Personal Ministries

Every Christian isn't called to adopt, but everyone is called to care for orphans. The evangelical adoption movement is but one strand in a long cord of Christian care for orphans. While adoption trends have fluctuated over time in different contexts, the Bible has not changed its position. The gospel is decidedly pro-adoption and on the side of the orphan. Yet many obstacles stand in the way of the Christian's mission to provide care to the least of these. So, what now?

Harry Potter has captivated the imagination of millions of children. And Harry Potter has caused controversy in churches and schools. What's a parent to do with the magical, mystical world of Harry and his friends? Gina Burkart chose to read the books with her own children. As they read together, she discovered many parallels between Christian faith and the themes of these books. Indeed, the escapades of Harry Potter sparked significant conversation between Burkart and her kids.

Are you dissatisfied in your career? Not getting the opportunities you want? Wish you could find your sweet spot? Our best work comes when passion and opportunity meet. But many struggle to make that happen - and that's the problem, one that can lead to dissatisfaction both in and out of the workplace. In Love Your Work, you will learn how to move strategically toward a better fit.

Through the challenges of raising five young children, Susan Alexander Yates realized the need for an honest, practical book that helps parents. This best-selling book has helped thousands handle common struggles such as priorities, discipline, and fatigue. Yates is honest about parenting frustrations, yet encourages parents, offering a biblical perspective on shaping a Christian home.

You were meant for more. Your money was meant for more. You and your money are meant for an exciting, adventurous, and satisfying purpose. God designed you to be not a hoarder but a conduit through which his generosity flows. In The Money Challenge, Art Rainer takes you on a journey to financial health. But it is not simply for the sake of financial health. The Money Challenge was written to help you experience God's design for you and your finances.

Dirty laundry, crayon-smeared bills, smashed crackers...and there's your Bible, buried under a pile of diapers. Bleary-eyed from a lack of sleep, without a moment of peace and quiet, you wonder if the spiritual life you crave is even possible. But God sees you. He designed this parenting journey, after all. He understands the chaos of motherhood, and he joins you in everything - whether you're scrubbing the floor, nursing a fussy newborn, or driving your kids to soccer practice.

The Nature of Success is an inspirational audiobook of Mac Anderson's wisdom and insight on the keys to personal success. An inspirational quote will introduce each "success chapter" followed by two to three pages of insights, unforgettable real life stories, and Mac's favorite quotes on each topic. Anderson's insights take on new life as he brings a solid Christian perspective to The Nature of Success.

You may feel lonely, abandoned, overwhelmed, and ill-equipped in your life as a single mother, but you are not alone on this journey. God is with you, and if you are willing, he will help you build a strong home and legacy for your family. As a former single mother, Michelle Lynn Senters understands you could use a little soul nourishment. In The Unseen Companion, she explores the 10 needs every single mother has and asks, "God, where are you in this?"

We live in a society of broken homes. Having parents in the home doesn't mean that parenting is actually happening. Parenting is a God-given task that ensures young children are protected and nurtured into maturity in the fear and admonition of the Lord. But America and the church face a crisis of parenting: detached or absentee fathers, single mothers, and grandparents raising the next generation.

You'll marvel at how patients received exactly what they needed to see or hear in order to die peacefully and well. And you'll find great hope and peace in knowing that God goes to great lengths to redeem, comfort, and prepare His children to come home. Whether you are facing the death of a loved one or confronting a terminal disease, Glimpses of Heaven will touch your heart and reassure you of the great love and peace God longs for you to receive.

There are literally thousands of books available on how to live various aspects of the Christian life. Of these, at least a couple of dozen pertaining to family life and child training are well worth reading. This is not one of those books. This book is designed to help you take those other books, as well as all the sermons, teachings, and exhortations you have received on child training and leadership in the home, and make sense of it all. Pastor Tad Thompson has assembled a biblical approach to effective family discipleship.

For anyone looking for a practical blueprint for creating an additional stream of home-based income, Double Your Income with Network Marketing is for you. This book offers a fresh look at the home-based business industry, offering an original step-by-step plan for home-business success that includes a detailed look at the network marketing industry. By combining specific, turnkey strategies with inspiring stories of successful home-based entrepreneurs, listeners will move through the author's "success blueprint" learning.

Bruce Miller debunks the idea of balance - basically trying to have it all, all the time. Most churches and their pastors try to do everything at once and feel guilty if any one aspect (worship, ministries, outreach, etc.) is neglected. He replaces the exhausting concept of balance with the idea of rhythm: churches, like people, need to give attention to different programs and ministries at different times, basically by attending to their seasons and cycles.

In this narrative of grief, Pastor Mel Lawrenz chronicles how his family struggled to survive the sudden death of their beloved daughter. In raw, vivid episodes, he describes the immediacy of the pain and the uncertainty of what comes next. In the agony of traumatic loss, Lawrenz apprehends the realities of love and life and offers insights on how to navigate our life priorities before or after tragedy hits. You are not alone. You too can find a way forward.

Business executive Shundrawn Thomas reveals how work is intended to produce lasting value and should be meaningful and productive. A healthy attitude toward work and the workplace requires intentionality and effort. Thomas helps us to a greater understanding of our abilities and passions, which in turn will help us develop into the people we are meant to be. He addresses issues of work ethic, character formation, and work-life synergy to find better harmony between what we do and who we are.

He Speaks in the Silence is the story of Diane Comer's search for the kind of intimacy with God every woman longs for. It is a story of trying to be a good girl, of following the rules, of longing for a satisfaction that eludes us. Disappointed with all Diane had been told was supposed to fulfill her, she begged God in desperation to give her more. And he did. But first he took her through a trial so debilitating it almost destroyed what little faith she had. He let her go deaf.

Love is easy to give when you are getting it back. Are we still called to God's plan of how to love when we are getting none in return? Shauna Shanks's brave journey through obedience reveals the outcome of when we dare to follow God's ludicrous outline for love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. Wrecked with news of her husband's affair and his request for a divorce, Shauna finds herself urgently faced with a decision. Does she give up and divorce her husband and move on, or does she try to fight for her marriage?

Grace is more story than doctrine. It's more than forgiveness or compassion. It's undeserved by definition, essential to salvation. And it turns out that God's grace—though it's the only thing we stand on and the only thing we should stand for—is the very thing that we consistently distort and hesitate to extend to others. Why is that? To understand the story of grace—what it means and how it's misunderstood, why we need it and how it was given to us—we have to begin at the beginning.

Many Christians hold an unbiblical view of finances. I did. Do you? How you relate to money is paramount, regardless of how much you have or don't have. I wrote Thorns, Barns and Oil Jars from my real-life experiences with money over the last two decades. It explains practically how to position yourself to receive true and lasting financial prosperity.

Feeling tired of romantic relationships with no purpose - or looking to put more spark in your long-term love? Pastor Michael Todd draws on the themes of Relationship Goals to give you a month of biblically rich "let’s go deeper" challenges designed just for couples. We’re not talking simple date ideas or tips on what flowers to buy. We’re talking daily Scripture, intentional questions, and victorious outcomes as you get real about seeking God’s goals for you individually and together.