Church Answers Resources
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When the People Pray
An Invitation to Intercede for Your Pastor and Revive Your Church
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
A convenient and easy way for pastors to ask for the prayer support they desperately need.
"Will you pray for me?" is a question pastors hear every day. But when have you heard a pastor ask that question for themselves? Frankly, it's rare. That was the question Thom Rainer asked his congregation. The response was overwhelming. Within two days, more than one hundred people committed to praying for him, and the church was transformed over the next year. Thom cannot imagine what would have happened if he hadn't overcome his initial reluctance to be that vulnerable with his congregation.
In this book, there are thirty reflections and thirty prayers that give church members a glimpse into the struggles most pastors face and helps them pray in specific ways. In the back of this book, there are instructions on how to start a prayer ministry for your pastor, a prayer ministry for members of your pastor's family, and a thirty-day prayer challenge.
God promises to honor the prayers of his people.
When the People Pray is an invitation to unleash those promises.
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The Mission of God and You
Created, Called, and Commissioned for Something Bigger than You
by Lori Mcdaniel
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
You Have a Purpose. God Has a Part for You to Play in Something Big.
You were created by God, called to follow Christ, and commissioned to make disciples. When Jesus gave this commission, it wasn't a last-minute thought before he ascended into heaven. It was a mandate for all his followers to participate in a movement of God already in motion.
What is God's will for my life?
Where does my life fit into God's purpose?
If the idea that you have a purpose and mission feels daunting, keep in mind that you cannot mess up the story of what God is doing. But you can miss out on being a part of it.
“The Mission of God” and You will expand your missional view of the Bible and your biblical view of the world. You'll traverse the globe and grasp the urgency of our mission. You'll hear the stories of a great cloud of witnesses, both past and present, and gain perspective on how God has worked and is working. You'll be challenged to leverage every season of your life to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Don't wait. God is inviting you to participate in the most significant movement the world has ever known.
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A Brief Walk Through Christian History
Discover the People, Movements, and Ideas That Transformed Our World
by Justin Gatlin
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
How Christianity Grew from a Dozen Disciples to a Worldwide Movement
At the beginning of the first century, a teacher named Jesus of Nazareth shook Roman-occupied Israel with his preaching and teaching. When, several years later, the Romans crucified Jesus and sealed him in a tomb, his disciples were crushed and confused.
Two thousand years later, more than two billion followers of Jesus can be found around the globe. Justin Gatlin tells the story of how that happened-from the miraculous resurrection of Jesus to the spread of Christianity throughout Africa and Asia in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. For each era covered in “A Brief Walk through Christian History”, Justin shows how Christians from that time period
• responded to Christ's call to spread the gospel message,
• described and defined what it means to be a follower of Christ
• taught and discipled people who joined the church.
It is an amazing story-one in which you can see the hand of God in the growth and expansion of the church.
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The Church Revitalization Checklist
A Hopeful and Practical Guide for Leading Your Congregation to a Brighter Tomorrow
by Sam Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Your church has the opportunity of a lifetime. The world has shifted, and a new, brighter tomorrow awaits. The Church Revitalization Checklist is a tool to help you start fresh, leverage your strengths, and discover hidden opportunities for church growth.
God has placed you exactly where He wants you. But, let's be honest, if you're leading a church, it isn't easy. Maybe your church has been in the doldrums for years. Maybe you're hearing a lot of complaints, and you're simply tired or disheartened. Maybe you've been hurt. But, you are not alone. Many church leaders have sore backs from carrying a heavy load. This book will lighten that load.
The Church Revitalization Checklist provides a step-by-step path to a hope-filled future for both you and your church. Popular church expert Sam Rainer will walk you and your leadership team through a seven-point checklist- everything from reconsidering your priorities to evaluating your location and facilities. It is an extremely practical tool to unleash your congregation and help them step into God's unique purpose for them.
Your brighter future starts now.
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Journey Through the Old Testament
Understanding the Purpose, Themes, and Practical Implications of Each New Testament Book of the Bibl
by Justin Gatlin
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
With Journey through the Old Testament, you'll gain a solid grasp of the major themes and stories of the Old Testament.
Journey through the Old Testament helps you
• explore God's original design for humanity;
• track the major themes of the Old Testament's prophetic and poetic books;
• trace the story of redemption through the Old Testament books of the law, prophets, and writings;
• discover the parts of the Old Testament that foretell and foreshadow the developments that occur in the New Testament; and
• summarize the grand story of the Bible in the Old Testament in a way that people can understand and apply to their lives.This book is a solid foundation of essential biblical knowledge of the Old Testament for your personal study of the Scriptures. Start your journey through the Old Testament today.
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Disciple
How to Create a Community that Develops Passionate and Healthy Followers of Jesus
by Chuck Lawless
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Can you identify the key qualities of a committed, passionate, and healthy disciple of Jesus? Chuck Lawless, a respected professor, pastor, and church consultant, discovered that many pastors haven't thought deeply about that question. He wrote this book to provide answers and transform churches for the better.
Many church leaders know their communities well and whom they are aiming to make disciples of Christ. But, too often they haven't thoroughly articulated their goals and painted a vision for what a disciple looks like within their specific communities. In this book, Dr. Chuck Lawless provides a model for church leaders to build committed disciples of Christ.
In Disciple, Chuck Lawless
• Defines biblical discipleship and explores why church leaders sometimes neglect to teach what a faithful and committed disciple of Jesus is
• Guides pastors and church leaders in developing an effective discipleship model and process for their churches
• Explains the potential obstacles to a thriving discipleship program and how to overcome them. When a church is filled with passionate and healthy followers of Jesus, there's a sense that something special is happening. Are you ready to unleash that power in your congregation?
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Money in the Light of Eternity
What the Bible Says about Your Financial Purpose
by Art Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
You Are Created for More.
Our hearts are filled with all types of longings-yearnings for contentment, satisfaction, and happiness. We all want to be part of something greater than ourselves. Yet our biggest temptation is to try to satisfy those longings by seeking after more money and more stuff. That is junk food for our souls, full of quickly fading pleasure that leaves us unhealthier than we were before.
We deeply desire God and the good gifts that come from him alone. It's the way we're wired.
Does your heart long to be a part of something greater than yourself? God's most ambitious mission is ready for you to join. When was the last time you used money in a way that brought about deep, refreshing happiness and satisfaction for yourself and for others?
“Money in Light of Eternity” helps you see money the way God views it. When you follow God's design for your life, you will find what no large bank account, big house, or fast car could ever provide. You will find your true heart.
You were created for so much more.
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Pray & Go
Your Invitation to Become a Great Commission Christian
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Spend the next 30 days reaching your community in prayer and learn what it means to be a Great Commission Christian.
Pray & Go is a profound and easy-to-use tool that empowers church members to focus outward and learn how to pray regularly. There's hope. Imagine your congregation devoted to prayer. Envision a healthy and growing church dedicated to worshiping Jesus.
Our neighborhoods need prayer like never before. Pray & Go is designed to provide convenient opportunities for everyone in your church to participate in and experience the incredible power of prayer. It's easy. Anyone can do it. Just be present and pray.
When Jesus left his followers to be reunited with God the Father, his parting command to them was to wait. The believers obeyed by gathering, praying together, and waiting for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. Pray & Go is focused on following in the footsteps of those early Christians.
It's a 30-day journey of praying and going, waiting for God and then going outside the church's four walls in obedience to Jesus' command. Both adults and young people enjoy the Pray & Go program because it isn't cumbersome or time-consuming. It requires a small commitment each month to prayer and outreach.
Pray & Go contains 30 daily focus topics to pray for, including:
• Praying for Great Commission church members
• Praying for your pastor
• Praying for unity
• Praying for reconciliation
Just pray and go. Yes, it's that simple. You will be amazed by what God will do when your church family is praying for each other and for the community.
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The Calling of Eve
How the Women of the Bible Inspire the Women of the Church
by Jacki C. King
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
A solid biblical foundation for women in local church ministry, grounded in a celebration of women of the Bible.
In The Calling of Eve, Jacki C. King explores what God has accomplished through the unique talents and contributions of women of the Bible, drawing inspiration and lessons for all women in ministry today. From the beginning pages of Scripture to contemporary ministries across the globe, women have had a vital and active role in the story of redemption. Jacki reminds and challenges women in every season of life to uncover their distinct design, purpose, and mission for the glory of God.
Jacki has spent years in many ministry settings, serving others and pointing people to God. In this book, she highlights and celebrates the contributions, gifts, and strengths that women display as image bearers of God, and she paints a vivid picture of women surrendered to God's calling in their lives.
You will be inspired to follow in the footsteps of the courageous women of faith that Jacki honors in this book.
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How to Lead a Healthy Small Group
A Practical and Easy-to-Use Guide
by Kevin Mills
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
This book shares all you need to know to lead a healthy small group.
You have agreed to head up a small group in your church. Now what? How to Lead a Healthy Small Group is your complete guide to managing a small group effectively. From dealing with conflict to knowing how to direct difficult discussions, this book will be an invaluable resource to you as you lead your small group and encourage it to thrive.
In this book, Pastor Kevin Mills
• explores the characteristics of a healthy small group and many of the issues you will face as a leader,
• explains how to address common issues that arise in small groups, and
• offers insights into how to equip your members to love God and love one another.
This book includes the biblical basis for a small group ministry, inspirational stories, encouragements, creative ideas, and informative steps on how best to minister to your group members.
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The Potential and Power of Prayer
How to Unleash the Praying Church
by Chuck Lawless
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Why is it a struggle to pray? Respected professor, speaker, and pastor Dr. Chuck Lawless explores the power of a praying church and how it can transform your ministry.
Through prayer, we have access to the all-powerful living God. Even so, too many of us are tempted to start our days prayerless and feeling alone. How can this be? We can't afford to be so negligent, because whether we realize it or not we all face a high-stakes spiritual battle, when we step out into our communities. In The Potential and Power of Prayer, Chuck Lawless
• illustrates how churches need to take prayer seriously in order to grow,
• explores how Jesus and the early church depended on God through prayer,
• explains how prayer is essential to preparing for spiritual battles, and
• guides church leaders in establishing the priority of prayer and a thriving prayer ministry in their churches.
God chooses to move among Christians, who humbly come to him in prayer, who depend on him for strength and guidance.
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I Believe
A Concise Guide to the Essentials of the Christian Faith
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Who is God? Why am I here? How should I live? These are a few of the crucial questions about life that must be answered. What's exciting is that God has provided those answers in Scripture. In I Believe, Thom Rainer outlines the essentials of the Christian faith in a clear and succinct way. You'll learn about prayer, church, angels, heaven, the Trinity, and much more.
Read and discuss these Christian beliefs in a small group at your local church. It was within a church that Thom Rainer first experienced the power of these profound yet simple truths to utterly transform his life.
The urgent need of our day is for Christians to understand who they are, what they believe, and how that affects what they do. The best place to answer those life questions is in the context of the local church. It's nothing short of miraculous what God will do through a group of devoted Christians who become committed and selfless church members.
Studying I Believe with a small group of Christians will give you a solid base of truth on which to anchor your life in Christ.
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Crucial Commitments
5 Simple Decisions That Members Of Healthy And Growing Churches Make
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
What can transform our church in these challenging times? What radical commitments do our church members need to make to be open to the amazing things that God wants to do through us? Is it really possible to lead a change-resistant church to healthy and substantive transformation?
Considered the leading expert on local congregations today, Thom Rainer has been studying for decades what healthy churches do that unhealthy churches neglect. In this book, he uncovers new data in his research that many have not seen or heard.
Thom shows how crucial, radical, heartfelt and biblical commitments of church members provide the soil for a congregation to grow and flourish like many could only dream. Five radical decisions by members supply the fuel for a community to thrive year after year under God's blessing.
Churches that are laser focused on these commitments tend to experience a virtuous cycle of healthy church growth, while churches that allow the urgency of the moment to distract them from these commitments tend to experience decline.
In this excellent church ministry resource, Thom:
• explains how significant radical commitment is in the life of your congregation
• paints a vision how your church can grow in healthy ways
• introduces you to the 5 crucial commitments for members
• highlights the vital importance of prayer
• challenges church members to commit, or re-commit, to church communityYour church will dream again of God's possibilities in the congregation.
Miracles are still possible.
You'll want to get this book into the hands-- and hearts-- of every church member in order to empower them to be who God intended them to be so that your congregation can be what God envisions it to be.
See also the complementary study guide, which provides free streaming video access: 5 Decisions for Every Church Member. Perfect for small groups and church discipleship classes to study this topic in-depth.
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Journey Through the New Testament
Understanding the Purpose, Themes, and Practical Implications of Each New Testament Book of the Bibl
by William F. Cook III
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Walk through the New Testament with Dr. William Cook, a respected professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
With Journey through the New Testament, you'll gain a grasp of the major themes of each New Testament book. You'll have at your fingertips
• Concise and comprehensive overviews of each New Testament book
• The key teachings from the life of Christ in one place
• The crucial and practical implications of each New Testament book
• A thorough guide to the teachings, outline, and structure of the New Testament, book by bookJourney through the New Testament helps you gain a complete understanding of the teachings of Jesus and how the early Christians thought and lived out their beliefs. It is a solid foundation of biblical knowledge, on which you can build a deeper understanding of Scripture and God's ultimate purposes. Start your journey into the New Testament today.
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How to Teach the Old Testament to Christians
Discover How to Unpack All of Scripture for Today's Believers
by T. J. Betts
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Discover the Richness of the Old Testament
The Hebrew Scriptures are the beginning of-and foundation for-God's incredible story of redemption. Studying the Old Testament, and its relationship to God's new covenant, inspires wonder and awe at God's grand plan of salvation that spans millennia. Tragically, too many preachers and Bible teachers don't have the time or inclination to dive into the depths of the Old Testament. T. J. Betts, respected professor of Old Testament interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, provides a convenient solution in this book:
• By walking you through the steps to effectively preach and teach the Old Testament
• By describing how to interpret the stories and narratives in the Hebrew Scriptures
• By outlining how to present, illustrate, and apply the Old Testament to people's lives
You'll want this book in your library because it is a tool for unpacking Scripture.
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The Surprising Return of the Neighborhood Church
Discover How Your Church Is Primed to Reach Your Neighbors
by Sam Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Opportunity Lies Right Down the Road.
There's hope for your church. Respected church expert Sam Rainer envisions an exciting new wave of revitalized neighborhood churches that are growing and thriving. In the not-so-distant past, churches tended to relocate away from their neighborhoods and build large campuses at major intersections. At the turn of the 21st century, a dramatic shift occurred: A new generation began looking to neighborhood churches to foster life-giving friendships, provide opportunities for service, and create a community dedicated to worshiping God. Sam Rainer describes this movement and answers the most common questions about this surprising new phenomenon:
• What are the marks of a healthy neighborhood church?
• What are the most common myths about the neighborhood church?
• What are the obstacles to church growth?
• What are the best strategies to reach your neighbors?
The neighborhood church is primed for a comeback. The potential is huge. God wants to do incredible things. Are you ready?
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Where Have All the Church Members Gone?
How to Avoid the Five Traps That Silently Kill Churches
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
A church leadership fable about how to combat the silent killer of churches.
Oliver, lead pastor of Connection Church, couldn't put his finger on why he felt so unsettled. Everything seemed to be going right at Connection, that was until he asked a task force what had happened to one church member: Jill. Oliver couldn't have known how his one simple question could lead to an unraveling of what was really happening within the church.
In this book, respected church consultant, founder and CEO of Church Answers, and author of several church leadership books, Thom S. Rainer, shows how the trend of low church attendance is slowly undermining churches and sending many to the grave. With this leadership parable, Thom illustrates the five key dysfunctions that plague congregations and block healthy church growth. He demonstrates why church leaders need to pay more attention to core issues like unbelief, membership, and dedication to evangelism.
“Where Have All the Church Members Gone?” will give you hope. The book will give you a plan on how to identify dysfunction and put your church on a path to renewal.
• A story that illustrates common church dynamics: Follow Oliver and his Connection Church task force as they uncover the true reason for dwindling attendance.
• A plan that uncovers the real reasons: Don't let appearances deceive you. Discover ways to pinpoint the key causes of apathy in congregations.
• A guide to the five typical dysfunctions: Find out why people are quietly quitting church and what you can do about it.
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I Am a Christian Participant's Guide
Eight Sessions to Help You Discover What It Means to Follow Jesus Together with Fellow Believers
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
What does it really mean to be a Christian?
In a world where everything from sports to politics, social media to podcasts, and movies to television vies for our attention, we need to get back to what is essential. I Am a Christian Participant's Guide helps people grasp who they are in Christ and what their participation means to their local church through an eight-session workbook designed for use with the companion DVD experience (sold separately).
Based on the book I Am a Christian, by respected author and church consultant Thom Rainer, this guide is a great resource for any Christian. Designed to be used with groups or individually, I Am a Christian Participant's Guide will
• help you clarify your purpose and mission
• encourage you to become a committed church member
• help Christian communities become healthy places so they can make a significant impact on the world
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Understanding the Bible as a Whole
An Accessible Book-by-Book Guide through the Scriptures
by Sam Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Everything you need to grasp God's big picture in Scripture so you can dive deeper into each book of the Bible.
Every single word in the Bible is powerful and purposeful. But too often we can be guilty of thinking that the details of God's plan for us must be buried in obscurity somewhere in the vastness of the Bible-as if we're missing God because we missed that tiny iota subscript in the original Greek. What if it is the opposite? What if our daily purpose, our next step tomorrow, our discernment in the moment comes from a broad understanding of God's revelation in the Bible? When you grasp God's Word holistically, your life begins to make more sense each and every day. In this book, Sam Rainer will help you
• Understand God's big picture as revealed in the Bible
• Explore the major themes of Scripture
• Know quickly and easily the subject and purpose of each book of the BibleSee the entire masterpiece instead of focusing on the brushstrokes. Understand the broad themes that occur from Genesis to Revelation to find God's purpose and plan for your life.
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The Post-Quarantine Church
Six Urgent Challenges and Opportunities That Will Determine the Future of Your Congregation
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
A trustworthy and respected guide for pastors and church leadership in the post-quarantine world, providing hope and vision for the future of your congregation.
From thousands of surveys of church leaders and in-person consultations, Thom Rainer and his Church Answers team have gathered the essential wisdom you will need to face the challenges and opportunities that the quarantine crisis creates for the local church, including:
• New and better ways to lead the gathered church
• A wide-open door for growing the digital church
• A moment to rethink the facilities
• New strategies for church growth . . . and much more!
This book is, in effect, your personal church consultant, helping you plan and prepare for the future. In the midst of heartbreak, tragedy, and struggle due to Covid-19, here's hope, wisdom, encouragement and vision.
This book is valuable for those looking for local church and pastor resources to enhance church leadership, grow your church, and serve digital and online church communities in the post-quarantine world.
As a former pastor and founder of Church Answers, Thom S. Rainer is intimately familiar with the ever-present demands that pastors face. He has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of the local church.
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Anatomy of a Revived Church
Seven Findings about How Congregations Avoided Death
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
There is hope. God can save your church.
In this book, Thom Rainer reveals seven findings of revived churches. Through new research, he figuratively dissects hundreds of churches that were on the path toward death. But they turned around. They revitalized. They did so in the face of facts and naysayers who told them it could not be done. Today, three out of four churches are declining in our nation, and twenty percent of churches are close to death. What are the secrets of the churches who avoided this fate and experienced revival?
In Anatomy of a Revived Church, Thom will show you how these churches experienced renewal. He will cover everything from "expanding the scorecard" to "dealing with toxins" to "choosing meaningful membership." When you finish reading this book, you will have the tools to strengthen, restore, and energize your church.
You can choose life for your church.
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5 Decisions for Every Church Member
A Six-week Discipleship Workbook
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
What can transform our church in these challenging times? What radical commitments do our church members need to make to be open to the amazing things that God wants to do through us?
Considered the leading expert on local congregations today, Thom Rainer, has been studying for decades what healthy churches do that unhealthy churches neglect. In this workbook with accompanying free streaming video access, Thom shows how crucial, radical, heartfelt, and biblical commitments of church members provide the soil for a congregation to grow and flourish like many could only dream. Five radical decisions by members supply the fuel for a community to thrive year after year under God's blessing.
Churches that are laser focused on these commitments tend to experience a virtuous cycle of healthy church growth, while churches that allow the urgency of the moment to distract them from these commitments tend to experience decline.
In this five-session companion workbook to the book Crucial Commitments, Thom:
• explains how significant radical commitment is in the life of your congregation
• paints a vision how your church can grow in healthy ways
• introduces you to the 5 crucial commitments for members
• highlights the vital importance of prayer
• challenges readers to commit, or re-commit, to the church communityYour church will dream again of God's possibilities in the congregation. Miracles are still possible.
You'll want to have every one of your church's small groups to study and apply the truths in this workbook. It will show them who God intended them to be so that your congregation can be what God envisions it to be.
Free access to streaming video included.
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How to Launch a New Church Site
Ten Questions Every Leader (and Church Member) Must Answer
by Jess Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Explore the Ten Crucial Questions about Launching a New Church Site
One of the most powerful and effective ways to reach our world for Jesus is to plant new churches. Establishing a new church site focuses a congregation outward-on the spiritual needs of the people in the surrounding community. That, in turn, energizes church members and fuels healthy church growth in both the sending church and the start-up church.
Jess Rainer, an experienced church planter, will guide you through the key conversations that church leaders and members must have when launching a new church site.
• Do we have the vision?
• Who will be on the launch team?
• How much will it cost to get the new site going?
• What's the plan?
• Where are the people?
• Are we ready to launch?
“How to Launch a New Church Site” is an indispensable tool to help you examine with your congregation the possibility of starting a new church site.
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Sharing the Gospel With Ease
How the Love of Christ Can Flow Naturally from Your Life
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
Discover a Natural Way to Share the Love of Christ.
Think about an incredibly joyful event in your life. Perhaps you got a job you desperately wanted or you were very proud of something you made. Do you remember how you couldn't wait to talk about it? You were willing and eager to have a conversation about it with anyone who would listen! Why doesn't our excitement for Jesus overflow from our lives in a similar and natural way?
In this book, Thom Rainer explores what makes so many Christians hesitant to talk about the greatest news the world has ever heard. There are real obstacles, challenges, and fears, but God is bigger and stronger than these hurdles. His compassion extends to all who wander, and He wants to show them His love through the lives of His people.
With this helpful guide, you will
• Discover why it is so difficult to share the greatest news in the world
• Identify common objections that are difficult to answer and learn how to respond to them gracefully
• Learn about the three biggest barriers to talking to your friends and neighbors about the gospel and how to bypass those obstacles
• See how God loves to work through our lives to draw others to Himself
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Building an Outreach Ministry to Your Community
How to Grow Your Church by Ministering to People
by Tyrone Barnette
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
The Church Is the Only Hope for Renewing and Redeeming Your Community
Your church is meant to be a conduit of hope and healing, redemption and renewal for your neighborhood. Is your church equipped and ready for this important work? In “Building an Outreach Ministry to Your Community”, Pastor Tyrone Barnette uses the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand to explore how Jesus himself ministered to people. Then Barnette shows how he applied those principles to outreach ministry in his own church. Filled with interviews with other ministry leaders who are tackling the challenges of reaching their communities, this book is packed with practical advice on how to
• establish ministry outreach initiatives in your church,
• identify needs in your community,
• encourage a whatever-it-takes mindset,
• equip young people to serve,
• serve with limited resources, and much more.
This book is your blueprint to grow your church by helping your members turn outward. God intends for the church to be his open hand extended to the people in your community.
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The Anxious Generation Goes to Church
What The Research Says About What Younger Generations Need (and Want) From Your Church
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
A new generation is going to church. But is the church ready?
Church consultant and researcher, Thom Rainer, believes God is at work in this generation, and he believes that this moment in time has created unique opportunities for churches to grow, thrive, and revive.
The culture is at inflection point. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers reported experiencing at least one mental health problem in the past two years. This statistic was lower for all older generations, including Millennials (51%), Gen Xers (29%) and Boomers (14%). Gen Z is the loneliest generation of Americans, lacking deep relationships and offline connection. Sixty-eight percent of Gen Z feel like nobody knows them well. That is one reason why this generation is called the anxious generation. Researchers have identified everything from social media to pandemic lockdowns as the prime culprit of why Gen Z is struggling with issues like mental illness more than other generations.
Thom Rainer views the church as God's Plan A for helping this generation discover their true calling and thrive in a purposeful and genuine faith community. In this book, Thom explores research that reveals that the anxious generation is yearning for meaningful community and is waiting to be invited in.
The Anxious Generation Goes to Church:
• presents research on the anxious generation that engenders hope for the future of the church
• describes the unique challenges for the anxious generation as well as their dreams and goals
• provides strategy and inspiration for church leaders who want to prepare believers to provide help and hopeWith the unique challenges of our times, the anxious generation needs the church more than ever. Is your church ready?
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I Am a Christian
Discovering What It Means to Follow Jesus Together with Fellow Believers
by Thom S. Rainer
Part of the Church Answers Resources series
In this concise book, respected pastor, author, and church consultant Thom Rainer explains how the local church is God's primary plan for reaching the world with his love. "I am a Christian" and "I am a church member" go hand in hand.
What does it really mean to be a Christian? In a world where everything from sports to politics, social media to podcasts, and movies to television vies for our attention, we need to get back to what is essential. We need to know who we truly are and who we serve.
When people finally grasp who they are in Christ and what their participation means to their local church, everything changes. Life begins to make sense. Their purpose becomes clear. Their mission through their local church is confirmed. Their hearts start longing to cooperate with God in the company of fellow believers. When Christians become committed church members, the church becomes healthy. When the church becomes healthy, communities become healthy. When communities become healthy, the world can be transformed.
The urgent need of our day is for Christians to understand who they are, what they believe, and how that affects what they do. And the best place to answer those crucial life questions is in the context of the local church. It's nothing short of amazing and miraculous what God will do through a group of devoted Christians who become committed and selfless church members. I Am a Christian is your first step on that incredible journey.
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