Unleashing The Church Getting People Out Of The Fortress And Into The Ministry

In our communities composed of people from various cultures, countries, and backgrounds, where does the church stand? How representative is it? And how can local churches best minister and evangelize within an increasingly multicultural society? 'Cultural Change and Your Church' is an invaluable resource for understanding the transformation of our cultural landscape and, most importantly, for learning how to embrace the resulting opportunities to minister to all people. Michael Pocock and Joseph Henriques consider the Bible's examples and teaching related to diversity, introduce several churches currently modeling cross-cultural ministry, and suggest hands-on ways for church leaders to encourage change and proactive thinking.

Christ, the Bread of Life, taught that if we give a cup of water to the thirsty, we are actually giving it to Him. Yet all too often, Christian organizations will fall into a one-sided mission. In Cup of Water, Bread of Life, Ron Sider documents ten ministries worldwide that help the poor and oppressed, and integrate much needed social action with evangelism. He focuses on key members of these missions, showing how they have learned from their past mistakes and how they are now impacting the world, both in word and in deed.

Churches over the past generations have been weakened by a failure to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of their communities. Many have adopted a narrow vision, focusing on only one aspect of ministry. But in today's environment of faith-based opportunities many Christians are eager to start reaching out to their world with both Good News and good works, and therefore they are searching for appropriate ways to integrate both into their ministry. In Churches That Make a Difference, best-selling author Ron Sider and his coauthors give those involved in community outreach a comprehensive resource for developing holistic ministry--a balance of evangelism and social outreach. Illustrations and helpful organizational tips detail the how-to's of an effective holistic ministry. Case studies that show how different churches across the United States reach out to their communities provide a variety of ideas and practical applications. User-friendly tools are included as well for congregational studies, surveys, evaluations, and community assessments. The authors draw on extensive experience with church ministries and faith-based organizations as they share the life-changing vision and biblical mandate for living the whole gospel. Church leaders will be encouraged in their process of developing and maintaining a holistic ministry, and local churches will rediscover a passion for loving the whole person the way Jesus did.

Down through the centuries church leaders have studied the Gospels to discover patterns of leadership development that can be applied to their own context. Yet the word leader does not appear in the Gospels...Could it be that leadership has more to do with learning to follow than learning to command, supervise, or mange? On right attitudes than on mastery of certain skills?...Many of the insights we need are embedded in the images which Jesus used to describe his followers. So David W. Bennett introduces his stimulating and scholarly study previously published under the title 'Biblical Images for Leaders and Followers.' He examines the many images and metaphors in the Gospels relating to how disciples follow Jesus, and in turn influence others. Then he moves on to survey much of the evidence to be found in the images of the rest of the New Testament. Finally, he draws some judicious conclusions for an understanding of Christian leadership in our own day. The author has considerable cross-cultural experience, having taught church leaders in Japan, India, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Tanzania, and Kenya, in addition to pastoring churches in California, Oregon and Massachusetts. He has also traveled and done research among church leaders in Malawi, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Korea, Thailand, Russia and the Czech Republic. His aim is to stimulate thought on these questions in churches all over the world, not just in the west.

Founded by David Yonggi Cho, Yoido Full Gospel Church is the world's largest church. This book discusses the factors responsible for the phenomenal growth of this church. The book expounds the role played by leadership, the Holy Spirit, prayer, preaching, cell groups and creativity in promoting church growth, with particular reference to Yoido Full Gospel Church. It focuses on God's Grace (charis) and Inspiring Leadership (charisma) as the two essential factors for church growth and, in this context, examines the part David Yonggi Cho's personal charisma and his ideas or principles play in causing growth. The purpose of the book is to present a model for church growth worldwide.