Messages from the Small Country Church

Messages from the Small Country Church PDF Author: Rev. Dr. C. Joseph Fifer
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1490846492
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
In this day and age of “bigger and better” or “bigger is better,” even our churches are starting to follow suit. The alarming trend that is occurring now in America is the assumption that if a group is big, it must be right; if a church is bigger than others, it must be even “more” right. This assumption is not correct. This nation was built and became what it is today one small church at a time. Many of those small churches are still there today, right where they were first necessary. And they are still necessary today. They are still occupied by Christians who meet on every first day of the week. They gather to give the first of their week to worship He who is to be first in Spirit and in truth. With this book—a compilation of readings, sermons, observations, and an invitation—the Reverend Dr. C. Joseph Fifer (Pastor Joe), who serves a small country church in rural western Ohio, seeks to give voice to the message that millions are now missing.

Messages from the Small Country Church

Messages from the Small Country Church PDF Author: Rev. Dr. C. Joseph Fifer
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1490846492
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 225

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this day and age of “bigger and better” or “bigger is better,” even our churches are starting to follow suit. The alarming trend that is occurring now in America is the assumption that if a group is big, it must be right; if a church is bigger than others, it must be even “more” right. This assumption is not correct. This nation was built and became what it is today one small church at a time. Many of those small churches are still there today, right where they were first necessary. And they are still necessary today. They are still occupied by Christians who meet on every first day of the week. They gather to give the first of their week to worship He who is to be first in Spirit and in truth. With this book—a compilation of readings, sermons, observations, and an invitation—the Reverend Dr. C. Joseph Fifer (Pastor Joe), who serves a small country church in rural western Ohio, seeks to give voice to the message that millions are now missing.

Messages from the Small Country Church

Messages from the Small Country Church PDF Author: Rev C. Joseph Fifer
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 9781490846507
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this day and age of "bigger and better" or "bigger is better," even our churches are starting to follow suit. The alarming trend that is occurring now in America is the assumption that if a group is big, it must be right; if a church is bigger than others, it must be even "more" right. This assumption is not correct. This nation was built and became what it is today one small church at a time. Many of those small churches are still there today, right where they were first necessary. And they are still necessary today. They are still occupied by Christians who meet on every first day of the week. They gather to give the first of their week to worship He who is to be first in Spirit and in truth. With this book-a compilation of readings, sermons, observations, and an invitation-the Reverend Dr. C. Joseph Fifer (Pastor Joe), who serves a small country church in rural western Ohio, seeks to give voice to the message that millions are now missing.

The Gifts of the Small Church

The Gifts of the Small Church PDF Author: Jason Byassee
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 0687466598
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Why the small- to mid-sized church remains God's best means to make disciples of Jesus Christ

Small Church Essentials

Small Church Essentials PDF Author: Karl Vaters
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802496369
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Do you lead a small church? Big churches get all the love. Articles, books, conferences—they mostly feature leaders of large congregations. Yet big churches are a small part of the ecclesial landscape. In fact, more than 90 percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. That means small churches play a big part in what God is doing. Small Church Essentials is for leaders of these smaller congregations. It encourages them to steward their role well, debunking myths about small churches while offering principles for leading a dynamic, healthy small church. Based on the popular six-hour lecture that Karl Vaters delivers to church leaders across the country, Small Church Essentials will affirm small church leaders and show them how to identify what they do well, and how to do it even better. Readers will: Be assured that leading a small congregation does not make them ministry failures Come away inspired to lead with passion, regardless the size of their church Have field-tested principles for leading a church in their context Possess new metrics for biblically measuring vitality in small churches Have a toolkit of resources to use in their everyday ministry Karl Vaters has been a small church pastor for 30 years, is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking that Divides Us (2013), and travels extensively to churches and conferences to speak about leading a small church well. If you are pastoring a small church, this book will be a breath of fresh air. It will affirm your calling while giving you fresh tools to help you lead. It will help you: Stop believing lies about small churches Lead your church to fulfill the role only small churches can Understand your congregation’s strengths and weaknesses Turn around a dying or unhealthy church Identify good trends and bad in church and culture

Messages from a Rural Church

Messages from a Rural Church PDF Author: Lawrence C. Bundgaard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description


Transforming Church in Rural America

Transforming Church in Rural America PDF Author: Shannon O'Dell
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group
ISBN: 1614582130
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
"No matter what size church you are a part of, this book will challenge your traditional thinking, force you to look beyond the status quo, and enable you to grasp a bigger vision of what God has in store for your ministry and your leadership." -Ed Young, Fellowship Church "Shannon O'Dell's passion for the rural church in America is contagious" -Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals: how to generate growth through transformed lives ways to create active evangelism in your community no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteers Focusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be. MORE INFO

Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church

Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church PDF Author: Michael Adam Beck
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 1791025803
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 159

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Book Description
Learn to cultivate the extraordinary gifts of Christian community in the countryside with Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church by Tyler Kleeberger and Michael Beck. The rural church was a community’s centerpiece. The place where people gathered to worship and hear a sermon, break bread together, and support each other through the joys and struggles of life with the land. In many ways, the rural church captured a central aspect of the church’s mission: to be the guiding hand for the life of a place. Can rural congregations flourish again? Can new Christian communities succeed in rural areas? Could healthy rural churches catalyze a better future for their declining communities? This book collects stories from the diversity of rural contexts across the US. It lays out a fresh theology for rural life and offers principles for harnessing the potential of what some consider the forgotten spaces. Each chapter includes a helpful Field Exercise—questions for discussion and suggested actions for leadership teams to work through together. Chapters conclude with a Field Story illustrating how the chapter’s main ideas can work in a real church setting. Praise for Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church offers hope for the renewal that can take place in “out of the way” places. In these sacred rural places folks can experience the love of God and neighbor, undergo true healing, participate in the renewal of community, and discover a place to belong. - Daniel G. Beaudoin, Bishop, Northwestern Ohio Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Fresh Expressions of the Rural Church helps us to reconsider our Wesleyan roots and the gifts of our rural contexts, a seedbed packed with possibility for new communities of faith to form and flourish. - Heather M. Jallad, Fresh Expressions specialist, North Georgia Conference, UMC Beck and Kleeberger have taken a sample of the good soil that is faithful rural mission, identified the challenges, celebrated the riches, and offered us a powerful way to learn and be in partnership and connection with the gifts of God. - Ken Carter, Bishop, Florida and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church; co-author, Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church from Abingdon Press

Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church

Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church PDF Author: James L. Killen
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 0687343267
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 115

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Book Description
An introduction to pastoral care for pastors of small membership churches. "If you spend your whole life serving small membership churches and doing it well, yours will have been a life well spent." Small membership churches have a real advantage when it comes to incorporating people into a fellowship where they are known and where their needs are met. These churches and their pastors have an opportunity for excellence in this area, and should make the most of it. Good pastoral care can be the key to effectiveness in all of the other ministries of the church.From getting acquainted with your congregation, weddings and funerals, picking up on subtle cues in a conversation to not-so-subtle conflicts, Killen shares insights from years of ministry in a small membership church setting. James L. Killen, Jr. is a retired elder of the Texas Conference, contributor to Circuit Rider, and author of Who Do You Say That I Am? A Personal Reader.

The Church Awakening

The Church Awakening PDF Author: Charles R. Swindoll
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0446575046
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
In THE CHURCH AWAKENING, Charles Swindoll discusses the challenges, struggles, and priorities of the church in the twenty-first century. He reveals the problems inherent in the entertainment-based postmodern church and shows how a return to biblical teaching will restore its strength and impact. Now being replaced by a feel-good message instead of what Christians need to know to stand strong in a world that's lost its way--Swindoll exposes the problems of--and solutions for--the postmodern evangelical church. Just as he opened readers' eyes with his bold statements in The Grace Awakening, now he offers a straightforward volume revealing how to reestablish a life-altering church with Christ as Lord and Master. Illuminating and empowering, THE CHURCH AWAKENING will ignite a revolution in the way Christians "do church" for years to come.

Sticky Church

Sticky Church PDF Author: Larry Osborne
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 031031299X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210

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Book Description
Why closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: Why stickiness is so important Why most of our discipleship models don't work very well Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.