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Small Church Essentials
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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Millions are satisfied to sit through hour-long, weekly religious services. Millions more have left the church, brokenhearted and cynical. But God is waking up his people - people who will risk everything and sacrifice anything to become the dynamic, powerful church seen in Scripture. We Are Church calls Christ-followers, young and old, to hold fast to their biblical roots while seeking radical change. Scripture promises an exuberant and unstoppable church. That wondrous early church of acts can be our reality today.
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Preaching is hard work. When I first felt called to ministry, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This little book is the kind of resource I wish I had way back when I felt the call to ministry. There were good books on preaching, but most lacked the practical tips I needed. I knew why I preached and what to preach. What I didn't know was how to preach. I needed short, practical tips to get me started in the right direction.
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Based on case studies of 400 American churches, authors Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove that the process for making disciples has quite often become too complex. Simple churches are thriving, and they are doing so by taking these four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus. Each idea is examined here, simply showing why it is time to simplify.
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In Hero Maker you will learn how to bring real change to your church and community by developing the practical skills to help others reach their leadership potential. Drawing on five powerful practices found in the ministry of Jesus, Hero Maker presents the key steps of apprenticeship that will build up other leaders and provides strategies for how you can activate gifts, help others take ownership, and develop a simple scorecard for measuring your kingdom-building progress.
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Preach and Deliver is a practical guide that will teach you the best practices for body language, eye contact, pauses, humor, illustrations, notes, and much more. This book will change the way you deliver a sermon so that you can preach in a powerful way that grips the hearts and minds of your audience. But passive listening alone will not make you a better preacher. That's why at the end of every chapter, I have included an action step to apply what you learned.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It’s a strategy that enabled Osborne’s congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation - without any marketing or special programming.
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Seven Practices of Effective Ministry
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There's no scoreboard in the sanctuary, and the only plate is probably for the offering. But every church leader needs to know how to win, and every congregation needs to know when to cheer. This insightful book speaks to every church leader who yearns for a simpler, more effective approach to ministry. An engaging parable about one overwhelmed pastor is followed by an overview of seven successful team practices, each one developed and applied in a ministry setting.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Strategic
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Marketing Your Church for Growth
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Gary Hawkins, Sr., is no ordinary pastor. His out-of-the-box, cutting-edge creative thinking caused him to grow a church from 75 people to over 10,000 in less than five years! Being a new pastor, he turned his frustrations of "how to" grow ministry from the ground up into a simple step-by-step book of wisdom and knowledge that will grow any business. Voices of Faith Ministries has been named by Church Growth Magazine as the 25th fastest growing church in America. Gary has authored over 10 books that teach growth and development for ministry, business, or your personal life.
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The Gospel-Driven Church
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- By: Jared C. Wilson
- Narrated by: Steve Lyon
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Author and pastor Jared C. Wilson shows how to lead a culture shift in a church from a focus on numerical success to the metrics of grace. Leading a church culture to shift from numerical success to the metrics of grace can be costly, but leaders who have conviction, courage, and commitment can lead while avoiding some of the land mines that often destroy churches.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Listen carefully
- By Vickie Maywald on 05-03-19
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Who Moved My Pulpit?
- Leading Change in the Church
- By: Thom S. Rainer
- Narrated by: George W. Sarris
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
Nine out of 10 churches in America are either declining or growing slower than the communities in which they are located. Stated simply, 90 percent of American churches are losing ground in their communities. Change is not an option; it is an urgent need. We don't change our doctrines and biblical foundations, but we do change our methodologies and approaches for this rapidly changing culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book!
- By Adam S on 12-05-18
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Autopsy of a Deceased Church
- 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive
- By: Thom S. Rainer
- Narrated by: Maurice England
- Length: 1 hr and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 240
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 209
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 205
No one wants to see a church die. And yet, far too many churches are dying. For more than 25 years, Dr. Thom Rainer has helped churches grow, reverse the trends of decline, and has autopsied those that have died. From this experience, he has discovered 12 consistent themes among those churches that have died. Yet, it's not gloom and doom because from those 12 themes, lessons on how to keep your church alive have emerged.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Concise and insightful
- By Chris on 06-30-15
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Growing Up
- How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples
- By: Robby Gallaty
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
One day, my life changed forever. What was the turning point? I realized the importance and power of discipleship. Two men took the time to invest in my life (David Platt - author of Radical and Follow Me, as well as the foreword of my book - and Tim Lafleur). Since then, I have read nearly every book on discipleship, searching for answers to my questions. Now, I want to share my findings with you. Growing Up takes the guesswork out of growing closer to the Lord and equipping others to do the same. This book has the potential to change your life!
Publisher's Summary
Do you lead a small church?
Big churches get all the love. Articles, books, conferences - they mostly feature leaders of large congregations. Yet big churches are a small part of the ecclesial landscape. In fact, more than 90 percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. That means small churches play a big part in what God is doing.
Small Church Essentials is for leaders of these smaller congregations. It encourages them to steward their role well, debunking myths about small churches while offering principles for leading a dynamic, healthy small church. Based on the popular six-hour lecture that Karl Vaters delivers to church leaders across the country, Small Church Essentials will affirm small church leaders and show them how to identify what they do well and how to do it even better.
Listeners will:
- Be assured that leading a small congregation does not make them ministry failures
- Come away inspired to lead with passion, regardless the size of their church
- Have field-tested principles for leading a church in their context
- Possess new metrics for biblically measuring vitality in small churches
- Have a toolkit of resources to use in their everyday ministry
Karl Vaters has been a small church pastor for 30 years and is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking That Divides Us (2013). He travels extensively to churches and conferences to speak about leading a small church well.
If you are pastoring a small church, this book will be a breath of fresh air. It will affirm your calling while giving you fresh tools to help you lead. It will help you:
- Stop believing lies about small churches
- Lead your church to fulfill the role only small churches can
- Understand your congregation’s strengths and weaknesses
- Turn around a dying or unhealthy church
- Identify good trends and bad in church and culture
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
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5 out of 5 stars
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- Jennifer H Lewis
- 12-11-18
Small churches can also be healthy churches
I knew much of through experience, but it was very helpful to have it all in one place. I wish my seminary would have made this required reading instead of all those books on church structure that has nothing to do with my ministry context.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. Ogle
- 09-20-18
Excellent and practical
Vaters gives practical direction and argument for effective small churches.
This isn’t a strategy book, it’s a book about heart and honoring Jesus.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-14-19
Great read
loved it and plan to apply some essential yo my ministry. I'm excited to see the end results
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DJ
- 05-15-19
Splendid!
Exceptionally revealing, impressive and impactful. I could not stop listening till I got to the end. Really practical and time tested.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert Nelson
- 03-16-19
Encouraging
Very helpful advice from a pastor who has experienced the ups and downs of shepherding a small church. My church is about 20 people and the recommendation to keep it simple, focus on the essentials and prioritize mentoring is a relief.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Ibrahim A.
- 03-01-19
Good listen and great advice!
Good book for pastors or anyone in church leadership roles. I found it helpful and insightful to learn how to not focus on growth as a goal but Ministry and growth or outreach as the end-result.