Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry
Starting a youth ministry, or trying to help one thrive, comes with a lot of questions. The LCMS Office of Youth Ministry has spent years understanding how you can better your youth group through studies, focus groups, and speaking with the members of thriving LCMS youth groups. Through their dedication, they've come up with the Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry to help you in your journey to revamping or creating a thriving youth ministry at your church. These tips ...
The Disciple Dilemma: Rethinking and Reforming How The Church Does Discipleship
People are key in every organization, Christian and commercial—yet so many organizations struggle with substantial turnover, inexperience, disunity and crippling brittleness among their people. For Christian leaders and their communities, these symptoms imply that their mission is being eroded, which could be devastating for an individual disciple’s pursuit of Christ. Career CEO Dennis Allen takes a look at how very old business practices are impacting people, bankrupting discipleship, and eroding Christ’s influence in the public square and markets. The discipling ...
Journey Through Church History
This engaging student book teaches school-age children about the history of the Christian Church from a Lutheran perspective. Written by Christa Petzold, pastor's wife, homeschool mom, and high school theology teacher, this book teaches about several church fathers and answers questions about the Bible, Creeds, divides in the Church, liturgy, and the Reformation. Homeschool and day-school students alike will enjoy their time with this book. by Christa Petzold
God’s Encouraging Word: True Comforts When Worldly Advice Fails
We live in a society of self-help quotes and books that offer temporary solutions to long-term problems. These phrases offer little boosts of confidence but don't fix the underlying issue: the need for a Savior to lean on and find support in. Just like Eve, we are all tempted by sin and find ourselves grappling at empty sayings that promise we can "be" God rather than finding true support in trusting God. Turn to Jesus and find true help through ...
The Men We Need
The world needs real men, real bad. And there are all sorts of conflicting ideas and messages about what a "real man" is (and is not). Is a real man one who hunts, loves sports, grills meat, fixes cars, and climbs mountains? Sure, sometimes. But that's not really the point of being a man and it's not the purpose for which men were made. Into our cultural confusion, Brant Hansen paints a refreshingly specific, compelling picture of what men are ...
StrongHeart: Cultivating Humility, Respect & Resiliency in Your Child
For all parents who desire to raise a generation of kids with strong hearts. Parenting. It’s the most important endeavor of our lives. And there’s no shortage of advice on how to raise kids. But amidst the chatter of competing voices, how do we sort the folly from the wisdom? In StrongHeart, author Jill Garner cuts through modern parenting myths and trends to deliver the bold truth about what it will take to raise the next generation. Jill provides evidence-based ...
Leading by Faith: Practical Insights for Christian Leaders
Drawing on decades of experience, James F. Sanft shares insights and encouragement for Christian leaders. Part 1 addresses common leadership misconceptions, while part 2 offers practical discussion for how leaders can get things done-all from a biblical perspective. by James F Sanft
Handing Out Life: The Simple Way to Rewarding Relationships in All of Life
Simple. Memorable. Timeless wisdom. The keys to every relationship in life. These distinct features make Handing Out Life a book for anyone, anywhere, at any time. Unlock the mystery to rewarding relationships with God, family, friends, work associates, and even enemies. Remember what you learn with two simple illustrations that are as clear as your hand in front of your face. Be prepared to hand out life. by Todd A. Biermann
Five Traits of a Healthy Family: Steps You Can Take to Grow Closer, Communicate Better, and Change the World Together
Is your family all that it could be? Many feel bombarded by images and experiences of broken families, but this is not how God intended families to be! So often we examine the traits of unhealthy families, but Gary Chapman paints a biblical portrait of what a loving, stable family looks like. He details five timeless characteristics that create a healthy family environment: A heart for service Husbands and wives who relate intimately Parents who guide their children Children who ...
I Can’t Wait! 52 Stories of Kids Who Changed Their World That You Can Read Together
Did you know that a 13-year-old boy saved seventeen lives during Hurricane Harvey? Or that a five-year-old kid led a group of toddlers to safety after Hurricane Katrina? Do you realize that a third-grade girl sewed over a thousand blankets for people who needed them? Have you heard of the teen who invented a flashlight powered by human body heat? She was helping a friend who had no electricity. Young people are doing amazing things all the time. Instead of ...
Getting Through to Jehovah’s Witnesses: Approaching Bible Discussions in Unexpected Ways
Do you want to share the gospel with Jehovah’s Witnesses but don’t know what to say? Have you tried to talk with them only to end up frustrated and going around in circles? The key to effective communication with Jehovah’s Witnesses is getting them out of their prepared presentations by approaching Bible discussion in ways they won’t expect. In this way, you can get them off autopilot and help them focus on what the Bible is really saying. This book ...
God is Bigger than your Cancer
If God is Bigger Than Your Cancer, then where is He? It's OK to have questions of God; as a matter of fact, He welcomes them. Why did God Make Cancer? Is My Cancer Bigger Than God? Why me? Why did I get Cancer? I've prayed, So Why am I Still Sick? Cancer patients need more than answers from their doctors on how to heal their bodies. They need answers from God on how to heal their doubts. God is Bigger ...
God Loves Moms: Twelve Lessons About God’s Mercy
The women we read about in God s Word were just regular women like us. And they had the same insecurities and vulnerabilities that we all feel. This study digs deep into the stories of thirteen biblical women for a fresh look at how God reveals His grace through Christ for you. Each of these twelve sessions includes a short narrative about a typical modern mom s life and a look at a biblical woman s faith story to show ...
God’s Encouraging Word: True Comforts When Worldly Advice Fails
We live in a society of self-help quotes and books that offer temporary solutions to long-term problems. These phrases offer little boosts of confidence but don't fix the underlying issue: the need for a Savior to lean on and find support in. Just like Eve, we are all tempted by sin and find ourselves grappling at empty sayings that promise we can "be" God rather than finding true support in trusting God. Turn to Jesus and find true help through ...
Gospel DNA: Five Markers of a Flourishing Church
Millions of new believers in Jesus. Thousands of new churches. Communities rallying around the Gospel. Innovative efforts to send workers into the harvest fields. A Gospel movement sweeping a nation. This isn’t merely a description of what God is doing in the global south today. It is a picture of God’s work in the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. The church was flourishing. Faith was being shared. New congregations were being started. People were receiving the hope ...
Grace Under Pressure: Responding Faithfully to Stress
The pressures of life can be overwhelming. Stressful circumstances cause us to sin. While feeling stress is not a sin, how we react to it can be. Everyone has been on the receiving and giving end of ungrateful behavior, expressing their feelings in ungodly ways. We recognize the damage it can do, but our sinful nature still often wins. Yet in a world that seems to be out of control, God’s grace, even under pressure, is sufficient and unlimited. No ...
Growing Grateful Kids: Teaching Them to Appreciate an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Places
Even when economic times are tight, our children enjoy an abundance of material possessions. Yet amidst all this wealth, discontentment and competition seem to be on the rise. Instead of teaching children virtues such as gratefulness and patience, many parents are bending over backward to get their children the latest and greatest item - or feeling guilty when they can't. With the currents of materialism and entitlement flowing so strong, how do we raise kids who are simply thankful? With ...
Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World
Is technology drawing your family together or driving it apart? In this digital age, children are spending more and more time interacting with a screen and less time playing outside, reading a book, or interacting with a parent. While technology can benefit us, it can also erode a sense of togetherness and hinder a child’s emotional and social development. In Growing Up Social, Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane will empower you with the tools you need to make positive changes . . ...
Handing Out Life: The Simple Way to Rewarding Relationships in All of Life
Simple. Memorable. Timeless wisdom. The keys to every relationship in life. These distinct features make Handing Out Life a book for anyone, anywhere, at any time. Unlock the mystery to rewarding relationships with God, family, friends, work associates, and even enemies. Remember what you learn with two simple illustrations that are as clear as your hand in front of your face. Be prepared to hand out life. by Todd A. Biermann
Hinges: Opening Your Church’s Doors to the Community
In the past, the doors of the church opened inward, but now people are no longer coming in through church doors as they once did. Instead, God is calling the church to open the doors outward as the people of God take the Gospel to their community. Through extensive statistical research, personal pastoral experience, and practical work with over one thousand churches, Transforming Churches Network has found the eight key factors that open the doors of the church outward and ...
