Reviving the Church

Reviving the Church
Author: Kyle Lance Martin
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2008-04
Genre: Church renewal
ISBN: 1602478562

The time is now for revival. Each Christian must take ownership of his or her faith, and become aware of the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus. Describing his own journey, author Kyle Martin shares humorous stories from his everyday interactions, encouraging readers to fan the fire God has ignited to reach a new level of living-a life full of the Spirit, reviving the kingdom of God. Readers will remember they are disciples of Christ with the ability to impact others, encouraging them to experience the divine power of restoration, breathing life into the American church.

The Unstuck Church

The Unstuck Church
Author: Tony Morgan
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2017-05-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0718094476

Acclaimed church leader, blogger, founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan unpacks the lifecycle of a typical church, identifies characteristics of each phase, and provides practical next steps a church can take to move towards sustained health. Think about your church for a moment. Is it growing? Is it diminishing? Is it somewhere in between? Acclaimed church leader, blogger, and founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan has identified the seven stages of a church's lifecycle that range from the hopeful and optimistic days of launch, to the stagnating last stages of life support. Regardless of the stage in which you find your church, it carries with it the world's greatest mission—to "go and make disciples of all the nations . . ." With eternity at stake the Church should be doing most everything within its power to see lives changed forever. The Church should strive for the pinnacle of the lifecycle, where they are continually making new disciples and experiencing what Morgan refers to as "sustained health." In The Unstuck Church, Morgan unpacks each phase of the church lifecycle, and offers specific and strategic next steps the church leader can take to find it's way to sustained health . . . and finally become unstuck. The Unstuck Church is a call for honest an assessment of where your church sits on the lifecycle, and a challenge to move beyond it.

Anatomy of a Revived Church

Anatomy of a Revived Church
Author: Thom S. Rainer
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2022-08-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1496474627

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.

Reviving the Congregation

Reviving the Congregation
Author: Michael W. Foss
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 124
Release: 2014-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1451489714

Pastoral leadership has always been challenging, but clergy and parish leaders today face unprecedented challenges, many of which simply didn’t exist a generation ago. The questions of ministry and leadership in the church today range broadly across the financial and the managerial, the spiritual and the interpersonal. In such a time, a wise mentor who can articulate a way forward for others is an immeasurable help. In Reviving the Congregation, Michael W. Foss, best-selling author of Power Surge, steps forward as that mentor. Bringing decades of experience in congregational life and leadership and a winsome style to the work, Foss offers a compelling introduction to the new context in which we lead, and the personal and congregational strategies that will offer a way forward. Reviving the Congregation is rooted in Foss’s own experience, but it is open to all through questions for reflection, space for notes and journaling, and an extended bibliography for further reading.

When God Comes to Church

When God Comes to Church
Author: Raymond C. Ortlund (Jr.)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2000
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9780801063282

In "When God comes to church," Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. explores what the Bible teaches about revival. He explains what God can do to revive his people and what we must do to prepare ourselves for revival. Ortlund's conclusions provide solid guidance for church leaders and lay people who long for renewal and revival from God.

The Language of Heaven

The Language of Heaven
Author: Sam Storms
Publisher:
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2019
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1629996076

Few other issues have separated the church more than the issue of tongues. Sam Storms focuses on this controversial subject with his signature insights to theology and the gifts of the spirit. What does the gift giver say about the gift He gave? Storms seeks to bring balance to this subject in The Language of Heaven as he wrestles with this s...

Growing Young

Growing Young
Author: Kara Powell
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2016-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493405829

Unleashing the Passion of Young People in Your Church Is Possible! Churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based on groundbreaking research with over 250 of the nation's leading congregations, Growing Young provides a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults. It profiles innovative churches that are engaging 15- to 29-year-olds and as a result are growing--spiritually, emotionally, missionally, and numerically. Packed with both research and practical ideas, Growing Young shows pastors and ministry leaders how to position their churches to engage younger generations in a way that breathes vitality, life, and energy into the whole church. Visit www.churchesgrowingyoung.org for more information.

Revival

Revival
Author: Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 322
Release: 1987-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433553597

In every era the church needs revival—certainly today as much as ever. And in the heart of every committed Christian there is the longing for personal revival—to know the quality and depths of spiritual reality, and the presence of God in one's personal life. This was the deepest desire of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of the great 20th-century Bible expositors. It was also the purpose behind this series of messages which were first given on the 100th anniversary of the Great Revival which started in Wales, and swept across England and throughout the United States and to the far corners of the world. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones recognized, it is a rare time in the history of the church when there is a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit— and a time of special interest of every Christian who longs for revival today. As Dr. J. I. Packer writes in his foreword, Dr. Lloyd-Jones believed in "the necessity of revival—that is, a quickening divine visitation—as the only vent that can avert ultimate spiritual disaster. The thrustful urgency of the sermons in this book testifies to the depth of his conviction that without revival in the church there is really no hope for the Western world at all." Dr. Lloyd-Jones deftly draws principles from the lives of Old and New Testament characters as well as expounding some of the great prayers of the Bible. Clearly and forcefully, he presents a masterful exposition of the circumstances accompanying revival in the past, why each generation needs it, and how it will come about today. We must come to the sovereign God, forsake our sin, and wait upon Him for this special, essential outpouring. God, bring us revival!

Revival Season

Revival Season
Author: Monica West
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2022-05-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1982133317

The daughter of one of the South’s most famous Baptist preachers discovers a shocking secret about her father that puts her at odds with both her faith and her family in this debut novel. “Spellbinding…Revival Season should be read alongside Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus.” —The Washington Post A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Every summer, fifteen-year-old Miriam Horton and her family pack themselves tight in their old minivan and travel through small southern towns for revival season: the time when Miriam’s father—one of the South’s most famous preachers—holds massive healing services for people desperate to be cured of ailments and disease. But, this summer, the revival season doesn’t go as planned, and after one service in which Reverend Horton’s healing powers are tested like never before, Miriam witnesses a shocking act of violence that shakes her belief in her father—and her faith. When the Hortons return home, Miriam’s confusion only grows as she discovers she might have the power to heal—even though her father and the church have always made it clear that such power is denied to women. Over the course of the following year, Miriam must decide between her faith, her family, and her newfound power that might be able to save others, but if discovered by her father, could destroy Miriam. Celebrating both feminism and faith, Revival Season is a “tender and wise” (Ann Patchett) story of spiritual awakening and disillusionment in a Southern, Black, Evangelical community.

A New Day in the City

A New Day in the City
Author: Donna Claycomb Sokol
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 2017-05-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501818899

Many urban congregations remember days of fame and fortune—days when their prominence downtown or in city neighborhoods mattered. Population shifts, the decline of congregations and neighborhoods, and demographic changes depleted the dreams of many urban churches. But not all churches gave up hope. Many congregations are struggling to survive, but thousands of urban churches are thriving again. Churches with revived hope learn to let go of nostalgic dreams and tired habits and to walk with God into a new day of vibrant mission and ministry. Donna Claycomb Sokol and Roger Owens share lessons they’ve learned on the job and from other urban pastors. Along the way, they challenge clichés about church leadership and strategic planning by showing what congregational renewal can look like and how it can become a reality. Each chapter features a set of practical guidelines for leading a congregation to address the questions that matter most. “The urban church can be quite a challenge. I know because I’ve served a couple. Now, two thoughtful pastors with actual urban church experience take an affectionate, positive, honest, and hopeful look at the urban church and give practical wisdom for the revival of languishing urban congregations. There’s a remarkable revival of the urban church in North America. Donna and Roger can help you be part of it!” —William H. Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC; retired bishop, The United Methodist Church “Three things excite me most about this book: First, these two young pastors understand the strategic importance of urban ministry and are passionately committed to it. Second, they show that when you turn from tired ‘church growth’ and corporate paradigms, choosing rather to model your ministry on Jesus, new life happens. And third, they explain that transformation is about journeying faithfully with the questions rather than looking for quick-fix techniques. This book could change your ministry.” —Peter Storey, South African church leader; W. Ruth and A. Morris Williams Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC