Nones claim no religion. Dones have become disillusioned and left the church. Research shows many young adults are landing in one of these camps. But that's not the end of the story. Many emerging adults, ages eighteen to thirty-three, are tossing aside the none and done labels and are instead embracing a transformative Christian faith.Based on her extensive research, scholar-practitioner Beth Seversen outlines a model for how to engage and retai...

For nearly twenty-five years, Elmbrook Church in Waukesha, WI, has supported a variety of ministries by and for women. Today their program stands as a model. Yet, as the authors of Designing Effective Women's Ministries will tell you, it did not happen overnight, but through trial and error. In Designing Effective Women's Ministries, the authors share what worked for them and what didn't. they explain how to start where you are, with what you have, and how to do what God wants you to do. D...

Nones claim no religion. Dones have become disillusioned and left the church. Research shows many young adults are landing in one of these camps. But that's not the end of the story. Many emerging adults, ages eighteen to thirty-three, are tossing aside the none and done labels and are instead embracing a transformative Christian faith. Based on her extensive research, scholar-practitioner Beth Seversen outlines a model for how to engage and retain millennials and Generation Z in the life ...

Close to 60 percent of young people who went to church as teens drop out after high school. Now the bestselling author of unChristian trains his researcher's eye on these young believers. Where Kinnaman's first book unChristian showed the world what outsiders aged 16-29 think of Christianity, You Lost Me shows why younger Christians aged 16-29 are leaving the church and rethinking their faith.Based on new research, You Lost Me shows pastors, chur...

All churches grow old. Strategic churches grow young.Churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based on groundbreaking research with over 250 of the nation's leading congregations, Growing Young provides a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults.This strategy includes six core commitments for growing young:● Unlock keychain leadership● Empathize...

You can be a great leader. Here's how.Your job title, education, and training won't make you a great leader—only God can do that. But The Making of a Leader can help you see where you are in the process and what steps you should take next. After examining the lives of hundreds of historical, biblical, and contemporary leaders, Dr. J. Robert Clinton gained perspective on how leaders develop over a lifetime. By studying the six distinct stages he identifies,...

Many of the statistics you read about teenagers and faith can be alarming. Recent studies show that 40-50 percent of kids who are connected to a youth group throughout their senior year will fail to stick with their faith in college. As youth workers are pouring their time and energy into the students in their ministries, they are often left wondering if they’ve done enough to equip their students to carry their faith into adulthood. Fuller Youth Institute has done extensive research in th...

Small groups are a great place to connect with other churchgoers, but many wonder, is this all there is? Is sitting in a living room, talking about a book or watching a video the extent of what we can do together? Isn't being a Christian community about something more than this?Pastor and author Scott Boren thinks so. In this latest release from missional thinktank Allelon, Boren gives leaders and members of small groups the tools they need to make an impact on their communities. B...

What does it take to have fruitful ministry over the long haul?The stresses of pastoring are well known and can be a match for even the best-prepared, most experienced in ministry--multiple tasks, long hours, taxing responsibilities and, yes, some challenging personalities. Too often the results can be burnout, being run out or just feeling worn out.To find out how pastors can thrive as well as survive, the authors undertook a five-year in-depth research project among worki...

Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that's left, then, is to get the kids out of the way. Here children's ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship. For too long, the local church has focused primarily on programs for children rather than ways of doing ministry with children. But in light of eme...

Personal evangelism is the foundation for all church growth. As the culture and landscape of America shifts, people are looking for spiritual answers to life’s significant questions. However, in the increasingly crowded marketplace of spiritual ideas, people are looking to the church less and less.Will McRaney addresses this problem at the heart of the solution. If the Kingdom of God is to expand, individual Christians will have to learn to communicate their faith story in a way th...

Starting Right: Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry is the first academic textbook that introduces youth ministry students (whether undergraduate or graduate level) to a marriage of solid research, real life, and accessible design. Whereas most college-level texts may reflect a thorough (though impenetrable) mastery of the field, they tend to expect readers to plow through unnecessarily thick prose and bland design because “it’s good for them.” Youth Specialties doesn’t agree. In t...