Church Growth and Church Planting
Many titles in the Church Health, Renewal, and
Vitality category will also be helpful.
Anabaptist
Evangelism Council 2001 - Church Planting: The Spirit at Work through Our
Systems edited by Ronald W. Waters
Features plenary presentations by Stuart Murray, research by Steve Clapp and
Angela Zizak, and more.
Building
a Multicultural Congregation: Widening the Welcome of Your Church to Other
Cultures
edited by G. Edwin Bontrager
A handbook to help congregation members and their
leaders understand cultural diversity and embrace it for the expanded outreach.
A Church
for the 21st Century Video
New ideas to help your church minister in a changing
world. Includes examples of churches who are making changes to reach their
communities.
The Church of Recovery by
Sam Detwiler and Steve Clapp
The book also explores healthy ways that
congregations can relate to 12-step groups and circumstances in which churches
may choose to actively encourage such groups. It can be a tremendous
resource for churches wanting to find creative, practical ways to speak to the
spiritual needs of members and for churches wanting to have more effective
outreach to persons in need.
Church Planting: Laying Foundations (North
American Edition) by Stuart Murray
Church planting involves laying
foundations. Strong and secure foundations provide the basis for healthy
churches and effective mission. This book is not a training manual, but it is
for practitioners rather than theorists. It lays some theological foundations
for church planting and invites church planters to think seriously about
missiology and ecclesiology.
Discovering a Vision
Module
A three- to six-month emphasis to communicate the
biblical and theological principles behind outreach and church growth. Use
as a standalone study or in combination with other
modules as part of an extended process.
Fifty Ways to Reach Young
Singles, Couples, and Families by Steve Clapp
This report offers tested strategies to reach out to a generation missed by many
congregations. Look here for practical ideas!
The First Thirty
Seconds: A Guide to Hospitality for Greeters
and Ushers by S. Joan Hershey
Straight-forward help for greeters and ushers–the people
who provide the "first contact" many people have with your church on
Sunday morning.
Following
in the Footsteps of Paul by G. Edwin Bontrager
This 13-session video curriculum with leaders guide and student book casts a
vision for outreach and growth. Through "you are there" video images,
the stories of ancient followers of Christ come alive for modern
Christ-followers. It also serves as the study curriculum in Module 1 –
Discovering a Vision.
Healthy Pastor—Healthy Church!
by S. Joan Hershey and Steve Clapp
This booklet addresses questions of caring for pastors from an individual and a
congregational perspective.
Hospitality
and the Vital Church Video
This short video is a companion to Widening
the Welcome of Your Church and shows how one church uses hospitality to
enhance outreach.
Hospitality: Life without Fear
by Steve Clapp and Fred Bernhard
Picking up the theme of hospitality in the book Widening
the Welcome of Your Church by the same authors, this book takes a careful look
at the spiritual basis of hospitality and at what that means for our daily
lives.
How
to Start a New Service by Charles Arn
Arn contends that most churches in North America could start
another worship service to reach a new group of people . . . and would find many
benefits in the process.
Invite
a Friend Kit by S. Joan Hershey - Newly Revised
This time-tested strategy for outreach offers a step-by-step planning guide for
hosting an "Invite a Friend Sunday." It includes reproducible
materials and worship planning resources as well.
LifeQuest
Congregational Profile
For congregations interested in doing an comprehensive
self-study, this profile helps a church conduct a careful analysis of its
present situation and the community context in which it is located. It
includes the survey below and is available with and without expert, outside
analysis.
LifeQuest
Congregational Survey
The survey, while not as extensive as the profile above, offers
congregations the opportunity to assess themselves in preparation for future
planning and development. Also available with and without expert analysis.
One
Hundred Ways to Reach Young
Singles, Couples, and Families
by Steve Clapp
A complete updating and expansion of Clapp's earlier publication, Fifty Ways
to Reach Young Singles, Couples, and Families. Look here for practical
ideas!
Overcoming
Barriers to Church Growth by Steve Clapp
Twenty years of church growth efforts reversed the trend of decline in many
mainline Protestant churches. Here is practical help for overcoming the
barriers to growth many congregational leaders face.
Practical
Strategies for Servant Evangelism by the Andrew Center
staff
Join congregations around the country in reaching out to others
through acts of love and service as new opportunities for outreach.
Public Relations
Kit: Help from a Hospitality Perspective by
Kristen Leverton Helbert and Dick Benner
Welcoming New People
Module
A three- to six-month emphasis on using
hospitality to help newcomers find Christ and a church they can call home.
Use as a standalone study or in combination with other
modules as part of an extended process.
Widening the Welcome of Your
Church
Newly Revised & Expanded 4th Edition
by Fred Bernhard and Steve Clapp
Learn how a rural congregation turned hospitality into an advantage that led to
immediate and continuing growth.
