Care Ministry

To be pastoral is to create a sacred space and time for the other person who needs support. The caregiver is fully present, listening critically and attentively to locate the "pastoral pillars" on the way for continued support. In order to provide effective pastoral care ministry and also be able to nail down and address the core issues bothering an individual, the caregiver should look beyond the ordinary and superficial, and companion into the deep ("the shadow") with the counselee, mentee, directee, client, patient, and the like.

The role of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life is often misunderstood. Some believers focus solely on spiritual gifts, some emphasize the practical over the spiritual, and others avoid the subject altogether. Yet in spite of the apparent confusion, the truth is surprisingly simple: God's Spirit is a vital part of our relationship with him. The Silent Shepherd offers a balanced, scripturally sound look at the personality, works, and deity of the Holy Spirit.

For Pope Francis, the appreciation of our everyday lives is a spiritual undertaking. Joy is a divine attribute, and creating joy around us an essential part of faith. Every homily and speech in this audiobook delivers, in warm, engaging language, a key lesson, instructing listeners on finding love and happiness in a chaotic world. Along the way, Pope Francis discusses the sanctity of women's rights, talks about how the love of sports can bring out our best qualities, and explains why fighting discrimination is the essence of loving thy neighbor.

A curious thing happens when Jesus comes into his ministry: He touches. Jesus touches the sick and the outcast, the bleeding and the unclean. What could it mean for families, singles, marriages, churches, communities, and the world to have healthy, pure, faithful, ministering touch? Somewhere in the mess of our assumptions and fears about touch, there is something beautiful and good and God-given. As Jesus can show us, there is ministry in touching.

Many people are struggling with mental-health conditions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and life in our image-conscious culture. But when it comes to helping, it can be tricky to know where to begin. This wise, compassionate, and practical book is written by Steve Midgley, psychiatrist and Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. It will help listeners understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health.

Health care is on the brink of monumental change. Innovations in care and cost are making health care more available than ever. And yet, health insurers and government bureaucrats have yet to catch up to these advances, making traditional health insurance practices not only out-of-date, but overly expensive and unnecessarily cumbersome and frustrating. Moreover, their decision on what to pay for and what not to pay for may have an even bigger role in determining the health care you receive than you and your doctor. There's a better way!

In the Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality, the beloved pope exhorts the world to combat environmental degradation and its impact on the poor. In a stirring, clarion call that is not merely aimed at Catholic listeners but rather at a wide, lay audience, the pope cites the overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change and does not hesitate to detail how it is the result of a historic level of unequal distribution of wealth.

In Gospel Conversations, part of the Equipping Biblical Counselors Series, Bob Kellemen explores the four compass-points that guide 22 essential biblical counseling skills, providing a comprehensive approach to caring like Christ. These four compass points combine to equip listeners to develop twenty-two ministry relational competencies—the “how to” of caring like Christ. This book serves as a practical training manual that can be used for lab and small group interaction.

Adopting or fostering a child brings its own unique set of challenges only another parent facing the same uphill climb could possibly understand. From parenting children with traumatic pasts, to dealing with attachment issues, to raising a children with special needs, it can sometimes be a struggle just getting through the day. Mike Berry knows the loneliness and isolation you can easily feel in your particular parenting role - because he's been there.

Featuring insights from the perspective of both a pastor and his wife—The Pastor's Family identifies the complicated burdens and expectations ministry brings to the life of a family. Brian and Cara Croft identify the unique challenges that pastors face as husbands and fathers. They also discuss the difficulties and joys of being a pastor's wife and offer practical advice on raising children in a ministry family.

In CinderGirl, Christina tells her piercing and poignant story of leaving behind homelessness to become Ms. California and the founder of a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy for foster-care children.

Con 37 años y una figura que no se ajusta a los cánones de belleza, Christine tiene pocas esperanzas de encontrar al hombre con quien compartir su futuro. Lo que no sabe es que Dios ha vuelto a la tierra para entregarle unas simples reglas de vida acordes con nuestro tiempo, que harán de ella una mujer distinta y libre.

How can you share the gospel with someone who doesn’t care? As Western culture becomes increasingly indifferent to questions of faith, diverted by secularism, comfort, and distraction, believers encounter many people who don’t so much doubt God as they are apathetic toward him. In Apatheism, Kyle Beshears urges us to recapture the joy of our salvation and demonstrates how to faithfully display the love of Christ to apatheist friends and neighbors.

Each of the 30 stories challenges listeners to reconsider their conception of angels - from the story of a former Air Force colonel whose golden retrievers served as his heavenly helpers in the Colorado wilderness to the account of St. John Bosco, who, for more than 30 years, was protected by an angelic dog as he walked the dangerous city streets. In the end, for all who see through the eyes of faith, this audiobook is evidence that God can use even muddy paws and cold noses to fulfill his purpose in our world. For dog lovers and anyone who believes in the presence of angels, Angelic Tails will uplift and inspire

Bill Johnson es el pastor de una iglesia donde los encuentros sobrenaturales con Dios son la orden del día, los milagros son comunes y la congregación tiene una contagiosa pasión por el crecimiento espiritual. ¿Cómo lo hace? Es sencillo: El hace que el experimentar una profunda e íntima relación con Dios sea una prioridad tanto para sí mismo como para el resto de su congregación.

Understanding more of God's character and how he loves us changed best-selling author Holley Gerth's life in beautiful, powerful ways. She realized she didn't have to settle for "I'm fine" when there was someone whispering to her in every moment, "You're mine." The hope, joy, peace, and purpose she longed for were already there, in the heart of God. Now, in 52 devotional readings, Holley shares with women the answer to the restlessness they feel in their hearts that keeps them hurrying, striving, and pushing.

You keep hoping and believing in faith that your circumstances are going to shift, but the longer time goes on and you don’t see your circumstances change, the more it builds, until finally, it bursts out of you: ”God, don’t you care?” If you’re in the middle of the storm right now, this book is for you. It won’t patronize your pain or give you all the cliche answers. You don’t need to feel ashamed of your questions, but instead you can walk through the steps of how to navigate the pain of struggle from a biblical perspective.

Filled with real-life stories and practical advice, Called to Care starts by helping you honestly assess your motivation to help - sometimes the wrong motivation sets the stage for an unsuccessful experience. From there, the book shows what adoption and foster care really look like in a variety of situations, from domestic and international adoptions to short-term foster care and foster-to-adopt arrangements. Also included is how churches and individuals can minister to refugees.

How do Christians account for the widespread presence of goodness in a fallen world? Richard Mouw, one of the most influential evangelical voices in America, presents his mature thought on the topic of common grace. Addressing a range of issues relevant to engaging common grace in the 21st century, Mouw shows how God takes delight in all things that glorify him - even those that happen beyond the boundaries of the church-and defends the doctrine of common grace from its detractors.

Are you tired of hearing people dismiss the church as an irrelevant relic? (Do you secretly wonder if they are right?) Don Everts explores an exciting reality that is revealed in Scripture, shown throughout history, and confirmed in the latest research: When Christians pursue the common good of the neighborhood, the world stands up and notices.