Church Ministry

America has a God-shaped hole in its heart, argues New York Times best-selling author Ben Shapiro, and we shouldn't fill it with politics and hate.

Welcome to the Orthodox Church - its history, theology, worship, spirituality, and daily life. This friendly guide provides a comprehensive introduction to Orthodoxy, but with a twist: listeners learn by making a series of visits to a fictitious church, and get to know the faith as new Christians did for most of history, by immersion. Mathews-Green provides commentary and explanations on everything from how to "venerate" an icon, the Orthodox understanding of the atonement, to the Lenten significance of tofu.

What would you do if you met someone you thought just might be one of Jesus' original disciples still living in the 21st century? That's Jake's dilemma as he meets a man who talks of Jesus as if he had known him, and whose way of living challenges everything Jake had previously known. So You Don't Want to Go To Church Anymore is Jake's compelling journal that chronicles 13 conversations with his newfound friend over a four-year period and how those exchanges turn Jake's world upside-down.

In today's Western world, plenty of shiny false gods still hold power - idols of prosperity, nationalism, and self-interest. Old Testament scholar Christopher J. H. Wright combines a biblical study of idolatry with practical discipleship. He calls listeners to consider connections between Old Testament patterns and today's culture, especially recurring temptations to trust in political power.

To truly grasp Bible prophecy, we must first understand how God’s promises to Israel complement his vision for the church. While some believe God has forsaken Israel for the church, this goes against the nature of the faithful Lord we find in Scripture. In his latest book, native Israeli and best-selling author Amir Tsarfati makes clear what the Bible says about God’s unique master plans for his two chosen groups, Israel and the church.

Sex. In a world overwhelmingly obsessed with it, why is the church so silent about it? While our secular culture twists, perverts, cheapens, and idolizes sex, there are gaping holes in the church's guidance of young people. The result is generations of sexually illiterate people drowning in the repercussions of overwhelming sin struggles. Enough is enough, says Mo Isom. With raw vulnerability and a bold spirit, she shares her own sexual testimony, calling listeners back to God's original design for sex - a way to worship and glorify him.

For years, Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection, and provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth".

More than 60 percent of young people who went to church as teens drop out after high school. This is a striking and alarming statistic. Now the bestselling author of unChristian trains his researcher's eye on these young believers. Where Kinnaman's first book unChristian showed the world what outsiders aged 16–29 think of Christianity, You Lost Me shows why younger Christians, ages 16–29, are leaving the church and rethinking their faith. Kinneaman offers suggestions on how to help young people develop and maintain a vibrant faith....

The Book of Mormon is a religious record of three groups of people who migrated from the Old World to the American continents. These groups were led by prophets who recorded their religious and secular histories on metal plates. The Book of Mormon records the visit of Jesus Christ to people in the Americas following his resurrection. A 200-year era of peace followed that visit of Christ.

Two decades after the publication of The Black Book of Communism, nearly everyone is or at least should be aware of the immense evil produced by that devilish ideology first hatched when Karl Marx penned his Communist Manifesto two centuries ago. Far too many people, however, separate Marx the man from the evils wrought by the oppressive ideology and theory that bears his name.

Marcellino D'Ambrosio dusts off what might have been just dry theology to bring you the exciting stories of great heroes such as Ambrose, Augustine, Basil, Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and Jerome. These brilliant, embattled, and sometimes eccentric men defined the biblical canon, hammered out the Creed, and gave us our understanding of sacraments and salvation. It is they who preserved the rich legacy of the early Church for us.

For 35 years Biblical Eldership has been the premier book explaining the biblical teaching on church eldership, which is shared pastoral leadership by a council of scripturally qualified, Spirit-placed elders. Biblical Eldership has helped ignite a worldwide awakening to this long-neglected and misunderstood subject. This new edition is a comprehensive revision. For those who love solid Bible exposition, this is a much-welcomed volume.

Once upon a time there was a version of our faith that was practically...irresistible. But that was then. Today we preach, teach, write, and communicate as if nothing has changed. As if “The Bible says it” still settles it. It’s time to hit pause on much of what we’re doing and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and humanly speaking, little chance of survival. What did they know that we don’t? What made their faith so compelling, so defensible, so irresistible? Buckle up...you’re about to find out.

Based on case studies of 400 American churches, authors Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove that the process for making disciples has quite often become too complex. Simple churches are thriving, and they are doing so by taking these four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus. Each idea is examined here, simply showing why it is time to simplify.

The church across North America has struggled to minister effectively with people struggling with mental health issues. One reason for the lack of ministry is the absence of a widely accepted model for mental health outreach and inclusion. In Mental Health and the Church, Dr. Stephen Grcevich presents a simple and flexible model for mental health inclusion ministry for implementation by churches of all sizes, denominations, and organizational styles.

At more than 78 million strong, the Millennials - those born between 1980 and 2000 - have surpassed the Boomers as the larger and more influential generation in America. Now, as its members begin to reach adulthood, where the traits of a generation really take shape, best-selling research author Thom Rainer (Simple Church) and his son Jess (a Millennial born in 1985) present the first major investigative work on Millennials from a Christian worldview perspective.

In his previous work, A More Christlike God, Brad Jersak looked to the incarnation of Jesus Christ to reveal the true nature of God as self-giving, radically forgiving, compassionate love. In this follow-up audiobook, after deconstructing four counterfeit ways, Jersak explores seven facets of the Jesus Way. Christ's radical revelation of true humanity beckons us, "Would you be human? Take up your cross and follow me."

The gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news that through Jesus we have been adopted as sons and daughters into God’s family—means that Christians ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans in North America and around the world. Russell D. Moore does not shy away from this call in Adopted for Life, a popular-level, practical manifesto for Christians to adopt children and to help equip other Christian families to do the same.

After nine years serving on the staff of a big urban church in Atlanta, Barbara Brown Taylor arrives in rural Clarkesville, Georgia (population 1,500), following her dream to become the pastor of her own small congregation. The adjustment from city life to country dweller is something of a shock - but small-town life offers many of its own unique joys. Taylor has five successful years that see significant growth in the church she serves, but ultimately she finds herself experiencing "compassion fatigue".

It's not your imagination: civilized human society is collapsing. Communities no longer work toward a common good; children are no longer our first priority; businesses no longer value hard work; arts and skills have been lost; and gender is decided by the individual, not biology. We cannot reverse national and global trends, says professor Anthony Esolen, but we can build communities that live up to humanity's promise and responsibility.