The Ministry Multiplication Cycle

The Ministry Multiplication Cycle
Author: Bill Jones
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2020-04-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725264242

After harmonizing the four Gospels into one unified story, the author examines the ministry of Jesus to see what we can learn today for our own churches and ministries. As the story unfolds, one finds Jesus implementing four strategic ministry tactics, in this order: •Outsiders becoming new believers through evangelism •New believers becoming committed disciples through establishing •Committed disciples becoming effective workers through equipping •Effective workers becoming world Christians through missions mobilization Together these four tactics form the “ministry multiplication cycle.” To determine whether this strategy is truly a biblical strategy or not, an in-depth look is then taken into the book of Acts. There we find the apostles, the men whom Jesus trained, implementing these same four tactics in the exact same order, with the exact same results—powerful growth through multiplication. The question remains whether the ministry multiplication cycle can be replicated today in our own culture. The answer is a resounding “yes,” when we learn to think in terms of principles and not just practices. This book is a product of over thirty years of clarifying these principles in the classroom and implementing them around the world, the latter resulting in over two thousand churches being planted among unreached people groups.

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.

Global Church Planting

Global Church Planting
Author: Craig Ott
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2010-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441213678

With nearly fifty years combined global church-planting experience, Craig Ott and Gene Wilson are well qualified to write a comprehensive, up-to-date guide for cross-cultural church planting. Combining substantive biblical principles and missiological understanding with practical insights, this book walks readers through the various models and development phases of church planting. Advocating methods that lead to church multiplication, the authors emphasize the role of the missionary church planter. They offer helpful reflection on current trends and provide best practices gathered from research and empirical findings around the globe. The book takes up a number of special issues not addressed in most church planting books, such as use of short-term teams, partnerships, and wise use of resources. Full of case studies and real examples from around the world, this practical text will benefit students, church planters, missionaries, and missional church readers.

The Spirit and the Secular

The Spirit and the Secular
Author: Phil William Zarns
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2021-03-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725269155

How does one make disciples and plant the church in a secular environment? Does it take technical production? Is a great venue or “mother” church necessary? Does it take a well-networked team? Tangible factors such as these are easily remedied by consulting seasoned, church planting experts. Yet, what if some obstacles to plant the church aren’t tangible at all? The Spirit and the Secular examines the ways that Spirit-led Christians trust the Holy Spirit while church planting amidst a secular cultural backdrop. A review of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles traces a Spirit-led Christ and Spirit-led church as they make disciples. To better discern the challenge of what it means to be a contemporary church planter in Sweden, a historical review of Swedish culture reveals the rise of secularism alongside of the flourish of the Pentecostal church of the 1900s. What follows is a groundbreaking fieldwork study using a current, investigative interview method, Q-Methodology, measuring the perceptions of thirty church planters in Sweden who reveal their collective ideal and differing practices. The study wraps with a comprehensive analysis grounding the research in a theory of Spirit-led church planting.

Healing for the Church: New Life for You and Your Church

Healing for the Church: New Life for You and Your Church
Author: Harold Burchett
Publisher: Bringing Christ Back Ministries
Total Pages: 90
Release: 2015-01-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0989817938

Certain essentials of a church’s life and structure are necessary for the spiritual and moral welfare of its people. When those essentials are missing or distorted, the lives of the people will be proportionately corrupted and weakened. Simply encouraging more fellowship and ministry is not enough. What can change a church? God can do it through you! . . . and perhaps this manual will prepare you to help with the healing. Don’t give up or drop out until you have read this book carefully. Members should urge their pastors to read this book. Pastors should urge members to read it.

Apostolic Church Planting

Apostolic Church Planting
Author: J. D. Payne
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2015-10-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830898905

Church planting is not just about gathering new communities of people who are already Christians. Planting churches flows naturally out of making disciples. In this concise guide, pastor J. D. Payne explains the process and stages of church planting, with biblical foundations and practical steps for planting teams both domestically and internationally.

Leading Well in Times of Disruption

Leading Well in Times of Disruption
Author: Joseph W. Handley Jr.
Publisher: Langham Publishing
Total Pages: 381
Release: 2024-08-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1786410613

In today’s world, as we experience global pandemics, economic disparity, and large-scale wars, the importance of good leadership has never been so vital. Good and effective Christian leadership is paramount to today’s missions strategy, but during these times of crisis it is clear many mission organizations are falling short. Leading Well in Times of Disruption seeks to understand and address the key shortcomings, and to provide a roadmap for leaders in global mission. Leadership development must not simply produce knowledgeable individuals, excellent in skill and technique, but those who are also Christ-like in character. In this essential work, seasoned leadership development specialists and practitioners from around the world offer comprehensive insights rooted in the gospel, to provide practical, actionable guidance for mission leaders, to transform the world around them.

Discovering Church Planting

Discovering Church Planting
Author: J. D. Payne
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2012-02-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830858806

J. D. Payne explores the biblical, historical and missiological principles of global church planting, and suggests ways that readers can apply international church planting practices to their own contexts.

Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed

Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed
Author: Edward L. Smither
Publisher: William Carey Publishing
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2023-09-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1645085147

Listening to the Voices of Global Practitioners In Christian mission, we cross boundaries between the people of God and the not-yet people of God, declaring “[God’s] glory among the nations” (Ps 96:3). Mission begins and ends in worship. In mission, we proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We also care for the whole person. Thus, at its core, mission intertwines praise, word, and deed. This book represents the latest in missiological thinking. Though some contributors are scholars and even professors, most are field practitioners —evangelists, church planters, Bible translators, medical professionals, refugee workers, and community development specialists. Based on decades of faithful service, they report on what they have learned about mission. Mission in Praise, Word, and Deed addresses a wide range of critical concerns, such as informal theological education, Bible translation, business as mission, trauma care, and working on multicultural teams. As we ponder best mission practices, it’s wise to hear from global practitioners—those who have been at it for a long time. This book represents the diversity of the global church. They are men and women from Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, and Europe who have served or presently serve in places across the world. These contributors share the conviction that the future of missions involves a growing global church and missionary workforce joining hands to complete the Great Commission amid severe opposition and disruption.