Resources for Adult Missions Training

A Guide to Missions. This book was written for the main purpose of assisting every believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to obey His command to share the gospel. If every person who calls him or herself a christian does not share their faith in Christ and encourage others to accept the Way of salvation and avoid hell, then what response will they give to God when they face Him? If Christ the light is truly in us, then it needs to be uncovered and reflecting, to stop others from losing their way.

We the believers must prove that we have reached the desired spiritual destination, the throne of the Most High God and that because we share the Love He Has for the world, it will be demonstrated by walking it and talking it.

Mrs. Dalley's book is the kind of reading you can't put off until later. After she retired, she was called by God into the mission field, and her writing puts you in the field with her. You share her tears, her joys, her faith, and the laughter. Alene traveled the world, but not to the usual comfortable tourist locations the countries had to offer. She ventured into the lives of the common people where she might share the love of Jesus and provide hope where there was despair. She shared their simple lives, often sleeping in her bag on the ground or a cot, and giving up the comforts we take for granted. She was confronted by obstacles which only prayer could overcome. If you've ever considered serving God in a similar manner, this is the book for you.

Alene Dalley writes, "There are many different types of mission trips. There are also many different kinds of accomodations. For those of you who are not as adventurous or like the comforts of home, there are mission trips for you, too. The stories in this book are true experiences on the mission field. I pray that you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed living them."

"Can You See Me Now?", is the question that men will ask their church community, spouses, children, and even the world after applying these three components: Mission, Fellowship, and Evangelism to their spiritual development.

If no one can see you developing as a Christian man; then you probably can't see yourself developing either.

If you ask the question "Can You See Me Now?"; What would the response be?

In this study we examine Jesus’s last words to His disciples in which He outlined the duties involved in making disciples and retaining those disciples. In our effort to examine these passages found in Matthew 28:18–20, Mark 16:15–18, and Luke 24:44–49, we focus on Matthew’s account and break that into sections. These passages have been dubbed the Great Commission. The various sections are examined and then put together. We look at the early disciples as a direct result of the apostles’ preaching and executing the chores as outlined in Matthew’s account of the Great Commission. In looking back at what the apostles and the early disciples did in Acts, we are able to understand why they did things the way they did and how both apostles and the early disciples submitted to God’s will and were used to accomplish God’s purposes. In the study, we conclude that without the Great Commission we cannot source our authority to make disciples or save souls. We further conclude that within the Great Commission or in executing the Great Commission we fail to make disciples or save souls if we pick and choose which part or parts of the charge to follow.

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 this provocative and compelling book, internationally known missiologists Alan and Debra Hirsch cast a dynamic vision of mission-shaped discipleship. Untamed exposes the idolatrous clutter that fills our lives and seeks to recapture what it means to be authentic followers of Jesus. Each chapter ends with suggested practices to help you start living out the book's principles, as well as questions for group discussion.

In reviewing the first edition of Transforming Culture Roger Dixon wrote, "Every once in awhile, a book appears which has the potential to change one's life and work. Transforming Culture is one of those books." Now Sherwood Lingenfelter offers an updated version of this important manual for cross-cultural workers.

Lingenfelter sets out a model for understanding the workings of a society and then applies this model to conflicts missionaries and nationals often face over economic and social issues, such as property, labor and productivity, generosity and exchange, and authority in the family and community. Utilizing a plethora of case studies and personal anecdotes, he identifies the root of the conflicts and contradictory assumptions that make it difficult for missionaries and nationals to work together, and guides readers to solutions for transforming culture.

The author explains that the cross-cultural worker--evangelist, church planter, teacher, nurse, community developer, linguist, literacy worker, translator--will discover the social roots of interpersonal conflict endemic to living and working with people of different cultural and social heritages. When we carefully examine ourselves, we shall be forced to admit that, more often than not, we conform theology to practice; we perceive the kingdom of God on earth in our own cultural terms.

The author has made the second edition more accessible than the first by clarifying concepts, adding case studies, and reducing the book's length.

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.

You have concern for others. You want to be involved in solutions. You want to live your life for Jesus. You want to be a missional Christian. But what does that really mean? How can you live out God's mission in the world, right here, right now?

In this inspiring yet practical book, Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford show you how to live missionally regardless of your situation, vocation, or location. Touching on issues of discipleship, spirituality, and church at every level of experience, Right Here, Right Now calls you to be the person God has made you to be.

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.

For the past thirty years mission theology has taken a backseat to mission practice. Recently, however, people of all theological stripes have begun to reexamine the theological presuppositions that underlie the mission enterprise. In Mission on the Way Charles Van Engen masterfully articulates the contours of mission theology.

Walter Kaiser questions the notion that the New Testament represents a deviation from God's supposed intention to save only the Israelites. He argues that--contrary to popular opinion--the older Testament does not reinforce an exclusive redemptive plan. Instead, it emphasizes a common human condition and God's original and continuing concern for all humanity. Kaiser shows that the Israelites' mission was always to actively spread to gentiles the Good News of the promised Messiah. This new edition adds two new chapters, freshens material throughout, expands the bibliography, and includes study questions.

When discussing mission it is easy to rely on the New Testament and overlook the importance of the Old Testament. Walter Kaiser corrects this tendency by focusing on the missiological importance of the Old Testament and explaining its missionary message.

Kaiser questions the notion that the New Testament represents a deviation from God's supposed intention to save only the Israelites. He argues that--contrary to popular opinion--the older Testament does not reinforce an exclusive redemptive plan. Instead, it emphasizes a common human condition and God's original and continuing concern for all humanity. Mission in the Old Testament shows that the Israelites' mission was always to actively spread to Gentiles the Good News of the promised Messiah.

Pastors, missionaries, professors, students, and everyone interested in mission will find this accessible text enlightening and informative. Tools such as indexes, glossary, and bibliography contribute to the usefulness of this book.

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.

There is a growing body of literature about the missional church, but the word missional is often defined in competing ways with little attempt to ground it deeply in Scripture. In A Light to the Nations, Michael Goheen unpacks the missional identity of the church by tracing the role God's people are called to play in the biblical story. Goheen examines the historical, theological, and biblical foundations of missional ecclesiology, showing that the church's identity can be understood only when its role is articulated in the context of the whole biblical story--not just the New Testament. He shows that the Old Testament is essential to understanding the church's missional identity. Goheen also explores practical outworkings and implications and offers field-tested suggestions, putting Lesslie Newbigin's missionary ecclesiology to work in shaping the contemporary church. The book is written at a level easily accessible to students in missions, pastoral, worldview, and theology courses as well as pastors, church leaders, and all readers interested in the missional church.

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.

Missiologist Michael Frost is looking for the real Jesus--the man who didn't care what people thought, worked on the Sabbath, touched the unclean, ate with sinners, and generally contradicted what was acceptable to the leadership of his day. He's searching for the Jesus who embodies all the characteristics of the ancient tradition of the holy foolish paradigm as described and commended by Paul, the church fathers, and the medieval saints. And he finds him. . . .

Saintly fools prefer life out in the open in the secular world, intentionally make themselves conspicuous, and consistently defy rules set by society. Frost directs our minds and hearts to the greater story of Jesus. He reminds us that following the Savior is rarely safe--and that Christ will continue to redraw our blueprint of what's right and what's righteous; and will persist in calling us to take the alternative, dangerous, ridiculous road walked by wise fools down through the centuries of the church.

A much-needed and longed-for challenge to emergent, contemporary, and traditional gatherings and churches alike.

As the first volume of the Encountering Mission series, Introducing World Missions provides a broad overview of world missions. The book is divided into five major sections. The first two provide the biblical and theological basis for missions as well as a historical survey. The following three sections consider the practical issues and contemporary challenges involved in mission work.

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.

While the gospel is timeless truth, it enters into ever-changing and widely varied human contexts. The missionary who desires to meaningfully communicate the gospel to particular humans needs to understand people and the particular influences--social, cultural, psychological, and ecological--that shape them. Further, we must understand ourselves and the influences that have shaped us, since our own contexts influence how we understand and transmit the gospel message. Therefore, we must master not only the skill of biblical exegesis but also the skill of human exegesis. That task is the topic of this book, the summation of a lifetime of experience and thinking by a world-renowned missiologist and anthropologist, the late Paul Hiebert.

As he develops what he terms a "missional theology," Hiebert discusses differing views of contextualization, social identity and how we view "others," developments in anthropological thinking through the years, and the impact of postmodernism and globalization. Seeking to equip the reader for the task of human exegesis, he introduces a systems approach to the task of understanding cultural contexts, discusses practical and helpful research methods, and proposes the paradigm of mission as cultural mediation. Here is valuable insight for students preparing for the mission field.

Many churches in America today want to be powerful, relevant, and influential in personal and social transformation. A plethora of programs for outreach, discipleship, and spiritual disciplines are available at any bookstore and on countless websites. Yet what we need most is a renewed understanding of and commitment to the Great Commission. We assume that we already know the nature of this commission and the appropriate methods of carrying it out.

But Michael Horton contends that it too often becomes our mission instead of God's. At a time when churches are zealously engaged in creating mission statements and strategic plans, he argues that we must ask ourselves anew whether we are ambassadors, following the script we've been given, or building our own kingdoms with our own blueprint.

Pastors and church leaders will value this frank and hopeful next-step exploration of the Great Commission as a call to renewed understanding and good practice.

A tightly woven and highly developed Pauline theology of mission and evangelism for college and seminary students.

The author advocates a closer identification between the local congregation and the universal church. He works through the realities of church life and denominational organizations before challenging church leaders to redefine ecclesiology.

In his bestselling missional book The Forgotten Ways, internationally known missional church expert Alan Hirsch offered a vision for the future growth of the church coming about by harnessing the power of the early church. Now The Forgotten Ways Handbook moves beyond theory to practice, offering ways for any missionally minded person to apply the ideas contained in The Forgotten Ways to their life and ministry.

This intensely practical handbook includes many helpful tools: summary sections encapsulating the ideas contained in each chapter in a popular way; suggested practices to help readers embed missional paradigms concretely; and adult learning-based techniques and examples from other churches and organizations that enable readers to process and assimilate the ideas in a group context.

Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture presents a biblical, Christian worldview for the emergent church--people who are not at home in the traditional church or in the secular world. As exiles of both, they must create their own worldview that integrates their Christian beliefs with the contemporary world. Exiles seeks to integrate all aspects of life and decision-making and to develop the characteristics of a Christian life lived intentionally within emerging (postmodern) culture. It presents a plea for a dynamic, life-affirming, robust Christian faith that can be lived successfully in the post-Christian world of twenty-first century Western society. This book will present a Christian lifestyle that can be lived in non-religious categories and be attractive to not-yet Christians.

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.

A generation of students preparing for intercultural mission work has relied on the classic text Life and Work on the Mission Field by J. Herbert Kane, a guide to the practicalities of missionary life. Encountering Missionary Life and Work, a new volume in the award-winning Encountering Mission series, seeks to build on Kane's work and provide practical guidance for a new generation of twenty-first-century missionaries. The authors are well qualified to write such a manual, each having served on the mission field for more than twenty years and each having taught missions at the seminary level.

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 Changing Face of World Missions, the second volume in the Encountering Mission series, identifies and interacts with twelve significant trends that today's student of missions needs to understand. These trends include globalization, changing demographics, the shift from modernity to postmodernity, the shift from Christendom to global Christianity, changing motivations for missions, the impact of new technologies, and the issue of contextualization. The text is enhanced by numerous sidebars and case studies to foster individual and group reflection and discussion.

This engaging study provides a new way of looking at Scripture--one that takes seriously the biblical idea of mission. Richard Bauckham shows how God identifies himself with particular individuals or people in human history in order to be known by all. He is the God of Abraham, Israel, and David and, finally, the one who acts through Jesus Christ.

Bauckham applies these insights to the contemporary scene, encouraging those involved in mission to be sensitive to postmodern concerns about globalization while at the same time emphasizing the uniqueness of Christian faith. In doing so, he demonstrates the diversity of Christian faith around the world. This book will be rewarding reading for pastors, lay readers, and students of Scripture, mission, and postmodernism.

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.

Celtic Christianity—the form of Christian faith that flourished among the people of Ireland during the Middle Ages—has gained a great deal of attention lately. George G. Hunter III points out that, while the attention paid to the Celtic Christians is well deserved, much of it fails to recognize the true genius of this ancient form of Christianity. What many contemporary Christians do not realize is that Celtic Christianity was one of the most successfully evangelistic branches of the church in history. The Celtic church converted Ireland from paganism to Christianity in a remarkably short period, and then proceeded to send missionaries throughout Europe.

North America is today in the same situation as the environment in which the early Celtic preachers found their mission fields: unfamiliar with the Christian message, yet spiritually seeking and open to a vibrant new faith. If we are to spread the gospel in this culture of secular seekers, we would do well to learn from the Celts. Their ability to work with the beliefs of those they evangelized, to adapt worship and church life to the indigenous patterns they encountered, remains unparalleled in Christian history. If we are to succeed in “reaching the West . . . again,” then we must begin by learning from these powerful witnesses to the saving love of Jesus Christ.

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.

Prepares Christian congregations to fulfill their basic function - to make disciples who make a difference for Jesus Christ. This book is about helping "stuck" and "unstuck" churches either become unstuck or constantly improve their ministry of making disciples. This book is designed to help church leaders make profound changes in the way they do ministry or constantly practice methodological innovation/improvement to be effective in creating disciples in their churches.

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.

ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? Who am I? Who did God create me to be? How does God want me to live? What am I to do with my life? This study offers a unique opportunity to explore answers to these questions through group discussion and personal reflection.

Restless Hearts: Where Do I Go Now, God? is a 6-week study for young adults that will help them reflect upon who they are, upon what they want to do with their lives, and upon God’s presence and care in the midst of their vocational journey.

The kit for this study includes: Video/DVD for each of the six weekly sessions (each lasts 15 minutes), the Participant's Workbook that includes seven daily readings for each of the weekly sessions, and a Leader's Guide.

ARE YOU WONDERING WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? Who am I? Who did God create me to be? How does God want me to live? What am I to do with my life? This study offers a unique opportunity to explore answers to these questions through group discussion and personal reflection.

Restless Hearts: Where Do I Go Now, God? is a 6-week study for young adults that will help them reflect upon who they are, upon what they want to do with their lives, and upon God’s presence and care in the midst of their vocational journey.

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.

Drawn from the Twelfth Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies in August, 2007, these essays address the ecclesiological deficit of Methodism in relation to vocation and mission, crucial issues that have suffered from theological and practical confusion in the world Methodist communion these last decades. The authors enter into an uncommonly honest dialogue across the global divides and press urgent questions about how world Methodist and Wesleyan churches can regain a biblically sound view of mission and ecumenism without traits of colonialism. The answer from all continents is that this revitalization must and, in fact, is beginning in the congregation around revived practices of vocation and sanctification. The essays are suffused by a sense of realism about the church in a changing world economy and geopolitics and a contagious encouragement through the gospel and Wesleyan traditions that world Methodism can be revived in genuine connection.

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.

At the heart of this book lie two key ideas: First, you can't give what you don't have. It is imperative that pastors keep close to their call, close to their mission, and close to God. In other words, leaders must take care of themselves before they can do anything for anyone else. And second, the ministry of pastors is not to fulfill all the tasks of ministry themselves, but rather to equip others for their own ministry. This book is not for those who want "ministry as usual." Rather, it is for those who want to rediscover that primal, original moment with God that left them feeling as if they could change the world--or for those who want to discover that call for the first time. For such seekers, this book can serve as a guide along their journey.

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.

Five Practices of Fruitful Living provides an honest, practical, and winsome guide to the spiritual journey. By repeating and deepening certain fundamental practices, we cooperate with God in our spiritual growth. These five practices - to receive God's love, to love God in return, to grow in Christ, to serve others, and to give ourselves fully - as we attend to them and develop them, help us settle ourselves in God and become instruments of God's grace. Following Christ will change your heart; and through you, God will change the world.

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.

As a part of the FaithQuestions study series, “How Does Reading the Bible Help My Faith?” is designed to meet the needs of people who have questions about the Christian faith and who desire a deeper engagement with scripture and with discipleship as they explore studies of issues in theology, ethics, missions, Bible interpretation, and church history. It seeks to equip a new generation of church leaders to appreciate the eternal message of the gospel and to develop the skills to articulate its relevance in our contemporary context.

Through extensive research, Dr. John Kaiser shares the best practices of ten successful congregations. Focusing explicitly on decision-making rather than planning, structure, relationships, or any other host of factors, Fish or Cut Bait outlines how these congregations’ boards/leaders provide both accountability and support for pastors.

Kaiser details the five questions that effective churches use when making healthy decisions to remain true to their mission: What must be done? Who says so? Who takes the lead? What's it going to cost? What if there is trouble? He includes the top ten things that the congregation, pastor, staff, board, and tribe need to avoid.

Regardless of size, tongue, tribe, or style—if your congregation wants to go fishing in deeper waters for a spiritual catch, this book will fit nicely in your tackle box.

Many congregations are declining due to an inward focus, and see their pastor as someone who should only minister to their needs. But pastors must anticipate a better future. Direct Hit offers hope to leaders of congregations that have lost their outward focus. By preparing for and leading systemic change, pastors can bring new life into the culture of a congregation, guiding it to answer God’s call to reach people with the good news.

Direct Hit offers practical explanations for how to: Develop a vision and communicate a strategy for its implementation-Motivate a congregation to embrace the vision-Develop resources, ideas, and personnel to prepare for change-Embrace and implement change-Embed a new DNA into the life of a congregation

Change the World: A Study for Small Groups links Bible study to global mission and local service project. This six-session small group resource enables congregations to discuss and act on the imperatives of scripture.

Each week, participants will read and discuss a gospel story, watch a video profiling an inspiring, world-changing mission effort, and envision together how they can change the world locally and globally. Participants won’t just read about Jesus feeding the 5000 or healing the lepers, but will be inspired by contemporary hunger-relief and medical missions. Participants will be challenged to take a leading role in the congregation’s missional efforts, serving in a homeless shelter as a group, raising funds for disaster relief, or planning a church-wide day of service.

Linking Bible study to global mission and local service projects, this six-session small group resource enables congregations to discuss and act on the imperatives of scripture. Each week, participants will read and discuss a gospel story, watch a video profiling an inspiring, world-changing mission effort, and envision together how they can change the world locally and globally. Participants won’t just read about Jesus feeding the 5000 or healing the lepers, but will be inspired by contemporary ministries feeding the poor and preventing malaria. Participants will be challenged to take a leading role in the congregation’s missional efforts, serving in a homeless shelter as a group, raising funds for disaster relief, or planning a church-wide day of service.

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.

Many churches want to make the transition from an inward to an outward focus, from catering to the needs of members to reaching out into the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Too often they try to accomplish this radical change by taking half steps and partial measures, initiating a new program here or adding a new staff members there.

Yet this kind of change requires more. To succeed in changing its core focus this way, a congregation must learn strategic thinking; it must commit itself to seeing the big picture, and to taking the steps necessary to paint that picture afresh. Everyone, including pastors, lay leaders, key teams and groups, and the congregation as a whole must be involved in a process of transformation. Paul D. Borden, author of Hit the Bullseye and Direct Hit, knows that this transformation will not be easy. But if the target is bringing more people into saving relationship with Jesus Christ, what could be more worthwhile?

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.

How Christian is evangelism? How biblical is it? In Call and Response: Biblical Foundations of a Theology of Evangelism, Walter Klaiber seeks answers to such provocative questions. After reviewing the different understandings of evangelism abroad today (fundamentalist, charismatic, pietist, liberationist), he articulates the conviction that evangelism is a central part of the church's mission. At its most basic level, asserts Klaiber, evangelism is the announcement of the good news of salvation to those both outside and inside the church. This understanding of the nature of evangelism provides the basis for the two major themes of the work. The first is a discussion of evangelism in the New Testament in terms of its original contexts and meanings. Here Klaiber examines the rich variety of New Testament images for the task of evangelism, which range from the announcement of glad tidings to the poor, to the revelation of God's righteousness. The second is the question of the significance of personal decision in evangelism. Here the biblical evidence provides the foundation for the author's discussion of the nature and necessity of conversion.

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.

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.

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.

This practical guide to the biblical art of sharing your faith offers refreshing insight into the many ways, spoken and silent, that all Christians can be involved in spreading the good news about Jesus.

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.

Sharing God's Word with children can be the most spiritually satisfying experience of your life. But what if the pastor's wife asks you to teach the third-graders next Sunday and you've never taught kids before? The prospect can be terrifying! Here's an easy-to-read book that will inspire Sunday School teachers - new and experienced - to embrace with joy their important role of teaching children of all ages about God's amazing love. Elmer Towns, one of the nation's leading experts on Sunday School. His book provides a quick and easy guide to preparing for and teaching a dynamic Bible lesson, even on short notice!

A Refreshing New Approach to Planting and Growing a Church Sunday School Teacher Elmer L. Towns and Pastor Stan Toler give us a visionary look at the Sunday School of the future and definitely like what they see. That's provided, of course, we begin today to build the Sunday Schools that will revitalize the Church and thereby ensure its long-term growth.This companion to What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know is a practical, exciting wake-up call for every pastor who has a nagging notion that the Sunday School program while it seems to run itself is not the dynamic catalyst for growth that it should be. Towns and Toler rekindle for us Sunday School's importance. Drawing upon their firsthand experience, they show how to sharpen the skills of seasoned teachers as well as pass the baton to new ones.

Here is help for young pastors and their mentors to stay strong personally while taking churches to the edge of creative, imaginative newness for Christ while remaining safely anchored to the abiding and adventuresome gospel.

In 1997, Atlanta businessman Os Hillman began writing a daily e-mail devotional featuring 4-minute meditations on faith and work life. For men and women in the workplace, this was just what they needed: practical help in applying their faith to their work life; encouragement to live out their faith; empowerment to be more effective in their jobs; support to become powerful witnesses at work; and examples of others who experienced the presence of God at work. Now Hillman has written his second book of devotions. TGIF includes 365 all-new daily meditations, plus a bonus topical index to find devotions that relate to specific topics such as motives, handling disappointments, adversity, integrity, finances, decision making and much more. Whether for individual quiet times, Bible study groups or workplace groups, these daily devotions will help men and women fulfill God's call on their lives in the workplace.

You teach a little by what you say. You teach the most by what you are. Meet the author of the words above; an ordinary woman who was used in extraordinary ways to shape the lives of some of the most influential Christians of our time. Dr. Henrietta Mears had one purpose to know Christ and make Him known and inspired a generation of college kids to aspire to Christian leadership. The legendary Billy Graham, Bill Bright and 400 others went into Christian service, guided by Dr. Mears. Through them, the influence of her teaching ministry still reverberates today. Experience some of Dr. Mears's energy and passion to believe the impossible! You'll also hear how she established Gospel Light, Forest Home and Gospel Light International (GLINT) and was instrumental in many organizations such as Campus Crusade. See what God can do through a life that is totally surrendered to Him-and imagine what Hecan do with your life.

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.

Since the release of their best-selling book, Spiritual Housecleaning, Eddie and Alice Smith have received news of story after story from readers of how God used the book to set families, homes, businesses and churches free from the intrusion of the enemy. The Smiths' admonition to rid houses of any possessions or behaviors that displease God and negatively affect our lives and the lives of our children motivated Christians worldwide to keep their homes spiritually clean and set apart for the Lord. Now readers can learn from and be encouraged by these collected stories of God moving in the lives of ordinary Christians. Following the stories, readers will find a study of the biblical principles of spiritual housecleaning, relevant Scripture passages and reflection questions to help them know how God wants them to spiritually cleanse and protect their home, property or church.

Protect Your Home and Family from Spiritual Pollution. Demons don't need a specific invitation to oppress and influence people's lives; they sneak into homes, families and churches at the smallest opportunity, often under the noses of even the most vigilant believers. Spiritual House Cleaning, the bestselling title from Eddie and Alice Smith, explains, step-by-step, how readers can rid their lives of the enemy's influence. This revised and updated edition includes new, amazing stories from many people who have experienced spiritual victory using biblical warfare methods described in the book. Parents and church leaders will be inspired and equipped to establish the Lord's reign in their homes and churches.

Meet the Millstones, a nice, average Christian family. Jason and Sarah and their three children are just the sort of folks you'd want for next-door neighbors. Or so it seems. As the story unfolds, the good family takes some wrong turns. Petty theft, online affairs, bad lifestyle choices and troubling attitudes show that things are far from well in the Millstone family. The Millstones want to blame their church. After all, isn't the church responsible for their children's spiritual development? But a surprise adventure in the Fiji Islands and a chance encounter in which Jason becomes a hero may change the way the Millstones relate to each other and to God.

In this engaging story, you'll discover such practical concepts as: Family changes can be good, but are often painful, how to help your child craft a moral compass, responsibility for your child's faith is not the church's, marriage requires constant maintenance, crisis can be opportunity, actions speak louder than words, love for your children and spouse means commitment and sacrifice. In these pages, parents will find practical, biblical solutions for helping their children develop a strong, lasting faith while enjoying the adventures of the Millstone family.

Serving is a unique devotional that provides meaningful readings to help athletes and coaches understand how to have the attitude and heart of a servant, to think of others before themselves, even in the heat of competition. Learn from those who have found what true winners know-that when they have served others, win or lose, they are modeling the very heart of Christ.

Larry Fowler believes that there are seven biblical principles, drawn from the book of Nehemiah, that will help pastors and leaders more effectively motivate and manage volunteers. Rock Solid Volunteers looks at the obstacles Nehemiah and his volunteer workers faced—fatigue, weakness, loss of vision, peer pressure and opposition, just for starters!—and examines the seven steps Nehemiah took to lead his volunteers to success. Pastors and ministry leaders will be equipped to attract, inspire and keep talented, committed volunteers, no matter the challenge!

Teachers are implementing new, creative methods in the classroom. But where is the teaching of Christian truth, and with it, effective life-change on the part of the students? The teaching of truth is on the decline, believes expert teacher Gregory Carlson, and it's time to bring it back! Find out how by looking to the Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, and following specific rock-solid principles and practices he used in his ministry. This exciting new resource will help you practically apply these teaching methods to influence children, youth and adults. From discipline to setting priorities, creating an excellent learning environment to evaluating your success, you'll find creative ideas to implement in any teaching situation. Teachers in the classroom, church, and parents who instruct their children at home will gain confidence in their personal teaching abilities by being able to recognize good teaching practices, evaluate their own skills, mentor others, enhance their own ability to write lessons and mirror Jesus' sound teaching principles.

God Wants You To Be A World Changer! Barbara Wentroble has a dream; a vision for women advancing God's kingdom. Through the symbol of waves on a beach that gradually engulf the globe, God showed Barbara that a spiritual shift is happening. He is sending a movement of the Spirit, releasing great revelation! Women are to rise up, take their place alongside men and impact the nations of the world! Do you feel inadequate to the task? Do you feel stuck in a limited place? God has big plans for you! Rethink your identity through the eyes of the Lord, who speaks not only to who you are now, but also to your potential. Learn why fear, hurt and rejection are holding you back. You are chosen for greatness! It's time to rise up and discover the woman you are destined to be!

Reach a New Dimension of Faith for Daily Victory. This message from Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler likens our spiritual defense to that of the children of Israel while in battle. Within the ranks there were those who carried huge shields to protect the bulk of the army. And just as we fight spiritual battles today, there is a mighty shield we can carry to protect us. This shield of faith is one of the main ways we can resist our enemy's attacks. The authors tell us that we are fully capable of resisting the enemy's attacks, but we must first be able to recognize how Satan fights. His main weapons are to create fear and doubt in us and to tempt us to become complainers and murmurers. If we succumb, our faith is weakened. The keys to increasing our faith are found in knowing the Word of God, which engenders praise, thankfulness,trust and obedience. This is a very positive, encouraging and faith-building book!

Know the Fullness of Life with God There was a time, writes renowned theologian J. I. Packer in this classic book on biblical holiness, when all Christians laid great emphasis on God's call to holiness. But how different it is today! To listen to our sermons and to read the books we write, and then to watch the zany, worldly, quarrelsome way we behave, you would never imagine that once the highway of holiness was clearly marked out for Bible-believers. In this revised and updated edition of Rediscovering Holiness, the highway is once more clearly marked out for a new generation of readers, pointing to true freedom and joy, both now and in eternity.

An intense battle is raging for the hearts and minds of America's 33 million teenagers, the largest generation of teens in U.S. history. These teens have an enemy. He has crafted an offensive strategy, stealth tactics, sophisticated reconnaissance and subtle propaganda. You only have to turn on your TV, talk to your teen's friends, go to the movies or listen to the radio to catch a glimpse of his destructive campaign. Ron Luce is sounding the battle cry, calling parents and Christian leaders to wake up to the war against America's teens. Are you willing to reject quiet Christianity and make a world-shaking difference by dreaming new dreams to ReCreate our culture? Now is the time to use your God-given creativity and claim this generation for Christ, because a generation that the world cannot change is a generation that can change the world!

Close the Door to the Enemy and Open the Door to God In 10 easy steps, learn how to rid your home of destructive objects and spiritual darkness to create a fortress of love and light for your family. Too many Christians are completely unaware of how the enemy has gained access to their homes through what they own. This practical, easy-to-read book shows you how to pray through your home and property in order to lock out evil and experience a richer spiritual life. With Protecting Your Home from Spiritual Darkness, you're just 10 steps away from bringing freedom and security in Christ to your home!

Getting What We Need from God - All Christians seek a better prayer life; ideally one where they connect with and have a closer relationship with God. Too many of us, however, have nagging feelings of guilt when it comes to asking God for what we want. Ralph Moore reminds us that it is absolutely OK to pray for God to meet our needs. In fact, we should do so with every expectancy that God will answer our prayers, because He loves us and always wants to help us. When we pray with a clear conscience and place our trust in Him, all things are indeed possible.This simple, straightforward book provides answers to basic questions on prayer for all Christians;and for anyone who wants to understand prayer and how it can transform your life.

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.

In a world of three-day diets and game-show millionaires, we can easily lose sight of the importance of the spiritual disciplines the Lord has given us for victorious living in Christ. Jack Hayford invites readers to rediscover the power and the blessing that come from such disciplines as prayer and fasting, feeding on God's Word, submission to His will, daily worship and experiencing the release of repentance and forgiveness. Pastor Jack examines and celebrates what it really means to be an effective disciple of Christ in modern times.

How does a Christian lead? By following today's secular business models, or by simply studying the life of Christ and pursuing a servant-based style? In this insightful, practical book, George Barna has pulled together some of today's top Christian leaders to talk about the subject of Christian leadership. Articles include: The Tasks of a Leader by Ken Gangel, The Character of a Leader by Jack Hayford, Prayer in Leading People by Peter Wagner, and much more. See what today's leaders have to say about leadership, and learn what it takes to serve the Church as a Christ-centered change agent.

The gravedigger thesis can be put simply: The Christian faith contributed decisively to the rise of the modern world, but has been undermined decisively by the modern world it helped to create. The Christian faith has become its own gravedigger. In the 25 years since philosopher and social critic Os Guinness first published The Gravedigger Files, much has happened: the fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of the computer age, the re-emergence of China and India, the rise of Islamic terrorism, and the worldwide revitalization and politicization of religion. But the central mystery of Dr. Guinness' spy novel, inspired by his affection for John le Carr thrillers, remains unsolved: Can Christians regain the full integrity of faith in Christ while fully and properly engaged in the advanced modern world? This new edition of The Last Christian on Earth, which includes previously unpublished top-secret memos, is Dr.Guinness' parable about the future of the Christian church in the West. Written in the grand tradition of le Carr, Fleming and Clancy, this thriller pays homage to the genre while transcending it - because the real-life ending has yet to be written!

The Most Effective Way to Grow Churches in North America are bigger than ever, but their slow rate of growth can't keep up with population increases. Existing churches simply cannot add enough new believers! The good news is that by multiplying,that is, by steadily and strategically planting new churches that, in turn, plant new churches, the global Church creates more of what Ralph Moore calls - harvest points. In How to Multiply Your Church, Pastor Ralph Moore shows church leaders and pastors why multiplication is the key to growing God's global kingdom in their communities, and he offers them proven methods for implementing multiplication in their existing churches. Countless leaders have found an indispensable resource in Starting a New Church because of Pastor Moore's vast firsthand experience and practical wisdom. How to Multiply Your Church is the next leap forward for those who want to see God's kingdom increase.

Practical Guide to the Sensitive Task of Raising Money for Your Church or Ministry. One of the most difficult tasks facing any church leader is the issue of raising funds. It's not that we don't realize that tithing and giving are biblical issues: God's Word is full of strong statements about the stewardship of money. But how does a pastor convey God's heart for stewardship? Literally, what's the best way to raise the money your church needs to survive? Obviously, God is the one who builds the church--He is the ultimate provider. But what's the best process of shepherding the funds He has for your church? This step-by-step guide will give you tools you need to raise funds in your church--scripturally and successfully--without compromising biblical integrity. After all, it's God's church and His money--but our responsibility to manage it.

Enter into Your Prophetic Destiny God has a wonderful destiny for every life, but many Christians will die never having realized all that God has for them. Why is it that so many believers fall short of their divine calling? In God's Now Time for Your Life, Chuck Pierce and Rebecca Wagner Sytsema give dynamic, life-giving answers to help believers reach their potential. This book is full of rich, fresh insight for finding God's direction in your life, your family and your territory. As you read, you will understand how to press toward prophetic fulfillment and gain new hope that the best is yet ahead!

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.

Winning the Tug-of-War for Future Generations This book is a passionate presentation of what our society is producing in children. The authors first present a code blue alarm for the need of paramedic and ambulance for at-risk children; then they provide some practical suggestions about how to save the children. The book contains statistics, stories, societal illustrations and hope-filled solutions, calling the reader to become what God has always called the Church to be: a change agent for the spiritually needy in every strata of society. Given the realities of our world catastrophes on every news broadcast, an epidemic of fragmented families, a severely coarsened society we can still make a difference in the lives of children by teaching them to value the right things. To do that, we must become a strategic force in the lives of the children we influence by counteracting the devastating forces that would destroy them. Theauth2s provide specific suggestions for what the church can do as a whole and what we can do as individual believers to bring about these changes.

The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center In the past, faith was a central part of the family's home life, yet the reality for many families today is that faith is no more than one-hour, drop off Christianity. To become the strong, healthy, joy-filled families God intended begins with parents establishing their homes as the primary place where faith is nurtured. Faith Begins at Home combines inspirational stories and practical ideas with biblical truth to help families rediscover how to bring the basics of faith back into their home.

This new series of Faith Begins @ Home resources is designed to help parents bring faith at home. An easy-to use resource that starts from square one and ends in a 24/7 lifestyle of family faith. Parents want to pray at home with their children but many don't know where to start. Parents will find step by step tips and age-appropriate guides for leading kids into a lifestyle of prayer, as well as true life stories from families experiencing the power and blessing of God in their homes as they develop their "spiritual skills" with their children.

This new series of Faith Begins @Home resources is designed to help parents bring faith home.is an easy-to-use resource that starts from square one and ends in a 24/7 lifestyle of family faith. There is a special bond between mothers and their children. In Christian families, this bond can grow beyond biology to the life of the spirit, but many moms don’t know how to begin nurturing their children's relationship with God. Moms will find step by step tips and age appropriate guides for instilling a vibrant and growing faith in their children’s lives, as well as true-life stories from other moms experiencing the power and blessing of God in their homes as they develop their "spiritual skills" with their children.

This new series of Faith Begins @Home resources is designed to help parents bring faith at home.is an easy to use resource that starts from square one and ends in a 24/7 lifestyle of family faith. Christian parents hear all the time about the importance of family devotions, but if they never experienced the impact of seeking God together as a family during their own childhoods, getting started can be intimidating. Parents will find step by step tips and age appropriate guides for leading daily family devotions, as well as true life stories from other parents experiencing the power and blessing of God in their homes as they develop their "spiritual skills" with their children.

This new series of Faith Begins @Home resources is designed to help parents bring faith home.is an easy-to-use resource that starts from square one and ends in a 24 7 lifestyle of family faith. Most Christian dads want to be the kind of father who guides his children in their walk with God but many don’t have the first clue where to start. Dads will find step-by-step tips and age appropriate guides for leading their family’s spiritual development, as well as true life stories from other dads experiencing the power and blessing of God in their homes as they develop their “spiritual skills” with their children.

It takes more than fresh paint and new carpet to revitalize a church that is entangled in conflict and disunity. Unresolved personal and corporate sin results in personal and corporate bondage. The result is disunity, stagnant growth and interpersonal conflicts. What is needed is a biblical plan of corporate repentance and faith in God that connects the church body to Christ in a liberating way. Thousands of individuals, churches, mission agencies and parachurch ministries have experienced renewed lives after successfully working through Neil Anderson's Steps to Freedom in Christ. Now Neil Anderson and Charles Mylander show how these same tools based on repentance and faith in God, along with the corporate process of conflict resolution in this book, can be used to provide a new beginning for believers and churches. Practical and life giving,this balanced approach deals biblically with corporate sin. It takes into account the reality of the spiritual world as well as the need for correcting leadership and administration problems, as well as the need to look at the church's current strengths and weaknesses. There is hope for your church, because the Church is the body of Christ and He wants it to be alive and well. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor and the only One who can set your church free, restore broken relationships and heal the broken-hearted.

All over the world and in your community people are lonely, hungry, sick, struggling to make ends meet, bitter, imprisoned, dying. Do you feel powerless to make a difference? You don't have to be helpless! From the simplest acts of kindness to more complex works of mercy, you'll find more than 100 practical ideas for compassionately responding to the needs of others. It's all here, from suggestions about working with the poor to honoring and assisting the elderly; helping immigrants assimilate and supporting the sick; respecting and serving the disabled, showing compassion to those in prison, and caring for the environment. You'll discover practical ways to begin making a difference in your community today, and helping others catch a vision for changing the world! A leader's guide makes this adaptable for group study, as well as individual reading. Jesus calls us to creatively and courteously share the good news by loving our neighbor. It's time to begin!

Every day, we watch television, read the newspaper, see a movie, or listen to music. We are bombarded with messages, some of them overt, some of them more invisible. How often do we stop and think about what we are watching and listening to? Entertainment expert Dr. Ted Baehr and legendary musician Pat Boone think its time we began paying attention to our mass-media consumption. We must make wise choices for ourselves, our families and protect our children from toxic messages. But where do we start? It begins, say Baehr and Boone, by knowing what you believe and examining cultural messages in light of scriptural truth. Here, you'll find answers to questions like these: Who are the major players in the entertainment industry, and what messages are they sending? How can I become culturally and media literate? Why do I need to know what my worldview is, and how do I figure it out? How do I protect my family from toxic media messages? The time to start fighting for your family's hearts and minds is now. The culture wars can be won. It all begins with you!

Evangelism Made Easy - The cohosts of The Way of the Master TV series and radio program, Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort offer this simple and flexible curriculum for churches and small groups who want to obey the Bible's command to tell others about Jesus. Kirk and Ray guide participants step-by-step through their straightforward method of evangelism, made popular through their award-winning show. Those who complete the course will have every tool they need to overcome their fear and talk about their faith with friends, neighbors, coworkers and even strangers! Four complete lessons can be presented in a one-day crash course or offered in four weekly class sessions. This title pairs seamlessly with the Conquer Your Fear, Share Your Faith Leader's Guide which includes a DVD and features teaching segments from Kirk and Ray.

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.

This book is a training manual for Christian soldiers, motivating believers to not give up and encouraging them that God's Word is true when it claims that He will come through for them as long as they do not quit. Dr. Jerry Savelle, who admits that he was once a quitter himself, writes candidly about his own experiences and challenges God's army to stand on the Word of God until victory is achieved. 224 pages.

What can be done to reestablish the home as the primary place where faith is nurtured? Start with pastors who can set the tone for the importance of family ministry throughout the church. Building Faith at Home challenges pastors to do as Mark Holmen did - change from being a pastor who gave little attention to family ministry to being a senior pastor who has made family ministry a top priority in his church. Part of an exciting Faith at Home initiative, this book offers a vision and a practical model for how to weave family ministry into the DNA of churches. Holmen gives pastors the tools they need to consider the level of their commitment to family ministry and an integrated approach that can revolutionize their approach to this vital ministry.

When Jesus' disciples would have dismissed the children thronging around Him, Jesus revealed the preciousness of children and how their simple faith is a model for everyone. Jack Hayford reveals Jesus' teaching about children and being childlike.First, he describes the child in all of us and how God will bless that teachability. He then underscores our responsibility to protect our children from 12 dirty dozen things that hurt a child's heart. Finally, he stresses our need to nurture and develop children, the future of our nations. Blessing Your Children provides a clear awareness of God's heart toward children. This book is a great gift for those you love.

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.

Rediscover the Foundational Principles of Our Faith One of the finest expository teachers helps readers restore the fire and conviction of their first love for Christ by helping them to better understand His character, His Glory and His love for them. MacArthur counsels all who want more love for Christ to pursue Him by making Christ their focus each day - in every activity, every contact, every thought. Previously published as First Love, by Victor Books.

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.

How Today's Leaders Can Learn, Discern and Move into the Future Join three seasoned church-growth experts on an insider's tour of the most innovative churches today! Discover a dozen types of innovation, each with profiles of congregations that have implemented that innovation. This is more than a show-and-tell tour, however. Each chapter offers a solid takeaway for church leaders on how to learn and apply the appropriate innovation profiled

The role of women in the church is a debate that has raged within the church for much of the twentieth century. On one side are those who say there is no difference between men and women. On the other side are those who severely limit women who want to offer ministry to the church. Judith TenElshof and Robert Saucy take the middle approach. Believing that the modern views have denied the distinctions between men and women, the authors adopt a view called complementarianism. TenElshof and Saucy argue that while men and women are equal, God has given different roles to each and that these roles rely on each other to be fully effective.

Most adults feel uncomfortable in the teen subculture. From this uneasy position, adults like to 'handle' the teens like children because they are threatening. The purpose of Timeless Youth Ministry is to help people in the church and Christian youth organizations minister to teenagers. As former youth pastors and current professors of youth ministry, the authors have 'been there, done that' in this field. They've run programs, camps, and ministry trips in such diverse places as southern California, east Tennessee, northeast Ohio and Alberta, Canada, to name a few. This book is a needed resource to examine afresh what it means to be an adolescent in today's culture and how those who minister to young people can best reach them.

Women in pain populate every congregation. Left to themselves, many will become discouraged and leave the church. But pastors cannot adequately care for the needs of everyone. Beverly White Hislop has written Shepherding a Woman's Heart to challenge pastors to infuse to women in their churches with the same spirit that moves them to care for their flock. This amazing resource provides substantial guidance on how to properly equip healthy women to come forward and nurture hurting women.

Things have changed. The Truth has not. The 1950's are gone forever. The days of the Sunday school attendance award and the much-loved Sunday school picnic have faded into oblivion. Yet some youth ministries still operate as if today's kids are living in a vacuum, unaffected by the changing morals of today's society. How can we reach these kids with the truth of the gospel?

More than fifty of America's youth experts give advice and encouragement to those who long to see this generation know the love of Christ. They help readers think through their philosophies of youth ministry, break down barriers that impede progress, and maximize their own gifts and the gifts of those who work with them. They answer tough questions such as: How can leaders build a relational youth ministry? How can we find and support volunteers? What are the issues women face in youth ministry? How do we minister in ethnic communities? How should we respond to popular culture? How can we help hurting adolescents? You can have a vibrant youth ministry even in these uncertain times. You can reach this generation for Christ.

David Murrow's book, Why Men Hate Going to Church, has heightened awareness of an epidemic. Patrick Morley offers the solution. No Man Left Behind is the blueprint for growing a thriving men's ministry that has the power to rebuild the church as we know it, pulling men off the couch and into active involvement as part of the body of Christ.

Conflict abounds in the church of Jesus Christ. Reconciliation within the body, however, will not happen with the right "method" or "set of principles". In Making Peace, readers are challenged to place their church and all of its dissension under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

As more churches add women's ministry programs, there is a growing need to address the issues that naturally arise as women minister alongside one another and to one another. Given the fallen nature of the human heart as well as the complexities of personalities, conflict is an inevitable aspect of ministry. How do women deal with emotions when other women are insensitive, manipulative, or just plain mean? What does the Bible tell us? To be equipped for conflict, women must understand and master strategies specifically related to conflict with other women.

Leading Women Who Wound shows women how to effectively deal with conflict within their ministries. Seasoned women's ministry leaders themselves, Sue Edwards and Kelley Mathews walk through several different aspects of conflict resolution including self examination, identification of potential sources of conflict, tools for conflict resolution, and insight on how to prevent and move beyond conflict to minister to those who have been sources of contention. Recognizing that not all conflict results in a happy ending, Leading Women Who Wound gives the tools necessary to minister effectively and move forward with integrity.

First, we've got to have a goal: To become a man or woman of prayer. What does that even mean? It means that prayer is a central part of your daily experience. It's a defining characteristic. It means that you are a person who walks with God, led by the Spirit, abiding in Christ. A person of prayer is following in Christ's steps, going to the Father night and day, in all circumstances and conditions of the heart.

The goal of this booklet, which is a companion study guide to A Journey to Victorious Praying: Finding Discipline and Delight in Your Prayer Life by Bill Thrasher, is to assist in the journey toward becoming a person who prays.

It is set up in an eight-week format (five days per week). However, you can use it however you deem fit. Sprint through it in just a few weeks or mosey along for a few months--however you choose to work through these disciplines, ask God to guide your journey.

This booklet can work well for individual, partner, or group study. No matter whom you choose to share this journey with, make sure to pray for each other often as you seek God's best for your prayer lives.

Whether speaking in front of a small gathering or a large congregation, public speaking strikes fear into the heart of the bravest person. Plagued by stuttering and resultant school problems, John Walsh still found himself called to be a preacher. He has written The Art of Storytelling to encourage and teach anyone with a fear of public speaking how to speak successfully, confidently, and compellingly. This book is especially relevant for anyone preparing any form of weekly Bible teaching.

We often struggle to answer the question: What is the right thing to do here? Good Intentions suggests that it is possible to do good in economic matters if we begin with the right assumptions (and begins to ask the right questions). · Is greed ever good? · How can we give poor kids a million bucks? ·How did Ben and Jerry get so rich? · Is capitalism ruining the environment? · Do immigrants take American jobs?

Our actions can produce outcomes that reflect what we value.

Erwin Lutzer's book helped thousands grasp the healing power of forgiveness. Now, by using this study guide, the message is even simpler to apply in real life situations. Bitterness is a self-inflicted wound. By choosing not to forgive, we voluntarily sentence ourselves to diminished, pain-filled lives. Why would anyone do such a thing? Because forgiveness seems an inappropriate response to offense. Painful, personal wounds cry out for justice.

But what if justice is not possible? Or if it doesn't undo the damage done? In this study guide, designed to be used with the book and the DVD teaching lessons, noted pastor and author Erwin Lutzer carefully illustrates how it is possible to right the wrongs of your life. Whether you've been wronged--or have wronged others--he makes it possible to experience the freedom of forgiveness and the restoration of a clear conscience.

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.

Caring for Souls is a helpful primer on the intersection of psychology and Scripture. How psychology fits into Christianity is a thorny and often confusing subject for many. There is a great deal of disagreement even among experts. In Caring for Souls, Gary Bredfeldt and Harry Shields address the intersection of Scripture and psychology in Christian counseling. The authors address different approaches and analyze them against Scripture, and then provide readers with practical teaching on implementing biblical counseling.

In this historical overview of Western civilization, Dr. Rogers traces the theological and philosophical forces that shaped Western culture. From the beginnings of Judaism 4,000 years ago to the Greeks 2,500 years ago, to Christianity’s confrontation with and transformation of the Roman Empire, through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the establishment of America, and the emergence of the postmodern perspective, it has been the dynamic tension between the Judeo-Christian tradition, Classical Philosophy, and the philosophical perspectives that emerged from it, that has shaped the American worldview, making us who we are.

Dr. Rogers presents a balanced, easy-to-read exposition of the kind of life Jesus lived--a life that changed the world. After an opening section that explains who Jesus is, Rogers uses 45 brief sections to explore the life Jesus lived--a life which was in fact, God living among us showing us how to live.

Designed for personal devotional reading, or as a discussion guide for small groups or Bible classes, The Things Jesus Did is a serious but practical theological study of Jesus' life and ministry presented in a nontechnical, useful manner that readers will appreciate.

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.

Reconnecting is a simple retelling of the basic story told in the Bible, the story of God's desire for a relationship with his human children. It is a story of love and heartbreak, of action, sacrifice, renewal, fulfillment and hope, a story that reaches to the depths of our souls and touches us at the very core of our being.

Tens of thousands of Christians go on short-term mission trips around the world each year. Those believers are a blessing to the churches where they worship and serve and to the people in the cultures they visit who are served, saved and strengthened through their loving efforts. Those who go on short-term mission trips are often changed by the experience, committing themselves to the financial support of a mission effort or making a commitment to become missionaries themselves. May God bless everyone involved in short-term missions.

This book is designed to provide short-term missionaries with insight into: 1) a biblical theology of mission, 2) a biblical but contextualized message, 3) a basic understanding of the role of culture in cross-cultural missions, and 4) some basic guidelines for short-term mission that will help make the experience more pleasant and fruitful for everyone involved.

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.

Satisfying spiritual formation is something that seems to elude many Christians. We want to grow. We want to be better than we are. But we are frustrated by the presence of sin in our lives and an apparent disconnect from God. Following The Spirit To The Heart Of God is a study of what Peter and Paul have to say about the process of spiritual formation. It is about giving control of our lives to the Holy Spirit, allowing him to recreate us in the image of God so we can be the people God wants us to be.

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.

Christ devotional journal features five daily devotions each week that parallel the study of Christ's life.

The Bible promises that rest is available to us right now. Jesus can lead us into His presence--and rest--today. This book gives you the tools to cultivate an attitude of rest that will help you remain in Him, even in the midst of our restless lives.

Chasing after God can feel like driving with three flat tires. Consider this Bible study a quick pit stop for tuning up your pursuit of God.

Chase Falson has lost his faith so he crosses the Atlantic to visit his uncle, a Franciscan priest, where he encounters the teachings of Francis of Assisi and rediscovers his ancient faith. Follow Chase's spiritual journey in the footsteps of Francis, and then begin one of your own through the pilgrim's guide included in this book.

Students will deepen their understanding of God’s character and the way He moved in the major players in the Old Testament. This devotional journal includes five daily Scripture readings each week for 48 weeks.

Even though we want to be content and trust God, we can still feel overwhelmed by worry. Filled with encouragement and practical help for overcoming anxiety, this 12-session Bible study for women explains what God says about contentment and offers ways to apply it to daily life.

Simon Peter was an ordinary man of no social standing. And yet Jesus chose him to be the "rock" upon which the church would be built. This apparent incongruity begs the question, What does Christ see in you?

In this book and Bible study for men, Stuart Briscoe retells the gospel account of Simon Peter's interactions with the Master and explores how God wants to use your potential just as He used Peter's.

In this individual study set, you'll receive the Beyond Your Best QuEW Cards, which offer 52 weeks of encouragement from Beyond Your Best.

Deserts can be harsh, but they also are home to rare beauty. Spiritual deserts are difficult, but in God’s hands they can become life transforming. During spiritual deserts, we can find love in God’s dwelling place, the tabernacle, because it offers a mental blueprint for intimately meeting with Him.

Author Eddie Broussard guides readers through the tabernacle, clearly explaining its meaning in light of its New Covenant fulfillment in Christ. Understanding the tabernacle can lead you to have worship that empowers, wisdom that guides, and a knowledge of God that transforms.

Learn how to effectively communicate the gospel with the Acts 29 evangelism kit. This kit is an effective outreach-equipping tool, perfect for leaders and lay people. Use in a Sunday school class, a ministry, or to further your study into the Great Commission.

You can spend time with God and meditate on His Word daily in just seven minutes. Developed by The Navigators, this tract is ideal for new and growing believers. A good discipleship tool.

Build your faith in God with these creative, 7-minute meditations from The Message//REMIX,including ideas on how to put what you learn into practice through fasting, prayer, and community service. Each devotion is written for students, by students.

This exciting resource is designed to deepen students’ knowledge of God’s Word. 31 Verses: The Bible explores what Scripture has to say about God’s Word. Students will look at how the Bible describes God’s Word, how people are expected to respond to it, and the role Scripture plays in our faith.

Teenagers are constantly told that the important parts of their lives are still to come. This devotional journal challenges them to live for Christ right now.With a unique pocket size that allows it to fit in a backpack or purse, this journal guides students to develop a quiet time with its guided questions, journaling space, and short devotions.

This easy-to-use, creative devotional journal focuses on becoming the body of Christ by learning about the early church.

This devotional journal gives a complete picture of Jesus really is. Contains memory verses, devotional passages, and reflection questions. Give the students in your life a visually appealing way to get closer to Christ.

31 Verses: Character is a pocket-size devotional journal that is culturally relevant and filled with timeless truth. includes a memory verse, devotional passage, and reflection questions.

How can you truly experience the Lord? This handy prayer guide shows you 25 biblical ways you can know Him.

23 creative ways to revive your zest for following Christ. Great for churches and small groups.

Practical, biblical advice for women preparing to mentor.

Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves. When Helping Hurts provides foundational concepts, clearly articulated general principles and relevant applications. The result is an effective and holistic ministry to the poor, not a truncated gospel.

This book will help WMU members be the agents of reconciliation in situations where various women’s ministries find themselves in a competitive position with one another.

The power of the gospel is revealed through a local church of homeless people, college students, and middle-class Christians who meet beneath the noise of 18-wheelers and rushing traffic under an interstate bridge in Waco, Texas, and brings a wake-up call for today’s American church.

In Tough Calls: Game-Winning Principles for Leaders Under Pressure, pastor and high school football official Travis Collins offers encouragement and inspiration to Christian leaders. Travis uses famous and infamous moments from sports history to bring to life key principles of spiritual leadership. Written for both men and women, this easy-to-read book mixes stories and quotes from the sports world together with biblical wisdom and input from leadership experts to encourage and challenge all Christian leaders. The book addresses many crucial issues of spiritual leadership including taking risks, maintaining poise under pressure, handling conflict, dealing with criticism, managing an organization through change, and confronting disruptive people.

Written for Christians in any profession, Tough Calls does, however, include a special word to pastors at the end of each chapter. Taking into account the unique challenges pastors face, these bonus sections will help ministers refocus and recharge.

Tough Calls will be an invaluable resource for any Christian who must regularly make difficult decisions.

Too Soon to Say Goodbye offers a renewal of courage and faith for families and friends grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide. Written by three women all uniquely affected by suicide, the book explores the aftermath from a wide range of true stories. Based on the hope found in God’s Word, Too Soon to Say Goodbye offers specially ed Scripture passages and Bible stories that demonstrate God’s love and compassion in times of sorrow. Pastors, family therapists, and grief support groups will also find Too Soon to Say Goodbye an indispensable resource.

Written to female eating disorder sufferers age 15-25, this book provides hope that, through faith and trust in God, they too can rise above the living death of eating disorders and arise as God’s daughters, full of life and with a promising future.

The Story of WMU Teaching Guide is for missions leaders who wish to teach missions groups, believers, and church members about the history, purpose, and story of WMU. This downloadable guide serves as a companion piece to Rosalie Hunt’s The Story of WMU and offers numerous ideas that will help any group desiring to know more about WMU’s history.

From the life of one man included in the pages of history comes a model for missional leadership. In The Nehemiah Factor, trusted pastor and denominational leader Dr. Frank Page uses the life and story of Nehemiah to challenge today’s leader to model the 16 characteristics of a missional leader.

Drawing from the life and a study of Nehemiah, understand what it means to be a person of calling, to live out the vision despite the obstacles, and to have deep concern for the spiritual well-being of those you lead. Included with each characteristic is a Scripture and personal illustration to help you evaluate your own missional leadership qualities. The Nehemiah Factor becomes one of the greatest case studies on missional leadership.

Both an emerging term and a developing concept, Business as mission (BAM) has drawn much fascination in both mission and business circles with the concept of strategically using business to accomplish missional purposes. Though the term is ubiquitous in mission circles, there is great disparity in what it means. There has been much talk about BAM in theory, but far less research done on how it works out in reality. The Missional Entrepreneur takes an in-depth look at business as mission in reality with an eye for the principles and practices that can make it effective.

This book encourages and inspires each mother to develop her ability to mentor her child, as well as to be mentored herself by God.

God only has one name, but it is a name too big for human lips to speak. Through the revelation of Scripture, God teaches His name to His people a piece at a time. Each revelation of who He is comes through a demonstration of what He does. He has perfect integrity—what He does perfectly reflects who He is. Through the Old Covenant, God’s name is revealed layer by layer. In Jesus, the name is revealed fully. The Word becomes flesh and the fullness of the godhead dwells in human form. The name is Jesus.

Learn what it means to pray and to live “in the name of Jesus.” The name of Jesus gives you access to all the riches of the spiritual realm. The name of Jesus brings earth into the power of heaven and brings the power of heaven into the circumstances of earth. This eight-week interactive Bible study explores how Jesus reveals Himself as Jehovah, the Great I AM, as He meets the deepest needs of mankind. Discover the meaning behind Jesus’s “I AM” statements in the Gospel of John. Learn how to live in the authority and power of the name above all names.

This book unpacks and highlights the practical things learned by the author from case studies on the topic of teamwork in a church and/or workplace involving impact of team dynamics, adapting to multicultural and multigenerational members, teamwork techniques and tools, what a team is, team leader and members, team purpose, processes for team success, team breakdowns, and more.

Spiritual Leadership in the Global City is a contemporary study of the extraordinary spiritual leaders God has called out to be a sphere of influence in the global city of New York. Recognized voice and spiritual leader Mac Pier has compiled the stories of these leaders and the churches that are collaborating at historic levels to transform lives in the city and the city itself. Engulfed in stories from the mayor’s office to the lesser-known homeless shelters in the Bronx, readers will experience a sense of transformation. Although written primarily for lay and professional church leaders, this book will benefit any believer with a passion for people and transforming lives. It is also appropriate for institutions equipping people to serve and work in the cities.

This book looks at the data that enables leadership to thrive within these environments and provides the serious reader with the theology, history, and practice of leadership within the urban context. Through this book, readers will be pointed toward training and educational resources as well as places to get started where they are.

Believers in the West are understanding more about Christians struggling in other parts of the world. However, many of the accounts of the persecuted church are missing an important part of the story—the women. In this stirring book, Anneke Companjen sheds light on the lives of eleven women suffering persecution in nine different countries around the world. Through their true stories of imprisonment, full of loss and pain, and unexpected joy, these women inspire Western readers to persevere and endure their own hardships for the cause of Christ.

At the end of each chapter there are questions for deeper study, whether for individual use or as a guide for small groups seeking to understand and pray for our persecuted sisters. Readers will be deeply moved by the strength and faith of these courageous women.

As a woman, you have probably done or said things that you are not proud of. Each of us carries around a certain amount of shame that prevents us from being used as the vessels God intended. If you and the women you know are carrying around shame, then Shameless will help you overcome your feelings of guilt. Designed as an eight-week study, this basic study looks at three parts of shame: the biblical origins, the lives of eight women who bore shame and yet were used by God for His glory, and the cumulative aspects of shame.

This book delves into the Bible book of Esther to help women learn true gracious living—to allow God’s grace to permeate their hearts, home, and hopes for the future so they can become women of grace.

With the hustle of the holiday season come multiple distractions—distractions that keep you from focusing on Christ. Beloved prayer author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean, in her first Christmas release, Pursuing the Christ helps you see the distractions of Christmas in a new way.

Pursuing the Christ is a 31-day devotional and prayer guide based on themes of Advent, such as hope, peace, and joy. This guide, with its beautiful and poetic divider pages and easy-to-use format, leads you through the weeks of Advent, providing familiar Christmas verses and some possibly not-so-familiar Messianic passages from the Prophets and Psalms.

Warm your heart this holiday season as you seek to bring Christ into view.

This book is an in-depth study of the Gospel of John that can be used as a discipling tool, Bible study, or as an evangelism tool with seekers. Step out of your comfort zone and lead someone through the Gospel of John! As casual as the name implies, Pull Up a Chair will equip you to invite another woman to pull up a chair with you weekly and talk through the basic themes and topics of Scripture. Armed with your copy of the book, you’ll be equipped to disciple or evangelize another woman. One by one as you enter the journey of both teacher and guide, you’ll know the joy and privilege of seeing other women come to know Christ through the study of His Word.

A training tool that reviews biblical principles of prayer and teaches application—personal, church, and other ministry.

You’ll find two powerful resources to move you and those around you from an attitude of charity to one of compassion. The change purse provides income to the Lydia Cooperative, a tsunami-survivor artisan group.

A compilation of 12 books on Adult missions.

Are you concerned with the spiritual health of your family? Are you concerned that your children aren’t forming a strong foundation of faith to prepare them for life? What can you do as a parent to give them the spiritual foundation they need? Let Setting Up Stones help you transform your home into a place of family worship. This fast-paced, interactive release offers practical ideas and directions for how to be an effective spiritual parent. Biblical principles are explained and illustrated concisely for today’s busy parent. Each chapter has a sidebar that provides key ideas and practical activities to apply to your own home and family.

In this DVD companion to her six-week Bible study through the Beatitudes, author Jennifer Kennedy Dean examines the promise of blessedness in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Unlike a circumstance-driven emotion such as happiness, blessedness is eternal and grounded in the reality of Christ in you. You are able to live in the state of blessedness that God has created for you when you discover the key to true holiness—a call to freedom and joy. We were made for holiness, and this core concept of the Beatitudes is accessed through a praying life—a life lived in the present-tense power of God. It is only when we continually pursue holiness that blessedness comes, and we discover the power and fulfillment of the promise of God.

Whether you like to admit it or not, you serve in a leadership role in your life. Whether it’s at church, home, or work, someone is looking for you to lead. An your response can be competent, biblical leadership with a spirit of servanthood.

In this newly revised edition of the popular "A Woman's Guide" series, Rhonda Kelley offers 12 weekly lessons with biblical insights that challenge women to honestly examine their own hearts. Servant Leadership provides a comprehensive look at leadership, including discerning your call, discovering a vision, prioritizing, and identifying leadership styles.

This six-week interactive Bible study will guide you in exploring the secrets of the kingdom of God as revealed in the parables Jesus shared.

This six-week interactive Bible study with leader material can be used to guide a study group in exploring the secrets of the kingdom of God as revealed in the parables Jesus shared. Contains one copy of the workbook—DVD sessions of the author teaching about the parables—and a CD that provides a leader guide, printable pages for small group discussion and personal reflection, supporting documents for planning a retreat, and music (vocal track, instrumental track, and PDF document for sheet music).

Meet Denver, a man raised under plantation-style slavery in Louisiana in the 1960s a man who escaped, hopping a train to wander, homeless, for eighteen years on the streets of Dallas, Texas. No longer a slave, Denver’s life was still hopeless-until God moved. First came a godly woman who prayed, listened, and obeyed. And then came her husband, Ron, an international arts dealer at home in a world of Armani-suited millionaires. And then they all came together.

But slavery takes many forms. Deborah discovers that she has cancer. In the face of possible death, she charges her husband to rescue Denver. Who will be saved, and who will be lost? What is the future for these unlikely three? What is God doing?

Same Kind of Different As Me is the emotional tale of their story: a telling of pain and laughter, doubt and tears, dug out between the bondages of this earth and the free possibility of heaven. No reader or listener will ever forget it.

Refresh blends the beauty of a women’s magazine with the depth of individual and group Bible study.

Plunge2Poverty is a guidebook to help group leaders plan a weekend event for students or adults to experience the real challenges and dilemmas of living in poverty. In this 42-hour "plunge," participants give up their own possessions and comforts to become one of the poor from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. This intensive experiential learning event challenges individuals and groups to face the harsh realities of poverty in the world and spurs actions and compassion among believers.

Farah lives in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with her family and wants nothing more than to develop a deeper devotion to her Muslim faith. She sees the month of Ramadan as her chance to draw nearer to Allah, and pursues that goal. All goes well until the prophet Isa—Jesus—appears to her in a dream and calls her to Himself. Her brother, Kareem, who has never liked Farah, seeks an opportunity to expose her for the sham he believes she is.

Farah’s cousin frequents an online chat where former Muslims gather to discuss their new faith, based on their belief that Isa is much more than a Muslim prophet—He is actually the Son of God. While there, her cousin becomes acquainted with an American girl of Muslim ancestry—now a devout Christian named Sara—and a friendship quickly develops. However, Sara has problems of her own due to her 15-year-old brother Emir’s involvement with a gang.

Each finds her faith put to the test. Will they remain true to their beliefs? Will God protect them in the midst of persecution and treachery? Or will they be required to pay the ultimate price for their faith?

More than 17,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year. Even with major antitrafficking efforts in place around much of the country, sexual exploitation, forced labor, and agricultural slavery continue as the norm in many places of the United States . . . probably even in your own backyard.

Exploring leads in their own hometown area of Atlanta, investigators Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs unearthed an ugly truth—a dark subculture of human trafficking in their own neighborhood. Their unforgettable look into the secret world of America’s modern slave trade led to a global undercover operation to rescue victims from today’s greatest form of evil.

Join their gripping journey that will shock readers and motivate a new generation to join the struggle for a nation—and world—where every individual can respond to slavery with Not in My Town.

In 1994, 16-year-old Eric Irivuzumugabe climbed a cypress tree and remained there for 15 days without food or water. He wasn’t trying to win a bet with his friends—he was attempting to save his life. Eric is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that claimed the lives of 1 million people in just 100 days. In the midst of indescribable loss, and without a job, a home, or an education, Eric was determined to start a new life for himself and his two surviving brothers. My Father, Maker of the Trees is the story not only of his physical survival, it is the story of his spiritual rebirth and the role he is playing in the healing and redemption of his land and people. His incredible account will show readers the reality of evil in the world as well as the power of hope. Eric’s message of God’s relentless love through our darkest circumstances will encourage and inspire.

12 issues of ideal reading for members of Women on Mission and any woman who wants to grow spiritually. Articles in this monthly magazine include women’s issues, Bible study, prayer, how to minister and witness, spiritual development, and much more.

A poverty experience built on a life-size game board, similar to a game of Life or Monopoly. This is an exclusive CD with instructions, layout, family situations, game board pieces, debriefing questions, bucks and a resource bibliography. Through this resource, participants will walk through a two hour experience as families. These families journey through situations of budgets and the unexpected of life in poverty.

Termites for dinner. Bombs in the backyard. A nation torn by decades of war still on the brink. Can one life really make a difference here? Born without her left hip and leg, Michele Perry is no stranger to seeming impossibilities. So when she arrived in war-torn Southern Sudan-with little more than her faith in God’s promises—she did what everyone told was crazy: she opened a home for orphaned children in the middle of guerilla warfare territory and has now become "mama" to over one hundred little lives. With a deft pen, she recounts unforgettable stories of life in the bush, stories that capture the reader with the stark realities of living in a war zone-and the power of God’s love to transform them. Her own story is just as compelling as the ministry she is living.

Dick Eastman has traveled the world forty times over as president of Every Home for Christ, a ministry that uses home-to-home literature distribution to spread the gospel. Currently EHC has planted more than 2.6 billion gospel messages in 198 nations. Now Dick shares some of the powerful testimonies resulting from that work over the last 62 years. This is the SHADES of REaD book for April 2012.

This book will help Christian men and women learn how to discover God’s distinct calling in their lives and boldly and courageously live it.

You are a letter. You were created to receive and send a message intentionally into the lives of the people you do life with daily. That’s how love is demonstrated, how relationships happen, and how people find the abundant life as they were intended to find it. In Live Sent, pastor and coversationalist Jason C. Dukes helps readers see how giving yourself away in the daily means being to other people the letter of God’s love that has been written on our hearts.

A companion to Jennifer’s popular Bible study, this leader’s kit includes 12 DVD sessions, one member book, and tw CDs that provide leader’s guide, teaching outline, and illustrations.

Through daily Scripture, space to record meditations, and inspirational quotes taken from Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s many books, the Live a Praying Life Journal empowers readers to “a praying life.”

Readers gain a thorough and detailed teaching on the purpose, process, promise, and practice of prayer. Based on the author’s extensive biblical study and research, personal depth of experience, and more than 20-year prayer ministry, this expanded 13-week study helps readers tackle complex theological questions many ask—If God is sovereign, why pray? If prayer is not a way to change God’s mind, what is it? What does it mean to pray with authority? What forms does prayer take? This experienced author delivers the biblical basics of prayer and promotes the ongoing communication with God that invigorates every aspect of a Christian’s life and sends His power and provision into the world.

Discover the five keys that God has given His people to unlock the freedom He offers. Focusing on God’s platform, provision, power, presence, and promise, Jennifer Kennedy Dean reveals how to run the race set before you and emerge as a winner. Full-spectrum freedom is God’s gift to every believer-freedom in every area of your life. "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free," says Paul (Galatians 5:1 NIV). Learn to lay aside every hindrance to the abundant life Christ bought with His blood.

Experience the joy of the Lord every day by letting your joy shine to others. Life in Christ holds true joy, as the Apostle Paul demonstrated in the midst of difficult circumstances. Though imprisoned, his joy was contagious in his letter to the Philippians. In this newly revised edition of the popular “A Woman’s Guide” series, Rhonda Kelley offers 12 weekly lessons with biblical insights that challenge women to honestly examine their own hearts. Joyful Living encourages women to discover what it means to rejoice always in the Gospel, God’s plan, suffering, the promise of heaven, circumstance, and prayer.

In a second evangelism-focused study from author, speaker, and Women by Design ministry team member Kimberly Sowell, you will learn to look at your unique life journey as a series of exciting evangelistic opportunities. This six-week study follows a simple-to-use format.

Opening with relevant stories and analogies, the weekly lessons will engage study participants in a time of personal reflection through in-depth study questions and summary questions related to the theme of each chapter. Participants will have ample opportunity to exercise their new understanding of biblical principles and truths through targeted and specific action-oriented application questions and directives. Facilitator’s guide is included.

Open your students' eyes to the city of London and its people through the International Mission Study 2011. This study will engage your students minds and hearts as you take this journey together. This teaching guide for students includes lesson plans for four sessions with suggestions for shorter or longer sessions. For the most effective mission study, you will also need the International Mission Study 2011 Tabloid for Adults and Students (one per student).

Discover the multilingual capital of London with its unique opportunities and challenges. Read about the various faiths represented in this city and how God is working among them. Find out how you can partner and pray for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Have fun learning about the British traditions and language we share.

This guide is designed to help leaders coordinate the presentation of information and learning activities for adults as they learn about London. This guide is a resource with suggested agendas, timelines, publicity, décor, and activities. To be used with the International Mission Study Adult/Student Tabloid (one per participant).

By using an approach that encourages total church involvement, WMU will become more relevant to the ever-changing needs of your church and its missions efforts. This guide is essential for missions leaders who are serious about leading members to live the call of Christ!

Leadership resource for associational leaders working to include churches in their local work. A complete all-in-one guide for all associational WMU leaders and staff.

Let this easy-to-use guide help you begin and grow world-changing groups of adults in your church. Using this all-inclusive guide, you can encourage, equip, and engage every adult in missions.

Hope for The Home Front explores the emotional and spiritual battlegrounds common in the experience of today’s military wife. The author offers stories and wisdom from her own experience as the wife of a US Navy Seal for 21 years. Topics include facing fear, anger, burnout, temptation, and separation from loved ones.

Spiritual seekers are looking for more than life experiences that continually fail to satisfy. This 12-session study presents the basic beliefs of Christianity in a way that is engaging, personal, thoroughly biblical, and ultimately satisfying. Through His Word, God makes Himself known to those who seek Him. With Scripture as its foundation, God’s Truth Revealed addresses common questions of spiritual seekers and new Christians—like Who is God? and Why am I here

God’s Truth Revealed is the ideal textbook for small groups or one-to-one discipleship as part of a church’s Christian education programming.

When Grace Akallo was fifteen years old, rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army raided her school. Thus began her nightmarish existence as one of northern Uganda’s thousands of child soldiers. Forced to endure savagery, starvation, abuse and other horrors with only her faith to sustain her, Grace eventually escaped to share her story with the world.

The annual fulfilled magalog is an excellent tool for introducing missional living to women in your church or community. Written into sections featuring short anecdotes and articles on a woman’s Life, World, and Journey, it provides simple and concrete ideas for missions that women can include in their daily lives.

Families on Mission is a book of fun family activity ideas that will help parents teach their preschoolers how to love, share, and care about others. Parents today must compete with many other influences that shape their preschool child’s life. That’s why it is important for parents to begin early to teach Christian values and beliefs to their child. Packed with creative ideas, this book will help parents discover ways to involve their preschoolers in ministry activities designed just for their small hands. These creative projects and activities, which are easy to do and require few resources, create family models for praying for others, helping others, and becoming active in the community.

After telling Mary that she would be a virgin who gives birth to God’s son, the angel Gabrielle mentions that Mary’s older relative Elizabeth is also having a miraculous pregnancy. The Bible tells us that Mary immediately went to visit Elizabeth. We can only speculate as to why Mary did not stay home with her own mother, but it could be because Mary knew she needed to talk to another woman who could relate to and understand her situation—she needed a spiritual mother.

By sharing her simple and practical ideas, Donna Thomas gives readers the confidence they need to become world-changing disciples. She is advocating a missional lifestyle not a program. She covers the basics of international ministry: how to start a conversation how to build a meaningful relationship and how to work the Lord into ongoing conversations. With sensitivity, Thomas helps readers overcome their fears and then understand how to befriend and witness to people of another faith or cultural background.

Personal remembrances of Alma Hunt, legendary leader of WMU during a pivotal period in WMU's history updated with new material.

Does Love Bear All Things? Describes obstacles women can overcome in their lives by practicing tough love, thus making themselves available to participate more fully in missions.

A simulation experience built on a life-size game board, similar to the game of Life. This CD includes instructions, layout, family situations, game pieces, debriefing questions, bucks, and bibliography. Participants walk through a two-hour experience as families journeying through complex life situations and unexpected poverty.

Does trying to follow God’s call in your life leave you feeling directionally challenged? God rarely tells us where He’s taking us or exactly how to get there. Instead, like a compass, He points us in the general direction we are to go.

In Directionally Challenged, trusted pastor Travis Collins helps Christians discern God’s compass for their lives. Collins offers help to Christians who have gotten sidetracked and encouragement for those whose priorities have been overturned and life’s callings set aside. In his warm and engaging way, Collins provides sound, biblical teaching on finding the courage, conviction, and character needed to discern and live God’s call.

A leader’s DVD to be used with online resources and copies of emphasis book in small-group study. DVD includes a music video, instructions for use with a small group, and an online guide with discussion questions.

For anyone going on a missions trip to a Spanish-speaking country, conducting a local ministry with Hispanics, or simply wanting to talk with a Spanish-speaking neighbor, this CD can help. Through immersion in Spanish, this resource introduces listeners to the sound, cadence, and diction of the Spanish language. Even beginners will be amazed at their progress. With the incredible increase in Hispanic populations in communities all across the US, this tool will help build bridges of communication.

Highlight the service and dedication of various staff members (paid and volunteer) by putting the spotlight on this often-underappreciated cast—the men and women on your church staff. Make it your mission to celebrate their award-winning role in your church body and help them feel valued. This experience is planned as a churchwide fellowship. However, read the Adaptations at the end for other ideas of how to use the experience. October is Minister Appreciation Month, so you may want to plan this event in October. If that does not work, plan it for late February, the usual time of the Academy Awards. To simplify this event, plan it as a dessert fellowship after an already scheduled event or worship service.

Women everywhere oftentimes need encouragement to embrace God’s call in their lives. This dramatic experience helps them to do just that, spoken through the voices of eight women of the Bible. This event plan also includes ideas for prayer time, reflection, and commitment. Minimal props and staging are required to illustrate this challenge.

The time to get out from the four walls of the church is now! We learn about missions and pray for missions, but the best-kept secret is actually doing missions. Women of all ages and stages of life desire to get involved. They just don’t know where to start. This download takes you from A to Z in planning missions and ministry projects that the women of your church can do throughout the year, helping them to develop a missional lifestyle. Achieve this goal by coordinating projects, and conclude the year with a missions and ministry fair.

Your church has worked hard, and now it’s time to celebrate the many missions milestones that were achieved this year through an end-of-the-year celebration!

“Here Comes the Bride” is often heard being sung by girls or is heard played on the day of a wedding. This season, have fun with wedding ideas, and celebrate what God is doing for all women within your midst through Cordially Invited. This entertaining, wedding reception-themed event underscores God’s unconditional love for us and His mandate that we love each other. It includes ideas on how to plan an event that will both affirm and encourage attendees through music, games, testimonies, prayer, and more.

This downloadable product is packed with twelve different event ideas, perfect for a women’s ministry or the entire church. All event plans are clearly organized and provide pre-event planning, what to do during the event, and post-event follow-up.

Have you ever wanted to be a participant on a TV game show? Here’s your opportunity! Plan and attend a fun evening of this crossword-like game show, with a missions twist.

Christmas Around the World is a party! Through games, music, and foreign foods, women and girls will experience firsthand some of the Christmas customs and traditions from different countries around the world. This will be a perfect opportunity to reach out.

Let the crisp, fall air energize your church for the upcoming year for missions! This event will connect your church and community members to missions opportunities in your church, neighborhood, state, and world—and have old-fashioned fun while doing it!

Using Hebrews 12:1-2 as a back this one-day retreat experience is planned to inspire women lto ive out their bold call through the elements of prayer, missions involvement, and worship. This event download can easily be turned into a larger women's event with multiple churches involved.

Help participants identify with oppressed believers who worship under the threat of arrest and persecution. Government restrictions and persecution force believers in many countries to worship in secret. Dark rooms, codes and passwords, hidden Scriptures.

Truly celebrate and usher in a New Year for missions and growth in your church by Praising the Lord! This women’s event is designed to be an exciting time of worship, praising God for Who He is, and focusing on God’s call to reach out to non-Christians.

Trusted missiologist Ed Stetzer and coauthor and pastor Philip Nation bring missional thinking to everyday believers in Compelled by Love. The 2008–2009 emphasis book for WMU®, a million-member missions nonprofit organization, Compelled by Love is a basic theology-and-application platform to help believers understand what missional living is all about—that is, our calling to love others.

Coach Mom helps moms organize their family life by applying seven powerful principles that will bring balance to their home.

Whether you work with the urban poor or the urban powerful volunteer in a ghetto work as CEO of a business live in the “hood” or focus your ministry on a few people, a neighborhood, or a city to transform the social structure of society—this study will give you new ideas and tools to pursue your calling.

City Signals Leader Kit examines the exploding growth and the prominence of global cities in our world through the DVDs featuring world-renowned minister and educator Ray Bakke. Adding the DVDs to a study of Brad Smith’s book by the same title, an individual or a group will understand the theology, principles, and practice of global urban ministry and study urban themes in church history.

Christ Followers is based on the book of Acts—specifically Acts 1:8—and provides an undated lesson plan with a 52-week Bible study and an integrated structure that includes discussion of the contemporary work, present-day missions, and missions involvement.

Christ Followers is based on the book of Acts—specifically Acts 1:8—and provides an undated lesson plan with a 52-week Bible study and an integrated structure that includes discussion of the contemporary work, present-day missions, and missions involvement.

The "Christ Followers" series helps small groups within churches to increase biblical and missional understanding of their responsibility and opportunities for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Participants of all ages, from preschoolers to adults, gain a more thorough knowledge of the contemporary world while discovering how to develop a Christlike response to meeting human needs through missions. Christ Followers also explores what believers are doing to share the love of Christ around the world.

Christ Followers is based on the book of Acts—specifically Acts 1:8—and provides an undated lesson plan with a 52-week Bible study and an integrated structure that includes discussion of the contemporary work, present-day missions, and missions involvement.

Every believer is called by God, and His call is life-transforming. When this truth grips a person’s heart, he or she is never the same again. Immediately there comes into that life a deep sense of meaning and purpose and a devoted sense of accountability to God.

Authors Henry Blackaby and Norman Blackaby lead men and women to explore the life-transforming, world-changing call that God gives every follower of Christ. Just as He did throughout the Bible, God is still calling His people, at this very hour, to accomplish His eternal purposes in redeeming the lost. God has a unique plan for each of His followers to be a part of His mission. Called and Accountable thoughtfully explores these questions: Why does God call us? What is a call? Who are the called? How am I called? When am I called? How do I live out the call?

This six-week workbook study will lead men and women to explore the life-transforming, world-changing call that God gives every follower of Christ. Just as He did throughout the Bible, God is still calling His people, at this very hour, to accomplish His eternal purposes in redeeming the lost. Chapters include: What Is a Call? Who Are the Called? How Am I Called? When Am I Called? and How Do I Live Out the Call?

Sure to be a classic, Called & Accountable 52-Week Devotional: Discovering Your Place in God’s Eternal Purpose is a timely and easy-to-read devotional that will keep you grounded in your accountability to God’s call. This conveniently sized book is carried easily in a briefcase, purse, or soccer bag for those days when your schedule is packed. The format makes it ideal for individual use or perfect for weekly leadership meetings.

The opportunity for spiritual depth this book provides will foster in readers a desire to spend more consistent time in prayer. As a result, readers will begin to experience a sense of renewal and peace. More importantly, readers will gain a deeper understanding of how to become touchstones for others—“living stones” that point the way toward Jesus. Others around them will be impacted as they see the change in the reader who has been challenged to sort the precious from the worthless in their lives.

Born to Be Wild is a delightful story-driven invitation to hop onto your “inner Harley” and live life as an adventure instead of a dreaded succession of midlife responsibilities and losses. Jill Baughan uses bite-size chapters that include wonder-filled stories, humor, and relevant Scripture to take us on such an adventure. The chapters are organized chronologically according to the stages of life, with stories that relate to childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, midlife, and old age. Baughan emphasizes that great joy and deep sorrow can walk hand in hand in a life in which an intimate relationship with God is the first priority. Each chapter has “takeaways,” making this book suitable for use as a focus book for a weekend retreat or a five-week group study.

Discover how the missions work of Lottie Moon inspired Southern Baptist Women, through WMU, to begin one of the most influential giving and prayer networks known to the modern missions movement. This leaflet is affordably priced so the entire congregation can learn more about how the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering started.

Introduce your church to Annie Armstrong and her legacy of missions through WMU in this short leaflet. Affordably priced for distribution to the entire congregation, this leaflet will help your church become aware of how the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering got its name.

In Beyond Me readers will have ten chapters of thought-provoking text that helps them see clearly the distinction between their ever-increasing clash of cultures—the clash between life and death or, in other words, you and me. Written in a warm, personal, and easy-to-read-and-understand style, Beyond Me is an invitation to pursue true discipleship. In poignant, humorous, but always vulnerable and meaningful examples, readers will find current, historical, and biblically documented insights and teachings to support this call to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

In this inspiring and practical book and DVD, five-year-cancer-free survivor and leading news anchor Brenda Ladun addresses the physical and spiritual concerns of anyone who is facing or has gone through cancer treatments, especially breast cancer treatments.

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.

Before His Throne explores the Book of Malachi to find the meaning and relevance of approaching God with godly fear. This nine-week interactive Bible study challenges Christians to examine their hearts and move toward a deeper and more effective relationship with God, who is both Father and Lord. Christians participating in this study will gain increased knowledge of the Book of Malachi and be challenged in life application as they draw upon the combined commentary, illustrations, questions, and activities found in Before His Throne.

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.

Written by a group of women conference leaders, this book contains 30 warm and inspiring devotional stories that celebrate God's miraculous nature and His almighty sovereignty in people's lives.

Small groups and individuals who want a Bible study dealing with financial stewardship that is practical and spiritually sound will enjoy Understanding Financial Stewardship .

This discussion guide will help you orient your use of money around all that really matters. It will foster life-changing discussions that will help you use money in ways that are more productive, more satisfying, and more glorifying to God.

This personal workbook will help you go further in your journey toward uncommon financial success.

Utilizing God's timeless principles to orient your use of money around His purpose for your life will put you on solid financial footing. Money, Purpose, Joy will help you clarify your purpose and teach you a practical, biblical process for using money to fulfill that purpose.

This Bible study examines money and the numerous issues related to it. Learn to honestly discuss underlying attitudes about money and to learn how to serve God effectively in this area of life.

Whether you are experienced at fundraising or just starting out, this book will help answer your questions and put you on the biblical path for recruiting and maintaining donor support.

Whether you are experienced at fundraising or just starting out, Funding Your Ministry will help answer your questions and put you on the biblical path for recruiting and maintaining donor support.

This participant's guide will help you determine a step-by-step plan for building a solid financial plan for later life and retirement. With a topical Bible study to give you a better understanding of money and stewardship, you and other local church members will be equipped to make better decisions.

Planning for later life and retirement is more important than ever. This biblically based workshop allows participants to learn about.

The inclusive six-session curriculum outlines biblical essentials on earning, giving, saving, spending, and reducing debt, while providing practical tips to help participants achieve their own financial, personal, and spiritual goals--whether you're working with small groups, individuals, or in larger group settings.

With updated participant materials, dramas, and teaching, Freed-Up Financial Living combines encouraging, grace-filled delivery with the right balance of biblical principles and practical application that will revitalize your approach to stewardship.

Inject new life into your entire church ministry as you provide a tested platform from which people's finances can be radically transformed. Geared for small group settings, the material easily adapts to seminars or individual use. Individual Participant's Guides can be reordered as needed to introduce solid, biblical stewardship principles to a brand-new audience.

Take the next step in helping build a church congregation whose finances--and lives--are characterized by grace, joy, and freedom as you inspire and equip leaders to launch and lead a year-round stewardship ministry.

This brand-new resource features the teaching of seasoned financial ministry leaders, Dick Towner, John Tofilon, and Shannon Plate on high-quality DVD. The inclusive six-session curriculum outlines biblical essentials on earning, giving, saving, spending, and reducing debt, while providing practical tips to help participants achieve their own financial, personal, and spiritual goals--whether you're working with small groups, individuals, or in larger group settings.

With updated participant materials, dramas, and teaching, Freed-Up Financial Living combines encouraging, grace-filled delivery with the right balance of biblical principles and practical application that will revitalize your approach to stewardship.

Inject new life into your entire church ministry as you provide a tested platform from which people's finances can be radically transformed. Geared for small group settings, the material easily adapts to seminars or individual use. Individual Participant's Guides can be reordered as needed to introduce solid, biblical stewardship principles to a brand-new audience.

Written for men, this study challenges you to go deeper with God.Whether you are new to prayer or a veteran warrior, you will find encouragement, inspiration, and practical tips on how you can get together and affect your world through prayer.

God loves your family even more than you do. Be patient, pray, stand on His promises, and watch Him work in your family.

This book gives you the opportunity to surrender to God's presence and enjoy just being with Him. Find contentment, peace, and encouragement from practicing spiritual disciplines, and learn simple, tangible insights into practicing God’s presence in everyday life.

For 1500 years, Christians have used “sacred reading” or Lectio Divina as a way to tap into the power and vitality of God's Word. Author and youth pastor Tony Jones explains the four steps of Lectio Divina.

We have been called to help the unsaved recognize their need for the Savior. This book will show you how to enter the world of unbelievers with the prayer: “Lord, open my eyes today to a person who needs to know You.”

Art and Ellen Sanborn arrived on the mission field confident in the power of Jesus - even when surrounded by danger. Years later, after serving in Asia and beyond, Art would rely on the truth of Jesus' power in a new way when doctors told him that he might never walk again.
Pages: 304 (paperback)

Humanity has existed on earth for thousands of years, yet we are just now beginning to experience a kind of community that has never before existed—the slum community. As the number of slum communities and those living in them continue to rise at an alarming rate, Christians need to examine their role in sharing the hope, joy, healing, and servanthood of Christ to those in despair.

Quest for Hope in the Slum Community is a collection of the diverse dialog that exists in the area of urban transformation. Everything from housing to street children along with a healthy collection of articles around a theology of urban poverty is addressed. This material is designed to stimulate the imagination of those exploring the question of how to address with compassion and conviction the stark realities of urban poverty.

What is keeping you from becoming involved in the Great Commission? Fears such as loss of friends, loss of money, disapproval of parents, and inadequate experience surfaced as common hurdles? Missionaries, from many organizations and from around the world who have experienced these same fears, share their personal stores of how God overcame and met their needs in ways they could have never expected.

Part one of the book assesses past theologies, drawing both on scholarly research and the thinking of key church leaders such as John Wimber, who have influenced the Anglican charismatic movement in Britian. Part two addresses different issues that need considering in a holistic theology of mission, including the holistic content, experiental nature, contextual grounding, community focus and spirituality for mission. Spirit-Shaped Mission develops a framework for understanding the 'mission of the Spirit' that contributes to Pentecostal, evangelical and ecumenical thinking on the subject.

Simply one of the best books on spiritual warfare available! God has called Christians to overcome the world and drive back the forces of evil and darkness at work within it. Spiritual warfare isn't just casting out demons; it's Spirit-controlled thinking and attitudes. Dean delivers a no-nonsense, both-feet-planted-on-the-ground approach to the unseen world. Over 300,000 copies sold!

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.

Those who are unfamiliar with the world of tentmaking will find valuable information to introduce them to the concept and to help in getting started. Designed to be a manual, Tentmaking is more than just an overview of questions and issues. This work will serve as an in-depth reference for existing tentmakers.

This thoroughly researched collection is the result of interviews from over 450 people serving in the 10/40 window. It provides a unique viewpoint on missions, sharing proven, workable alternatives to conventional missionary life.

Tentmaking provides an important and much needed resource to this specialized area of world missions.

The enormity of the global AIDS pandemic threatens to overwhelm us. More than 3 million people died of AIDS last year—about 8,000 per day—and another 5 million were infected with the pernicious HIV virus. And the numbers are growing. So what role do we, the Church play in this growing crisis? The church must continue to give hope to the hopeless—those languishing alone. We must use the HIV/AIDS crisis to demonstrate the love of Christ by caring for AIDS sufferers, their family members, and their communities by whatever means available.

To this end, in November 2003, over 3000 participants gathered to address the issues of the church and the HIV/AIDS crisis. The Hope Factor captures the findings of some of the world's top minds and hearts dealing with the issue of AIDS. It shows how we in the Western church can come alongside and help people impacted by AIDS. Academicians, pastors, AIDS patients, and physicians from around the world share hard-won insights that will help you and your church or organization make a difference in practical ways.

In 1960 the twenty-five thousand Dani tribespeople hidden away in the remote Toli Valley of Irian Jaya used only stone tools and had no written language. Then, in one generation, they took the always dangerous, sometimes fatal, leap from the Stone Age into the twentieth century.

At this critical time John and Helen Dekker gave themselves to the Dani, helping them discover the gospel of Jesus Christ and their destiny as helpers of other tribes. Today the seventy-nine churches of the Toli Valley, with thirteen thousand baptized believers, have sent out sixy-five couples to other tribes needing the gospel.

A chapter from a present-day Book of Acts, Torches of Joy is a model for cross-cultural mission strategy and one of the twentieth century's most striking chronicles of God's grace and power.

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.

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.

A stone age tribe’s encounter with the gospel …… Imagine sharing the gospel with the tribe of cannibals who admire Judas’s betrayal more than Jesus’ sacrifice. Among the headhunting Sawi of Irian Jaya, treachery was an ideal that generations of their people had perfected. The heroes of Sawi legend weren't those who took the greatest number of head in battle or ambush, but those who were the most deceitful in befriending their victims before they took their heads.

When missionaries Don and Carol Richardson searched for the key that would open the gospel to the Sawi, God moved in a stunning way. He revealed His true Peace Child — the ideal fulfillment of the Sawi's own redemptive analogy. Peace Child chronicles the agony — and the triumph — of the Richardsons' unforgettable sojourn among this people loved by God. 240-pg paperback.

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.

Outstanding ideas and resources that can help stimulate missions involvement in your church! This exceedingly helpful booklet is for everyone in your church — mission committee members, families, individuals, Sunday school teachers, homeschoolers — everyone who is committed to seeing the Great Commission of Matthew 28:20 fulfilled.

Missions education should be permanently integrated into the life of every individual in your church, from toddler to retiree. You want to inform people of all ages about world missions and motivate them to become involved. This is the publication that can help you do so! 86-pg booklet packaged in report cover.

Building a healthy missions program takes time. Each church is unique. The missions program for your church people will not necessarily look like the program for another congregation. The ideas, projects, and helps provided in this publication are tools to help you strengthen your current program, or to initiate a new plan for your congregation. Keep your program fresh — keep what works but try new ideas, too.

Applying the great insight from this publication can help you keep missions visible in your church. That visibility will in turn stimulate a vision of what God is doing in the world and motivate a response.

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.”

This book has become the standard text for issues regarding contextualization of Christianity within the Islamic community. Because the church has been programmed to accept the inevitabilities of meager results in the efforts toward Muslim evangelization, Dr. Parshall asks questions that explore the core of Christianity that is essential and what can be discarded in order to be an effective witness in the Muslim community.

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.

As the world around us changes, our methods also need to adapt in order to fulfill the unchanging vision of reaching the lost. Multiple authors (Jim Reapsome, Roger Peterson, Ellen Livingood, Kurt Wilson, Paul Heidebrecht, and others) cover imperative 21st Century mission issues like technology in mission, partnerships, short-term mission, African theological education, resourcing Spanish ministry materials for Latin America, member care, church mobilization, media missionaries, post modernism, and others.

God's love is stronger than fear! This book chronicles Dan Bauman's experience in Iran in 1997, when he was wrongfully accused of espionage and thrown into the most infamous high- security prison in Iran. Imprisonment in Iran, the threat of execution, and God's hand moving in the lives of the guards make this a thrilling addition to the International Adventures series.

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.

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.

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?

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.

Think your family just doesn't have time to share its faith? THINK AGAIN. The sheer volume of activities competing for your family's time and energy can make it hard to focus on one of the most important tasks of all, fulfilling the Great Commission.

Becoming a World Changing Family will show you how to see the world as Jesus does and brings his transforming message to those around you. It's packed with ideas that are fun and practical for even the busiest of families. Discover how you can connect to people of other cultures by eating ethnic cuisine, writing letters, taking trips, enjoying festivals and parties, playing games, and more.

Let God open your eyes to all the amazing possibilities surrounding you, and get ready to share a world-class adventure with your family.

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

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.

A must-read ESPECIALLY for all Christian leaders, but also for anyone who has been exposed to spiritually abusive leaders or their toxic faith systems. This exceptional booklet reveals the true nature and source of spiritual abuse and spiritually abusive leadership. It’s a quick read, while being academically well-structured within its 10 brief but biblically-solid chapters, including the final chapter of how “To Avoid Being an Abusive Leader” yourself.

In Matthew 20 Jesus instructs all Christians that our call to Kingdom leadership here on earth is of a fundamentally different nature than the leadership of the world. Unfortunately, increasing reports of the leadership that is present in so many churches today is extremely non-biblical in its authoritarianism, and often worse than worldly leadership, being downright abusive.

Dr. Webber has authored many other books on leadership and other biblical, cultural, and practical Christian topics.

Protect yourself, and protect your flock! “Abusive Leaders” is a must-have, must-read for everyone with any level of Christian leadership and responsibility. 50-pg spiral bound, including 6 workbook pages for self-assessment.

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.

Your Life in Christ, the first topical Bible study in the revised Design for Discipleship (DFD) series by The Navigators, shows what it means to accept God's love for you.

Keep Christ at the center of your life, and learn to live in the power of the Spirit.

How did Jesus turn a ragtag bunch of self-absorbed men and women into a dynamic force that would change their world?

In this revised and updated edition of his classic work, author Carl W. Wilson sets aside general theory to provide a close look at the methods and principles of the master disciple builder Himself, Jesus Christ.

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.

By studying portraits of 12 men and women of God who went through hard times yet triumphed through His grace, we can learn how our souls can be restored in times of tragedy, hurt, or depression.

This classic study helps you learn more about Christ while exploring.

For centuries, people have passed on their heritage and history through storytelling. In Story Thru the Bible, you will learn an easy hands-on approach to oral teaching that engages the listener while sharing a biblical worldview.

This approach causes the storyteller and the listener to engage in a whole new way while creating a laid-back atmosphere. This step-by-step guide uses 52 Bible stories adaptable to any culture or age group.

Comes complete with summaries, questions, and practical applications.

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.

This classic Bible study helps believers grow in discipleship by helping them explore.

Is God really sovereign? Can individuals make a difference in the world? A young girl named Ruth and a middle-aged man named Boaz would answer yes to both questions. Years later, a Jew named Mordecai and his cousin Esther saved their nation by also saying yes. These stories still inspire believers to affect the world by trusting God.

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.

Let the Holy Spirit cultivate the fruit of God’s character traits in your life through this 10-week topical Bible study.

In The Practice of Godliness Small Group Curriculum, Navigators author Jerry Bridges examines what it means to grow in Christian character and helps us establish the foundation upon which that character is built.

Growing in godliness involves an ever-deepening devotion to God and developing a character that is steadily transformed into His likeness.

God delights to give wisdom to those who passionately seek it. This study encourages readers to not only pursue this gift but also to apply God’s higher wisdom in every area of their lives.

God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. This study shows readers that He can be trusted in all circumstances and that His wondrous power is made available to us through prayer.

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.

This revised DFD Bible study shows readers how to do a comprehensive analysis of the Bible using 1 Thessalonians. Discover Bible-study principles that will last a lifetime.

God longs for an intimate relationship with each of us. But what does it mean to be friends with the Lord? This study highlights a God who can always be trusted and who is forever faithful.

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.

As your understanding of biblical truth grows, you can begin connecting things from God's point of view. Knowing His truth will invite you into a deeper experience of God Himself.

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.

Character matters. It flows from within and is defined as moral excellence and firmness. It is integrity, purity, and honesty.

Understand and put into action the internal qualities and values that should drive your life as a disciple of Christ.

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.

Almost anyone with a desire to help others can be a people helper, but often those Christians who feel most called to counsel are unsure of how to use the Bible to ease another person’s problems.

This book will guide you to a practical, working knowledge of Scripture, the character of God, and the basics of the Christian faith--the core of what Christian counselors must know to be truly effective in helping others.

Beginning With Christ, designed for new believers, provides the format for telling others about salvation and the Christian life. Topics include assurance of salvation, answered prayer, victory over sin, forgiveness, and guidance. Includes Scripture memory cards.

This classic Bible study helps believers understand that having Christ in their lives makes an eternal difference.

By walking you through a simple yet effective approach to explaining the gospel to others, this study will help you become a fruitful member of God’s family. With its biblical and practical approach to discipleship, this workbook will yield long-term, life-changing results.

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.

Just like Jesus, you can pour faith into believers, helping them grow spiritually and fulfill their unique niche in God’s kingdom.

Many Christians feel broken and angry but don't think they can express these real feelings around others--or to God. So we put on a mask to hide our identity. Feelings of embarrassment and shame make us hide from the One who truly loves us.

Jesus' words in John 17 represent one of the church's highest values: "May they all be one as you and I, Father, are one." Yet divisions occur from the highest levels of the church to street level projects, often neutralizing effectiveness and undercutting the credibility of Jesus' message. This book helps any believer turn the ideal of John 17 into reality. It provides solid grounding in the principles of partnership, abundant case histories, and empowering "how to" suggestions for lay person and ministry leader alike.

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.

Oftentimes, we think stories are for children. But using the Bible as evidence, we see that God communicated His truth to men and women of all cultures, time, and places by way of many small stories forming one large story.

While possessing a rich heritage of storytelling, too many evangelicals have forfeited this vital skill. Tom Steffen's aim is to help readers recapture the most natural, universal, and effective means of evangelism-discipleship that exists—storytelling.

This book is not just theory—it provides practical help by identifying the roles and tasks that are necessary to become an effective storyteller in another culture. Steffen offers creative tools and introduces practical ways to increase many of the storytelling skills for evangelism-discipleship. He moves us beyond linear gospel outlines, Western logic and organization, and individual responses to traditional evangelism rituals, to a mode of communication that respects the audience, making it easy for them to grasp what they have heard and to pass it on to others with minimal loss of content.

By reconnecting storytelling to ministry, readers will be more comfortable in sharing the gospel, both at home and abroad.

This book examines the significance of the incarnation for effective cross-cultural ministry. The authors demonstrate that Jesus needed to learn and understand the culture in which He lived before He could undertake His public ministry.

This video tape shows creative ways to give your testimony (you don't have to be an Evangelist or speak the language), and fun ideas on how to share, teach, and show God's love.

Each "1" quantity of the EvangeTracts comes in a pack consisting of 25 tracts (a quantity of "2" = 50 tracts; a quantity of "20" = 500 tracts). Couple the power of the written word and powerful images and you have a dynamic presentation of the Gospel. EvangeTracts are designed to step-by-step walk someone through the plan of salvation in Christ showing the images from the EvangeCube as they read the Gospel message. (also available in more than twenty other languages)

The EvangeCube: (7cm) An evangelism tool for everyone. Parents, kids, pastors, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers, missionaries, and others can easily share the Gospel message of Jesus. Every member of a mission team can quickly learn to share the Gospel of Christ using the EvangeCube — get one for each of your team members, and order several more to leave behind with your field hosts so that they can continue to carry on evangelism efforts. EvangeCubes can be purchased individually, or in a box of 24, or in a case of 96 (contains 4 boxes).

This step-by-step guide to public speaking will walk you through preparing and delivering any kind of message—from sharing your testimony or a devotional to leading a meeting or workshop.

What would happen if Christians faced the issue of shame instead of ran from it? The Shame Exchange includes discussion questions and explores the difference between seven types of shame. Readers, including counselors and church leaders, will learn that facing shame brings deeper intimacy with God, spiritual transformation, and ultimately freedom from shame.

This companion training manual to Real-Life Discipleship provides unique guidance and insight to pastors, church leaders, and their disciples as they work to create an effective discipleship program. With a thorough, results-oriented process that can be applied in other contexts and cultures, this manual explains the necessary components of disciple-making so that every church member can play a part in reaching others for Christ.

This leader's resource shows you how to cultivate new leaders for the future and equip them to make disciples.

Real-Life Discipleship explains what should happen in the life of every Christian and in every small group so that the church becomes an army of believers dedicated to seeing the world saved. With the overriding goal to train disciples who know how to make more disciples, this book offers proven tools and strategies from Real Life Ministries, one of America’s fastest-growing churches.

Discover what the Bible says about true and effective discipleship with these strategies and practices.

In Radical, David Platt’s plea for Christians to take back their faith from the American Dream resonated with readers everywhere and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Now in Radical Together, the author broadens his call, challenging us to unite around a gospel-centered vision.

Writing to everyone who desires to make an impact for God’s glory—whether you are an involved member, a leader, or a pastor—Dr. Platt shares six foundational ideas that fuel radical obedience among Christians in the church. With compelling Bible teaching and inspiring stories from around the world, he will help you apply the revolutionary claims and commands of Christ in fresh, practical ways to your community of faith.

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.

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.

The journal will vastly improve your group experience and is key to getting the most out of this study. While the time you spend with your group during the Not a Fan study is important, the journal experience is more personal and will challenge you to take a deeper look at your relationship with Jesus. That’s why we strongly encourage every group member to have their own follower’s journal and be challenged to try the exercises suggested. This resource will have a dramatic impact on those who commit to working through it on a daily basis.

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.

By studying the lives of hundreds of historical, biblical, and contemporary leaders, author Robert Clinton has determined six stages of leadership development to help you determine where you are in the process. Each chapter in this leader resource concludes with a personal application section.

Ideal for pastors or anyone in a position of authortiy.

Just as a mother eagle stirs her nest to encourage her eagles to fly, God “stirs our nest,” allowing us to grow in new ways toward spiritual maturity. This book will motivate unfulfilled Christians to respond to God's stirrings and to step out into abundant living.

Learn more about what it means to be a leader, whether in the workplace or in the local church.This Leadership Kit from NavPress will give you scriptural insights, important tips, and practical steps to take on such topics as finding balance in life, equipping others, being accountable, and becoming more Christlike.

In Seach of Balance by Richard A. Swenson, MD, author of the best-selling book Margin, helps us understand the dangers of living in a fast-paced world and gives us hope for recovering a foundational sense of equilibrium. Dr. Swenson offers not only important organizing principles for making sense of our priorities but also scores of practical tips for finding rest and contentment in a world that emphasizes materialism and busyness. His advice is grounded in the daily realities we all experience, but his wisdom has been honed by the big-picture perspective of an exhaustive study of the stresses of modern life.

Let Dr. Swenson be your gentle guide for reaching a new stage of personal balance.

Whether you are a veteran or a new small-group leader, this book has the leadership skills, tools, and information you need. This leader's resource can work with Bible study, fellowship, support, or task groups.

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.

Who you follow says a lot about you. If you’re tired of working to control your life and long to surrender to Jesus, Follow Me will challenge you to examine your life and submit to Christ.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" (Mark 12:30) should center our experience of God.

Everyone experiences pain in their lives. But how we handle it and what we do with it makes all the difference. In Don’t Waste the Pain, you'll see how two people dealing with life-threatening illnesses and the loss of a child found joy and peace in the midst of their suffering. Through intimate journal writings and personal reflections, you will learn that faith and spiritual growth can come out of brokenness, pain, and grief.

Special Theme Section: Soul Care for Spiritual Leaders

The first-century Christians had to sort out Jesus from Judaism in order to become a people for all nations. Today, we have to sort out Jesus from religious traditions in order to make Him available to our nation. That’s the challenge this book tackles: Will we be the church without walls, communicating a gospel free of traditional and cultural trappings?

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.

Explaining the Gospel can be challenging for some people. This short tract is a useful tool in explaining our need for salvation and how to come to faith in Jesus.

As Christians, we are to love God with all of our being--heart, mind, soul and strength. But many of us tend to overemphasize one aspect or another, and as a result, our faith becomes imbalanced. Some of us have an intellectual faith but lack compassion or spiritual discipline. Others of us have a vibrant, heartfelt relationship with God but lack commitment to truth or doctrine. And many of us overlook translating our faith into service and ministry.

In this book ethicist Dennis P. Hollinger presents a holistic, integrative vision for reuniting Christian thought, passion and action. He shows how individuals, churches and movements throughout history have focused on either the head, or the heart or the hands--often to the exclusion of other expressions. But by linking our intellect, emotions and actions, Hollinger points us toward a whole faith for the whole person, where each dimension feeds, nurtures and sustains the others.

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.

Are you looking for fresh ideas to energize your small group? Here are hundreds of activities contributed by small group experts from across the United States. Tested in the field and drawn from the front lines of small group ministry, these creative ideas will help you evaluate the state of your group and enhance the five components of healthy group life.

Community activities for the four stages of a group's life help you to get acquainted, go deeper with one another, process conflict, make memories and prepare for your group's ending.

Whether charismatic, liturgical or somewhere in between, you'll find ideas for worship and prayer that stretch group members in these vital areas of spiritual growth. Your group will grow closer to one another as you draw near to God together.

Ideas for study offer you some creative methods for Bible study and life application as well as ideas for learning through books, videos and other resources.

A section on outreach helps your group to look beyond its borders and serve the needs of others. You'll find ideas for inviting others into your group and for working together in evangelism, social action and world mission.

What do we mean when we talk about small groups? And more importantly: what do we expect to happen when people gather in this way? The small group that wrote this book—made up of current and former campus ministry professionals with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship—sees a small group as: a community that studies the Bible, prays and participates in God's mission together for the purposes of God's transforming work.

Small groups are about transformation, and in this book transformation is given flesh and blood in the faces and names of the people you lead.

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.

In this comprehensive study, G. K. Beale argues that the Old Testament tabernacle and temples were symbolically designed to point to the end-time reality that God's presence, formerly limited to the Holy of Holies, would be extended throughout the cosmos. Hence, John's vision in Revelation 21 is best understood as picturing the new heavens and earth as the eschatological temple.

Beale's stimulating exposition traces the theme of the tabernacle and temple across the Bible's story-line, illuminating many texts and closely-related themes along the way. He shows how the significance and symbolism of the temple can be better understood in the context of ancient Near Eastern assumptions, and offers new insights into the meaning of the temple in both Old and New Testaments.

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.

T.J. MacLeslie wrestles with this question on his journey from childhood faith through the wilderness and back again. Having been abused in the church, MacLeslie turned his back on God and looked for fulfillment in many places. His search led him to drink from many wells along the way, none of which quenched his thirst. All the while he was being pursued by One who loved him unconditionally.

This book is not for the faint of heart, but it is an authentic story that tackles issues of abuse, addiction, and personal failure. It also raises difficult questions about leadership, cross-cultural adjustment, and disappointment in ministry. MacLeslie's prodigal pilgrimage serves as a cautionary tale, but ultimately a hopeful one.

Pursuit of a Thirsty Fool is a book for those who thirst, those longing for more. It is a reminder of our deepest desire and the Spring where they can be satisfied. It is for those who are in need of hope. Finally, it is for those caught in the dangerous pattern of doing things for God and who may have forgotten their first call: love God.

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.

Whether you are 50 or 70, you have probably shared some of Stanley C. Baldwin's experiences. Here is an opportunity to relive them with laughter. But, more importantly, in these pages you'll find an opportunity to reflect on how these life changes relate to your Christian life. This is a book for those who reject the grumpiness of aging and embrace the grace of life with Christ.

C. Stacey Woods was a moving force in mid-century American evangelicalism. The Australian-born, Brethren-bred Woods came to Canada to head InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the age of 24. He went on to become as well the first general secretary of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the United States. He started the influential student magazine HIS in the early 1940s and was instrumental in the founding of the worldwide umbrella organization of indigenous student movements--the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. His global vision inspired many of the most outstanding Christian leaders of the 1960s and 1970s from around the world.

He was a brusque, outspoken entrepreneur whose whirlwind style achieved much but was not always suited to administration. A man of great strengths and weaknesses, perhaps his most striking achievement was challenging the anti-intellectualism of conservative American Christianity, encouraging an active engagement with the university. He confronted a fundamentalism that had abandoned to liberalism the very educational institutions its forebears had founded. Woods turned this approach on its head, encouraging active engagement with the students and faculty of the university as well as with the institution itself.

This story is an important chapter in understanding the ways evangelicalism has interacted with culture in North America and around the world.

Author and theologian Dewi Arwel Hughes's conviction is that the suffering, through poverty, of such a vast number of people in our day is overwhelmingly the result of the misuse of power by others. In this wide-ranging, challenging book he unpacks a convicting thesis: that poverty has to do with the way in which we human beings use and abuse the power God gave us when he created us.

Hughes challenges you to reconsider your assumptions regarding power, poverty and Christian identity, and he provides biblical perspectives to enable you to both understand the causes of poverty and help in overcoming it.

"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.

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.

It was the perfect irony. To lose God at a missions conference. What's worse, Matt Rogers will tell you, is that it all felt like fate. Years later, even after Matt's depression subsided, the feeling of being forgotten had not left him. So he knew he had to write it down.

Recounting his own experience with depression, Matt Rogers explores the question of how, in a world of suffering, we can call God good. This challenging question can manifest itself as a conspiracy of doubt, so that our emotions and our intellect come under attack. Without appealing to easy answers, Rogers offers understanding and a ray of hope for those who suffer from depression, encouraging them never to give up.

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.

Over the last fifty years God has used InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to shape the lives of thousands of students. This fascinating chronicle begins with the early influences that shaped university witness since its founding. Eventually these influences coalesced to form InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the United States fifty years ago. From those early beginnings with only a few staff covering the whole country and a world war breaking out, the work grew and flourished beyond human expectation.

From the Urbana conventions to a new approach to Christian witness called friendship evangelism to in-depth inductive study of the Bible, InterVarsity was constantly innovating and growing. From work among nurses to promotion of missions to creative use of media, InterVarsity became a multifaceted ministry. The setbacks that are part of any human endeavor are found in this book too. But here is a story of what God did through a handful of people with a big idea.

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.

The last century has seen the revolutionary remaking of Christianity into a truly world religion. How did it happen? What triggered the emergence of this new global faith no longer dominated by the West, full of new and vital forms of devotion?

Mark Shaw's provocative thesis is that far-flung revivals are at the heart of the global resurgence of Christianity. These were not the quirky folk rituals associated with rural America and nineteenth-century camp meetings that belong more to an age of plows and prairies than of postmodernity and globalization.

Rather they were like forces of nature, protean, constantly adjusting their features and ferocity to new times and to new places, speaking Spanish, Portuguese, Yoruba, Korean, Mandarin and Gujarati. They crossed the equator. As they traveled abroad they grabbed hold of missionaries, Bible translations, national evangelists, globalization and glossolalia and turned them into a religious revolution.

In this engaging book we read the stories of Joseph Babalola and the Aladura Revival in Africa, of Kil Sun-Ju and the great Korean revival of 1907, of Paulo Borges Jr. and explosion of neo-Pentecostalism in Brazil, and of V. S. Azariah and the mass conversions of the Dalit people in India. As Shaw paints portraits of these and many more, his gallery fills, and we begin to see beyond isolated pictures to the sweeping landscape that we didn't realize was before our eyes all the time.

(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.

Think of the little girls you know: your daughter, a niece, a friend's child. And then think about this: little girls are tossed away every day. In fact, statistics show that the world's most oppressed are overwhelmingly female. Moved by their plight, Kay Marshall Strom and Michele Rickett took a trip across continents to partner with ministries working to help females and to interview girls in some of the most difficult places in the world.

These pages hold those girls' stories: stories of deep pain and suffering, inspiring courage, and incredible hope. They are the stories of girls who have discovered their value in God's eyes, in the midst of cultures that have rejected them. They are stories of rescue and redemption by God working through compassionate people--people like you.

These pages might hold pieces of your story as well, as the authors invite you to pray and speak on behalf of the millions of women and girls who still need to know how much they're worth. For each of the five sections of the book--physical suffering, education, sexual protection, prison and war, and spiritual life--the authors provide specific, practical action steps and prayer points that allow you to get involved as God leads.

Opening these pages will open your eyes to situations you couldn't imagine, to places you've probably never been and to young girls--not so different from the ones you know--who are dearly loved by God. And our powerful God will help us as we read, speak and pray on their behalf, that the forgotten might become free.

From Cairo to Calcutta, from Cochabamba to Columbus, Christians are engaged in a conversation about how to speak and live the gospel in today's traditional, modern and emergent cultures. The technical term for their efforts is contextualization. Missionary theorists have pondered and written on it at length. More and more, those who do theology in the West are also trying to discover new ways of communicating and embodying the gospel for an emerging postmodern culture. But few have considered in depth how the early church contextualized the gospel. And yet the New Testament provides numerous examples.

As both a crosscultural missionary and a New Testament scholar, Dean Flemming is well equipped to examine how the early church contextualized the gospel and to draw out lessons for today. By carefully sifting the New Testament evidence, Flemming uncovers the patterns and parameters of a Paul or Mark or John as they spoke the Word on target, and he brings these to bear on our contemporary missiological task.

Rich in insights and conversant with frontline thinking, this is a book that will revitalize the conversation and refresh our speaking and living the gospel in today's cultures, whether in traditional, modern or emergent contexts.

Business as mission has emerged as a significant new model for mission in the twenty-first century. Today's globalized economy has created strategic opportunities for Christian business enterprises in some of the most unlikely corners of the world.

In this landmark book, economist Steve Rundle and missiologist Tom Steffen offer their paradigm for the convergence of business and missions--the Great Commission Company. Such 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.

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.

This revised and expanded edition provides new and updated case studies of Great Commission Companies in diverse contexts around the world.

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.

Eckhard Schnabel's two-volume Early Christian Mission is widely recognized as the most complete and authoritative contemporary study of the first-century Christian missionary movement. Now in Paul the Missionary Schnabel condenses volume two of the set, drawing on his research to provide a manageable study for students of Paul as well as students and practitioners of Christian mission today.

Schnabel first focuses the spotlight on Paul's missionary work--the realities he faced, and the strategies and methods he employed. Applying his grasp of the wide range of ancient sources and of contemporary scholarship, he clarifies our understanding, expands our knowledge and corrects our misconceptions of Paul the missionary.

In a final chapter Schnabel shines the recovered light of Paul's missionary methods and practices on Christian mission today. Much like Roland Allen's classic Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? of nearly a century ago, Schnabel offers both praise and criticism. For those who take the time to immerse themselves in the world of Paul's missionary endeavor, this final chapter will be both rewarding and searching.

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.

Developed from years of student ministry experience, the Intensive Discipleship Course is designed specifically for high-school and college students - individuals and groups - whose answer is yes to these questions. In Developing Godly Character, students will establish a firm foundation for effectively studying the Bible, developing a strong prayer life, serving in humility, overcoming sin, and growing spiritually.

Reaching a Lost World will challenge you to dig deeply into the Word of God for answers to these questions and many more. In twelve weeks you’ll be equipped as a more effective witness for the Lord. You’ll feel more confident to talk to members of cults and world religions about your faith and be ready to stand up for the truth.

Why should you study cults and world religions? Because our world is no longer divided into isolated parts. A century ago most Westerners would not have known a Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim. Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness were small fringe groups, and the New Age movement had not officially begun. Today people of every major cult and world religion are nearby, living in our neighborhoods, sitting next to us in class, and working with us at our jobs. We can bring the light of the gospel to people from every belief system, and we need to prepare ourselves through study and prayer.

Each volume in the Intensive Discipleship Course series is a twelve-week, life-changing exercise of commitment and learning. Developed from years of student ministry experience, the course is designed specifically for high-school and college students, as individuals or in groups.

In Compelled by Love, Heidi Baker gives you a glimpse of total dependence and authentic Christian community by taking a fresh look at the Beatitudes. Throughout she shares many examples from her and her husband's ministry in the war-torn country of Mozambique. Time and again they have seen the miraculous power and provision of the Lord to the "poor in spirit," showing that the Kingdom of Heaven does belong to such as these.

In Footprints in Time, Jeff O'Leary invites you to meet seven people who did, seven path makers who fulfilled their destinies and whose lives will be remembered forever. Exploring these extraordinary lives, O'Leary brings to light the spiritual application of their inspiring legacies. He investigates how the idols of our times- wealth, fame, power, the endless pursuit of happiness, cause us to lose sight of God's Plan. He shows how you can seek, find, and fulfill God's special calling and make your own Footprints in Time.

You will be inspired by the lives of men and women, just like you, with faults and fears, just like you. You will be amazed at how God took their simple willingness and fulfilled His great will. You will be challenged to see the idols that now rule countless hearts in our culture and how they are keeping so many from their heavenly promise. Finally, you will be encouraged to ask yourself, "If God could do it with these other men and women, why can't He do it with me?"

Footprints in Time will change how you view your hours, days and years and the way you spend them. It will inspire you to lift up your eyes and fulfill your heavenly destiny.

Every pastor experiences feelings of inadequacy or loneliness at some time in ministry. Serving others and serving God is not an easy task. Warren Wiersbe, the "pastor's pastor," knows the struggles and triumphs a life of service brings. On Being a Servant of God invites you to listen in on thirty short "armchair chats." With candor and sensitivity, Wiersbe shares what he wishes he had known about ministering to others when he began his own Christian pilgrimage. Let his years of experience and wise counsel bring comfort to your soul and energy to your tasks.

No country is too poor, to filled with crime, too divided by war, or too dark to be changed. God has given us basic principles that are keys to every problem we face in the twenty-first century. The answers lie between the covers of one book - the Bible. The Book That Transforms Nations demonstrates how, together, we can use the Bible to change the whole world. Loren Cunningham's fifty years of ministry have taken him to the world's poorest and neediest as well as to kings and presidents. Here he offers a solid reason to hope and work for a better future.

In a mission minded family, there's a God-infused energy. There's a focus on God's worldwide purpose and there's a passion for the lost. There's a spiritual depth and hunger that reaches beyond the maintenance mode of cultural Christianity. A mission minded family emphasizes leadership, calling and destiny. There's a prevailing attitude of self-sacrifice and an emphasis on total submission to Gods will. There's an unmistakable and contagious joy.

Dunagan, who wrote The Mission Minded Child, brings the same perspective to what it means to be a mission minded family. This book includes suggested activities for families to participate in together as well as resources to help families develop the desire to be more missions focused. She discusses the need for families to balance and prioritize their everyday lives and delves into what a family's finances would look like if they were focused on missions.

This practical book is the perfect companion to The Mission Minded Child. Families who read and practice principles from this book will receive a rekindled closeness as they participate in ministry together.

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.

This is a book that will inform and inspire the whole family. This beautifully presented yet practical book is the ideal accompaniment to Operation World. Stunning photographic visuals complement this AZ of countries and people groups providing an exciting learning experience and guide for prayer.

Short stories about featured countries or people groups help relate foreign lands and people to children in the West. Each page includes a small map putting the country into perspective with neighboring countries, as well as a fact box with essential country, and people information and prayer points that children can ask God for as well as thank God for.

This invaluable resource develops cultural, political, and geographical awareness through a Christian lens. Families, churches, and schools will all benefit from this book and in turn be able to pray more effectively for their world.

This prayer guide brings to life the goal of "a church for every people and the gospel for every person." The 10/40 Window is the primary spiritual battleground in the world today. The very cradle of civilization is now the Church's final evangelistic frontier. In this window over 1 billion Muslims, 800 million Hindus, and 300 million Buddhists live in almost total isolation from the gospel of Christ.

This thrilling and faith-building book shows how God is supernaturally revealing himself in this "prayed for" part of the world. Endorsed by over 25 key global mission leaders worldwide, including Paul Eshleman, Director of the Jesus Film Project; Ralph Winter, Gen. Dir., US Center for World Mission; and Vonette Bright, Co-Founder, Campus Crusade for Christ.

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.

Our practice of sending a few highly specialized troops to fight the enemy while leaving the vast majority of Christians out of the spiritual battle is our great omission. In this powerful call for the inclusion of indigenous believers in the Great Omission, Steve Saint, the son of Nate Saint, shows how current missions strategies have unwittingly harmed the indigenous church and kept millions of believers from fulfilling their roles in God's kingdom - and millions of others from hearing the Good News.

In the same spirit as his father, Steve Saint picks up the torch as he shares his strategic insight concerning world missions.

Our cities are the keys to winning the world for Christ. They are encumbered by staggering problems, and opposed by cosmic spiritual forces, yet these vast urban centers hold millions of people whom God loves.

You can make a big contribution to winning your city for God. In this original and useful book John Dawson give you the strategy and tactics for the job. Explore dynamic and life-changing strategies to help tear down the strongholds that hold your community back from its' full spiritual potential.

Includes a 13-lesson study guide.

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.

This intercessor's guide features maps and information on each nation, covering trends, religions, people groups, and historical background.

Pray with accuracy for the needs of the people, and break down the strongholds of the 10/40 Window.

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.

An in-depth study with writings from some of the most respected authorities on the subject of missions. This fascinating course is designed for those who desire to strengthen their understanding of Gods plan for the nations. This 468 page course includes 13 case studies, an appendix, glossary, maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, sidebars and illustrations. Needs a 2" or 3" binder, not included.

Explores God's unchanging purposes and investigates how His global plan is unfolding in our generation. Designed to mobilize God's people to connect their lives to His Kingdom purposes. Pathlight is being used wherever Gods committed people gather. Ideal for Sunday-school classes, short-term teams, church-based training, or interdenominational courses, this thought-provoking material develops global vision in practical and world-changing ways.

We spend 50 to 75 percent of our waking hours and 60 to 90 percent of the years of our lives working. Yet many of us never invest even a fraction of that time exploring the vision that drives our lives and work. We've lost the framework in which it is understood that our lives and work are in relationship - in relationship to God through worship, to others through service, and to creation through stewardship. Our lives and work have largely been separated from their mission, and this ultimately stems from a loss of the biblical worldview.

LifeWork lays out the thought background for each of us to establish a meaningful, integrated understanding of our life and work. Whatever our work or vocation, God calls each of us to a new way of living - fully in His presence.

Piper's Let the Nations Be Glad! has provided thousands of missionaries, pastors, and church leaders with a biblical basis for missions. Piper now offers a revised and expanded tenth anniversary edition of this sound, readable, and passionate defense of God's supremacy in all things.

Drawing on texts from the Old and New Testaments, Piper demonstrates that worship is the ultimate goal of the church and that proper worship drives missionary outreach. He describes prayer as the fuel of missions work because of its focus on a relationship with God rather than the needs of the world. He goes on to illustrate that while suffering is the price of missions, God is worthy of any sacrifice. He examines whether Jesus is the only way to salvation and discusses the extent of the missionary enterprise, seeking to define the scope of the task and the means to reaching "all nations."

This revised and expanded edition contains updated references to contemporary literature and debates and new illustrations and quotations. This edition also boasts a new preface and a final section devoted to the practical outworking of compassion and worship. Included in this new section is a chapter encouraging passion for God's supremacy and compassion for man's soul, based on Jonathan Edwards's musings on the unity of motives for world missions. Concluding this section is a chapter containing Piper's reflections on New Testament worship as an inner reality more than an external form.

Let the Nations Be Glad! is essential reading for all those involved in or preparing for missions work and provides inspiring theological reflection for college and seminary students. This book also offers enlightenment for pastors, youth workers, those involved in campus ministries, and all who want to connect their labors to God's global purposes.

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?

The power of the gospel to transform individual lives has been clearly evident throughout New Testament history. But what of the darkness and poverty that enslave entire cultures, even nations? Have Christians underestimated the power of God's truth to transform entire societies?

In Discipling Nations, Darrow Miller builds a powerful and convincing thesis that God's truth not only breaks the spiritual bonds of sin and death but can free whole societies from deception and poverty.

Living by faith is not the domain of only those Christians called to "full-time" ministry. Every Christian can enter into the adventure. What is important is not our vocation, but whether we are committed to obeying God's will in our lives. If you are willing to step out in faith and trust in God, doing whatever it is He has asked you to do, then you will see His provision.Once you have experienced this, you will be spoiled for the ordinary.

International statesman and conference speaker Loren Cunningham and his wife, Darlene, are the founders of Youth With A Mission. They currently live at the YWAM University of the Nations center in Kona, Hawaii. Loren speaks and teaches internationally. His extensive missionary travels have taken him to every country on earth.

Whether at home or abroad, communicating with people of other cultures is difficult. It requires new ways of thinking and interpreting the world. When conflict arises, as it often does, the issues become even more confusing. Without a good understanding of how different cultures handle conflict, our best intentions may only make matters worse.

With a particular focus on Asian and Hispanic cultures (at home and around the world) and on African culture, Duane Elmer walks readers through various types of conflict and shows how they can be handled effectively and appropriately. Elmer gives numerous stories and examples from his experience and from others' to show how handling conflict well builds solid relationships. With an eye out for biblical principles, he looks at a variety of sticky questions in Scripture. This is a book not just of theory but of practical models for conflict resolution.

Pastors, evangelists, business executives, missionaries, students - anyone who wants to communicate more effectively with neighbors and colleagues - will find this book immensely helpful.

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.

We are living in the Business Age. The historic role of nation states is rapidly being replaced by the corporation. Like never before, Christian business leaders have the chance to play a pivotal role in transforming society and spreading the gospel. But seizing this opportunity requires thinking differently about God, about his kingdom, about his purposes in the world, and about business.

While some Christian professionals dream of being "freed from business" to go into the ministry or see business as enemy territory to be invaded for Christ, others are convinced that Christian principles simply don't work in the "real world". In this book, Michael Baer challenges each of these positions. He rejects the unbiblical thinking that ministry and business are by definition separate activities - that our lives can be compartmentalized into the sacred and secular. Instead he guides business leaders in developing the vital characteristics of a kingdom business - the kind of business that will free them live fully integrated lives and lead organizations that significantly impact the world.

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.

A unique prayer and scheduling tool designed to help you live an intentional, integrated life connected to God’s kingdom. This multifaceted resource is far more than an effective organizer. For more than 30 years, believers have joined in God’s work in the world through vital intercession for the nations using this comprehensive resource.

This honest and inside look at missions is a refreshing encouragement to missionaries who have served on the field or who are planning to serve. This book is written by Ron Smith of Mission Builders. Ron Smith is the co-founder of School of the Bible with YWAM and missionary for over 20 years.

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.

This CD-ROM resource is ideal for anyone needing to communicate the world of international missions, including missions pastors, missions committees, missions professors, missions mobilizers and speakers, missions agencies - especially recruiting and deputation staff, and missions graphic artists and publications designers.

Global Mapping International's missions CD-ROM contains over 500 maps and graphs in the most popular digital graphics formats. All the missions themes from GMI's overhead transparency map sets are included, as well as a political map of each country and region.

What is the state of the world? What is the state of your heart? What will it take to finish the Great Commission? Shaping Eternity Infobytes answers these questions and more while encouraging you and your church to be involved with God's work among unreached peoples. Ten Infobytes (about two minutes each) and the flash animation "Satan's Undoing" (7:35 minutes) are designed for large congregations, small groups, or homeschool settings. The simple, yet powerful presentations are perfect for use with a sermon or discussion. These 11 presentations will educate and challenge Christians to find their part in shaping eternity.

Packed with resources to help your church shape eternity! Contains seven short videos (1-5 minutes each) ideal for Sunday worship services, promoting both local and global outreach, as well as 14 printable PDF files.

Red Card: Standing Against Oppression, Providing Hope is a dynamic, 8-week family curriculum on children at risk. Lessons raise awareness of six different types of children at risk: Children in Poverty - Orphans in Institutions - Street Kids - Child Laborers - Children of War - Children Affected by HIV/AIDS

Lessons include videos, simulations, family processing time, prayer, at-home activities, and practical steps for involvement. Scripture woven through each lesson helps participants gain a biblical perspective on God's heart for the least of these, and our mandate to respond. Hands-on learning allows participants to step into the daily lives of children at risk, which motivates them to make a difference.

Designed as a cross-generational church class, Red Card may also be used in home groups and to train short-term family teams going to minister to children at risk.

The Red Card Curriculum Set includes: DVD with seven video segments and promo video - CD-ROM with eight printable lessons, teacher background notes, and weekly class posters - Customizable files of promotional materials (posters, letters, flyers, web text, promotional clip, and more) - 30 Pathfinder journals and 30 sets of eight prayer cards.

Content is age-appropriate for children in grade 4 and up.

Brings together four powerful tools providing foundational information and real-world application, enabling ordinary Christians and entire congregations to reach out with the love of Christ. Gain critical understanding and insight into the Muslim world with Encountering the World of Islam. This ECPA Christian Book Awards nominated book is one of the most significant works of our day, providing a balanced, biblical, hope-filled introduction to Islam.

Grow through God's Heart for Muslims - an introspective study exploring the rich culture and diversity of Muslims as well as our hope in Christ. This eight-lesson Bible study challenges each of us to examine how we reflect Christ to Muslims and to reach out with the love and hope that only comes through Christ.

Reach out with the Encounter Muslims Set. This CD/DVD set provides you with hundreds of avenues into sharing Christ's love with Muslims. This resource provides: over 20 prayer guides, 12 children's curricula, more than 30 videos and multi-media presentations, hundreds of real-life photos of Muslim peoples around the world (for multi-media presentations), plus networks and links to key ministries involved in Muslim outreach throughout the world.

Through Bible study, prayer, thought-provoking questions, and insights into the real lives of Muslims, this 8-lesson Bible study encourages all of us to reach out with the love and hope that only comes through Christ. To understand and reach out to people of other faiths, we must examine how we perceive and live out our faith in Christ. God's Heart for Muslims encourages each of us to look closely, not only at Muslims, but at our own Christian faith and behavior. This introspective study explores the rich culture and diversity of Muslims and our hope in Christ, while it challenges us to examine how we reflect Christ to Muslims and to everyone we encounter. Great for small groups, short-term teams, and personal study. By Keith Swartley. 64 pages, 2006.

This pack of five student Workbooks is designed to be used with the Eternal Impact Leader's Set. Eternal Impact is a customizable and interactive 10-week study that takes you and your small group or Sunday school class beyond just knowing that God wants to use you and your church. Throughout the course you will explore biblical and modern-day examples of ordinary people who choose to align their lives with God's purpose. Through six strategic roles, Eternal Impact teaches ordinary Christians how to connect in dynamic ministry across the street and around the globe - as Intercessor, Giver, Sender, Goer, Welcomer, or Connector.

Rips apart the old, traditional understandings of God's plan and purpose for our lives. In eight lessons, author and global activist, Jeff Lewis, lays bare the heart and mind of God as he combines powerful Bible passages with challenging and provocative questions. Each lesson is followed by a time of meditation and focus on an unreached people group. If you really knew the heart and mind of God, would you dare to follow him? By Jeff Lewis. 52 pages, 2008.

One of five finalists in 2006 in the ECPA Christian Book Awards' Christian Life category. The Christian Book Awards, established by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, recognize the absolute highest quality in Christian books. Based on excellence in content, literary quality, design, and significance of contribution, the Christian Book Awards are the oldest and among the most prestigious in the religious publishing industry. Edited by Keith Swartley. 574 pages, 2005.

A comprehensive 2-disc resource which explores the people from the major Muslim blocs throughout the world. This immense resource helps you see through Muslim eyes into their rich culture and heritage. Encounter Muslims takes you beyond the masses to the villages, the families, and the people who are Islam. 2006.