Together in Ministry

Together in Ministry
Author: Rob Dixon
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 140
Release: 2021-09-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1514000717

Is it possible for churches and organizations to foster healthy mixed-gender ministry collaboration? Longtime ministry leader Rob Dixon casts a compelling—and encouraging—vision for flourishing partnerships between women and men. With research findings, biblical examples, real-life stories, and practical next steps, this roadmap equips teams and individuals with next steps for making that vision a reality.

Community as Church, Church as Community

Community as Church, Church as Community
Author: Michael Plekon
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2021-07-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725287536

Parishes of all denominations are in decline, shrinking, closing, dying. We know that there are increasing numbers, young and older, who are religious “nones” and “dones.” This book explores why the decline is taking place, why the distancing is going on. But it goes on to examine parishes from all over the country and from various church bodies that are resurrecting. The central theme of death and resurrection shapes the analysis of parishes covered. Parishes are resurrecting by reinventing their ministries, by repurposing their building to better serve their neighborhoods, thus replanting and reconnecting with them. All of this is the Spirit’s doing but through the community of sisters and brothers who make up each congregation of faith. Community as the core of church is the other reality shaping the book’s reflection. And community, a parish being with those around, living for more than its own survival are visions for going forward. Other aspects of congregational life are also examined, most importantly the pastors—how they serve when budgets shrink, how they are trained, how pastors act with the community not above it. No recipes are suggested for parish resurrection, but the stories of the parishes that have revived bear within numerous lessons for us in the future.

Next Steps in Community Ministry

Next Steps in Community Ministry
Author: Carl S. Dudley
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 157
Release: 1996-12-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1566995922

Dudley and a research team go back to 24 ministries still in existence five years after the Church and Community Project's completion. They discovered how the myths and expectations of funding, lay/clergy leadership, and church/society partnerships were shattered by what is doable; how the often Herculean efforts frustrated and tired participants, who were then uplifted and sustained by making a difference; and how faith was the foundation for action, and how, through action, the poor, the homeless, and others in need became real people and not statistics.

Discovering the Other

Discovering the Other
Author: Cameron Harder
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2013-05-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1566995108

What is God's mission? Simply put, says theologian and field educator Cameron Harder, God's mission is to form communities that reflect and embody the life of the Trinity. Discovering the Other is an introduction to two tools that community builders have found helpful: appreciative inquiry and asset mapping. These tools help congregations see that all of life is saturated by the sacred and give them energy to begin living as if it were so. Instead of asking, 'What's wrong?' appreciative inquiry asks, 'What's right?' Asset mapping asks, 'What resources do you have personally that we could bring to our future together?' Out of these questions can arise a sense that every congregation is rich in history, people, and resources. Ideas emerge as people, inspired by the Spirit, listen and talk to each other. The leader's task is to facilitate, coalesce, and connect ideas, to catalyze and stimulate the development of vision. The creative connections lead to programs and projects that will enrich your congregation's mission. But most importantly, in the process they will engage you with others, with their stories, their hopes, their gifts - to build community. This book looks for God, not only through the lens of such tools, but in the tools themselves. It is an effort to understand how processes like appreciative inquiry and asset mapping reflect the character and community-building style of the God whom Christians worship as Divine community.

The Church and the Crisis of Community

The Church and the Crisis of Community
Author: Theresa F. Latini
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2011
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0802865860

Contemporary society is in crisis, its structures broken and fragmented, and its people overstimulated, overstressed, and thirsty for true communion with the sacred and with one another. Yet although more than eighty-five percent of congregations in the United States conduct small-group ministry, too many of these groups begin with no clear sense of purpose, structure, or spiritual focus and end by veering away from Christian tradition and unknowingly settling for shallow versions of popular Christianity. In The Church and the Crisis of Community Theresa Latini lays out both a theoretical groundwork and a practical guideline for successful small-group ministry. Examining the latest sociological research and the real-life practices of small groups in six congregations, she shows how well-developed groups those with mission statements, leadership training, and solid organizational structure can be a truly effective tool in the church s work of transforming broken and shallow forms of community into life-giving, life-sustaining relationships with God and others.

Loving Your Community

Loving Your Community
Author: Stephen Viars
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2020-01-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493421425

Are you and your church making a difference in your community? Are you meeting needs in a positive, proactive, and loving way? Too often when churches are presented with a need outside their walls, they operate on the principle of "Say no unless you have to say yes." Don't want that to be your church's legacy in your community? Drawing on more than 30 years of service to the community surrounding Faith Church in Indiana, pastor Stephen Viars shows you how to develop a dynamic, giving relationship with your community, one in which your natural response to needs is "Yes! How can we help?" No matter the size, location, demographics, or issues in your community, the approach found in this practical book will help you improve people's lives, draw them into productive conversation about the hope you have in Christ, and glorify God.

Life Together in Christ

Life Together in Christ
Author: Ruth Haley Barton
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2014-10-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830896384

We've all been let down by so-called community. Why is it so hard for us to connect and grow together for the long haul? Veteran spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton helps us get personal and practical about experiencing transformation together. This interactive guide allows us to grow through and by the experience of transforming community.

Intergenerational Christian Formation

Intergenerational Christian Formation
Author: Holly Catterton Allen
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2023-06-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1514001438

In a revised an updated edition, this comprehensive, up-to-date text offers a framework for intentional intergenerational Christian formation. It provides the theoretical foundation of intergenerationality, then gives concrete, practical guidance on how worship, learning, community, and service can all be achieved intergenerationally.

Mixed Ministry

Mixed Ministry
Author: Sue Edwards
Publisher: Kregel Academic
Total Pages: 267
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0825496802

Written by well-respected ministry leaders, this must-have guide answers the question: How should men and women treat gender issues in ministry settings? Sue Edwards, Kelley Mathews, and Henry J. Rogers explore this complex and thorny issue in depth.