Ministry Leadership

Lance Witt, founder of Replenish ministries and a former executive and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church, knows what it takes to keep teams functioning at the highest level of impact. He shows leaders how to build next-level teams that are spiritually, emotionally, and relationally healthy, productive, and high-performing.

The joy and vigor coming from a collective strength, intelligence, and skill in the community of leaders not only brings greater potency but better yields for your ministry. What would it be like to see this kind of healthy leadership reproduced into the second, third, and fourth generation, on multiple strands?

How can pastors become resilient in a rapidly changing world? Is it possible to love well and lead faithfully? In the wake of crises that have exposed and accelerated massive cultural shifts, we see more clearly the seismic shifts of post-Christendom, the surging storms of a new paganism and pluralism, and the scattered debris of the cultural aftermath. Drawing on new research from the Barna Group, scripture, and church history, Glenn Packiam addresses some of the most pressing questions for today's leaders.

The world is a very different place from what it was just a few years ago. Today’s post-everything world is arguably more divisive, political, indifferent, and impatient than ever. While many believe that the best course of action is to find a way back to how things used to be, is that actually the best way forward? Given the many ways that our world has changed, it’s time for Christian leadership strategies to change, and for churches to approach making disciples, evangelism, and preaching differently than yesterday.

Christian men and women across the country experience leadership in many different ways. Some lead a congregation, youth group or ministry, some in their homes, businesses, or non-professional organizations. The lives of many followers of Christ are marked by a combination of these roles. In Leadership by the Book, Brent Garrison offers examples from each book of the Old and New Testaments of how God's servants have led his people

A humorous yet practical five-step guide to ridding ourselves - and our companies - of the bureaucratic bottlenecks and red tape that plague every office.

The Heart of the Artist will give you a better understanding of yourself and your unique place in the body of Christ. You'll find wisdom and encouragement that can help you survive the challenges and reap the rich joys of a ministry in the creative arts. Each chapter includes provocative questions for group discussion and personal action steps for individual application. Somewhere between pride and self-abasement lies true humility - just one aspect of the balanced character God wants to instill in you as a creative person involved in ministry.

Based on a large-scale research study of small group pastors, leaders, and members, Leading Small Groups That Thrive gives church leaders both what they want - practical, straightforward, actual small group member voices and experiences, and compelling guidance on how to build transformational groups complemented with real-life examples and data of successful small groups - and what they need - substantial, challenging insights and a data-driven model grounded in the latest research on church small groups.

Why do youth ministries crumble? And what is the cost to students, parents, volunteers and church staff? Is a sustainable youth ministry possible, even after a youth pastor leaves? Youth ministry expert Mark DeVries knows the answer is yes, because he helps build sustainable youth ministries through his coaching service called Youth Ministry Architects. So take heart: No matter what state the youth ministry at your church is in—in need of a leader and volunteers, full of battles and stress, large or small in number—it can be built to survive and to last for the long haul.

Is successful leadership measured simply by the outcomes a leader achieves, or is there another - more essential - yardstick for measuring success? In Redefining Leadership, author, pastor, and college president Joe Stowell shows us that the best leaders are driven by Christ-formed character, and that truly successful leadership is not defined by the standards of this world but by the counter-intuitive practices and perspectives of the Kingdom of Christ.

While many churches talk about discerning calling and engaging in mission, very few are structured to make this their ministry focus. Underground Church is a new vision for the church rooted in its biblical mission to share the love of God and serve the poor. Sanders explores how to make structural changes, how to think about leadership, how to fund ministries, and how to truly engage people in God's mission. Filled with creative insights, he explains what it means to center the mission of the church around the callings of individuals to outward ministry.

We all need more energy, the vitality that helps us stay motivated, focused and productive in life. We know we receive energy from good nutrition, along with working out, adequate sleep and maintaining positivity. But there is another major source for the energy we need: having the right kinds of relationships with others. Not the ones that drain us, but the ones that refuel us.

You're not alone in your ministry. And you don't have to suffer in silence. Ministry is a stressful vocation, with unspoken expectations, projected anxieties, and conflicting demands. After the pandemic caused a sudden shift to online worship and factions fighting over when and how to return to in-person worship, pastors have been leaving congregational ministry at even higher rates than usual. The emotional fallout of burnout and abuse at the hands of parishioners is something pastors carry for years, whether they stay or leave the congregation.

Ministry comes with many weighty responsibilities. Ministry leaders are called to teach, serve, and lead. But in leading those under their care, there comes a moment when they recognize the future leaders under their leadership. With this recognition comes an all too familiar question: What comes next? In Calling Out the Called, Scott Pace and Shane Pruitt answer this question by giving direction, encouragement, and a charge for ministry leaders to recognize the future leaders in their midst and do what needs to be done for the future of ministry: the calling out of the called.

This book provides leaders and teachers a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches about love. This understanding is essential to you as an individual leader and to the church as a whole. If you lead or teach people in any capacity in the body of Christ, this book will help you become a more loving leader or teacher.

Why is it that so many gifted and passionate leaders end up on the sidelines of ministry rather than finishing well? How can you avoid the pitfalls that face those who serve Christ and his church? What steps can you take that will propel you forward into a more faithful and fruitful ministry than you ever dreamed? These questions and more are addressed in Leadership from the Inside Out.

Christian men are uniquely called by God to fulfill two important roles: Lead their families and lead the church. How this is achieved is also unique: A delicate balance of being a bold leader and a humble servant, with love for God and others at the heart of it all. Written for Christian men in every culture and filled with biblical examples and reasoning, Russo offers twelve practical ways for Christian men to LOVE, LEAD, SERVE.

Il est presque devenu banal d'affirmer que l'Église catholique est en crise au Québec et en Occident. Lorsqu'on considère les abus sexuels sur mineurs, la baisse de la pratique, l'effondre­ment des vocations, la disparition des ordres religieux ou la place ambiguë des femmes, il peut sembler difficile d'espérer des jours meilleurs pour le corps du Christ. Serait-ce la fin de cette institution bimillénaire ? Et pourtant, des voix d'ici s'élèvent pour témoigner de leur espérance malgré les difficultés vécues par notre Église.

Respected church consultant, founder and CEO of Church Answers, and author of several church leadership books Thom S. Rainer shows how the trend of low church attendance is slowly undermining churches and sending many to the grave. With this leadership parable, Thom illustrates the five key dysfunctions that plague congregations and block healthy church growth. He demonstrates why church leaders need to pay more attention to core issues like unbelief, membership, and dedication to evangelism.

There was something different about the way Jesus communicated with the lost: He didn't force answers upon people, he asked questions. So why don't we? Following Christ's lead, Randy Newman has been using a questioning style of evangelism for decades. In this provocative book, he provides practical insights to help Christians engage others in meaningful spiritual conversations. He challenges us to examine how we think about people, their questions, and our crucial message.