mission. He begins with a search for a missionary impulse in the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism. He then weighs the evidence for a mission of Jesus to Gentiles. But the center of focus is the apostolic missionary activity as it is related in Acts, Paul's letters and the rest of the New Testament.

Here is a study that seeks to describe all the evidence relevant to the missionary strategy and tactics of the early church, to explain the theological dimensions of the early Christian mission, and to integrate the numerous studies published in the last decades into a synthetic overall picture. Schnabel’s detailed and immensely informed analysis will reward careful reading and reflection, and form a solid basis for a new understanding of the rise of Christianity and the nature of Christian mission--both then and now.

In recent decades global missions have been revolutionized by such movements as microenterprise development efforts and tentmaking professionals working in restricted access countries. But little has yet been said about the new missions opportunities created by today's globalized economy. Nor has much been documented about the role that corporations and businesses can have in the missionary enterprise.

Economist Steve Rundle and missiologist Tom Steffen offer a new paradigm for the convergence of business and missions--the Great Commission Company. These companies intentionally create businesses in strategic locations, pursuing profits while remaining unabashedly Christian in their purpose. By establishing authentic businesses that employ local workers among the least-reached peoples of the world, they contribute to the economic health of the immediate community and also provide avenues for both physical and spiritual ministry.

Based on a five-year study of groundbreaking enterprises like Pura Vida Coffee, this book offers keen analysis of the principles and practices of these companies. In an era where multinational corporations have global influence and impact, the Great Commission Company opens up new possibilities for missions-minded entrepreneurs and businesspeople who want to change the world to the glory of God.

Beginning with Genesis, the Bible is the story of God pursuing his people. In this study guide, you'll explore how God reaches out--through Jesus and through human ambassodors like us. You'll discover that the call to "missions" is not for a select group but is a part of God's call to every Christian. And you'll begin to understand your own part in God's plan.

This LifeGuide Bible Study features questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection. Leader's notes are included with information on study preparation, leading the study and small group components as well as helps for specific Bible passages covered in the study. Presented in a convenient workbook format and featuring the inductive Bible study approach, LifeGuides are thoroughly field-tested prior to publication; they're proven and popular guides for digging into Scripture on your own or with a small group.

In this course, students explore attitudes that will challenge them to prepare their hearts to serve the Lord and allow his nature to be expressed through them. They gain specific guidance in giving godly counsel and ministering to people with common problems. Finally they learn about Bible study preparation, biblical evangelism, discipling new converts, and recognizing their ministry calling.

Living by faith is a frightening idea for many people. It certainly was to Peter Jordan, who had a good job, a beautiful home, two newer cars, a growing family, and a respectable position in his church. In fact, entering missions was the last thing he thought he’d ever do. But God called him and his family out of the ordinary and into an uncertain, but ultimately fulfilling, life of trust and obedience.

This true story of a family who shocked friends and family by leaving their comfortable life to follow God’s call will challenge your assumptions and inspire you to new endeavors. Faith can be a frightening place, but nothing compares to the adventure of entrusting yourself to the capable and loving arms of the Father.

We are living in a new era of missions. God has been at work in the world from history’s beginning and is advancing the good news of Jesus Christ globally, leading to a thrilling climax. Combining four decades of fieldwork with cutting-edge research, Ron Boehme charts the waves of missions in history and reveals how the fourth wave will be unlike anything the world has ever seen. No matter who you are or what you do, it is time to take your place in the fresh missional task of the church.

Floy McClung shows us why we can face the city without fear and with a sense of hope. When we see the city as a grouping of cultures and communities, we discover its more human face. And when we understand God's purposes for urban life, it will change the way we feel about the city.

This is a book for anyone prepared to be more impressed with the greatness of God than with the sin of the city. McClung argues convincingly that cities, although under siege by the enemy, are actually God's idea. Using clear scriptural principles, he urges believers not to abandon the city, but rather to learn how to transform it by the power of God.

Jesus' final words to his disciples ring down through the ages: preach the gospel to every individual and disciple every nation. Preach the gospel? Got it, but what does it mean to disciple the nations? Do I preach or teach? To individuals or groups of people? What exactly does Jesus want me to do?

Come explore these questions through Scripture, history, and the ideas and experiences of those who are actively engaged in discipling nations. You'll discover that God's kingdom comes in and through many ministries, vocations, and locations - from university campuses to developing regions, in kitchens and boardrooms, through government, journalism, and the arts. All followers of Christ are needed to bring God's grace and truth to individuals, cultures and nations today and to do the works God prepared in advance for us to do.

Jesus' words are for each of us, wherever we are and whatever God has gifted us to do. What does it look like for you and for the body of Christ worldwide? How can we respond passionately and creatively to the call of God to see every person and every nation transformed?

Our world needs courageous leaders who will recognize the need for God-motivated action and follow through with a God-led plan.Whether your vision for change is local or global, for your home, business, or ministry, simple or complex, this book will help you remain on a true course and reach the goal set before you.

365 faith-building devotionals arranged Sunday through Saturday. Daily scriptures are illuminated by stunning accounts of God's faithfulness, mercy, and power in the lives of Christians working in places such as science labs, shepherd's fields, and college classrooms, from places like Canada, European inner cities, Asian rice paddies, and Amazon villages.

Peter Jordan's vital, insightful teaching on the challenges and opportunities that await returning missionaries makes this essential reading for everyone involved in missions. A missions "must-read"!

Getting started as a church planter? Want to gain more insight in your existing church-planting efforts? Trent and Vivian Rowland lead a church-planting team in Asia. In this handbook they articulate their experiences to help guide and inspire teams. Some items covered include: basic requirements and practices of a team leader; screening and assessing candidates; preparing new team members; research, networking, and strategies; articulating ministry philosophy; setting goals for initial years; and implications for mobilizing new workers. See how others have approached this challenging task! 100-page e-book. 6 MB.

Many churches have used this guide to produce a comprehensive, written missions policy in order to bring focus, consistency, and continuity to their missions outreach. This handbook can turn a long-dreaded job into a convenient and orderly process. By ACMC. Third edition, 77 pages.

This book helps your missions team develop the skills and structures you need to lead your church in missions. David Mays covers all the bases in one easy-to-use book. 57 pages, 2007.

This resource has been developed for the missions leadership team to work through the process of understanding its responsibilities and how to carry them out. This handbook covers key areas of missions ministry in the local church with examples from actual churches. By ACMC.

Committed to reaching the nations with the Word of God in audio, offering the Bible in a format that will connect with the world's 50% illiterate population. To accomplish this enormous task, the Lord has assembled a group of committed leaders and dedicated servants of His Word to develop into a reality the vision of bringing His church together and making disciples.

A church-based, short-term missions strategy. This handbook helps church leaders design and conduct mission trips that fit with the philosophy of the church and contribute to the missions goals of the church. A number of sample forms and procedures are included. Published by ACMC. 89 pages.

Author Marti Smith shares the personal experiences of two dozen women as they reveal the nuances of their everyday lives as missionaries in a foreign culture. Some are single, many are married, and a number of them have children, but all provide a candid look at issues associated with living cross-culturally: dealing with loneliness, learning a new language, helping children adjust to the new culture, maintaining healthy marriages, and balancing ministry and family roles. This book offers an honest and insightful look at the challenges of being a woman in missions (especially in the Muslim world) and provides much-needed encouragement from those who have stepped out in faith and found that God is indeed enough to meet all their needs. 251 pages, 2005.