Staying Power is for anyone who is contemplating or who has already embarked on the adventurous but challenging journey of ministry leadership. It is especially written to help pastors and ministry leaders go the distance. The attrition rate for pastors is extraordinarily high. Clearly the role is incredibly testing and a high degree of resilience is required. This book examines the areas of vulnerability that cause many leaders to stumble or give up and discusses ways of overcoming them.

First published in 1999, Advanced Strategic Planning explains why planning is so important to carrying out the church's mission. Now in its third edition, this classic resource offers•a nine-step strategic thinking and acting model•useful ideas for developing a ministry strategy•diagrams to help illustrate concepts•a new section on spiritual formationThe methods in this book are proven to work, having already helped many churches articulate the...

Much has changed over Calvin Miller’s decades of pastoral ministry, but he believes two things remain the same: God is love and people are broken. Now God is calling young pastors to stand in that gap. And in this honest, warm and humorous series of letters, Miller shares his wisdom and experience so you can flourish in your future ministry—without ever wanting to resign on Monday.

Over the past ten years, the North American mission field has experienced dramatic changes, which in turn have required congregations, middle judicatories, and denominations to adapt. Among these adaptations is an expectation for clear goals and quantified progress towards those goals. Church leaders who have never needed to measure their goals and progress with metrics may find this change daunting. The use of metrics-denominational and middle judicatory dashboards, and the tracking of co...

Money Matters in Church helps leaders to discover a one-stop, comprehensive model for managing finances and fundraising. It guides leaders of any size church or ministry to create a culture of giving that supports savvy, faithful, and legal financing. The authors present a biblical theology of stewardship that supports ways to develop donors and maximize contributions, enact a strategic budget and effective audit process, project income and expenses, work with banks, compensate st...

Christ’s command to the church is clear: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...” It is in building disciples--helping others to embrace Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, mature in him, and then lead others to do the same--that the Kingdom grows. And when the Kingdom grows, churches do, too.In Growing True Disciples, respected author and researcher George Barna helps pastors and leaders assess how their churches are doing in fulfilling their role as disciplemak...

The challenge facing today's church is simultaneous and effective ministry to people of four widely divergent generations. More than at any time in history, pastors must plan programs that will appeal to a mosaic of groups and subgroups. This updated edition of Three Generations: Riding the Waves of Change in Your Church adds an entirely new section on Bridgers, the youngest generation and perhaps the most difficult one to reach for Christ.Characteristics, interests, and values of e...

Most leadership in today’s churches comes from “solo practitioners”--individuals who bear the burden of providing all the direction the ministry they direct requires. Inevitably, this results not only in burned-out leaders, but underutilized lay people who merely attend and observe rather than becoming actively engaged in ministry, growing in discipleship, and freeing professional staff to focus on pastoral priorities.In The Power of Team Leadership, noted researcher George...

This book explores the difficulties clergy face when they attempt to say “no” by setting effective boundaries in order to say “yes” to the life-giving call of ministry. It illustrates the benefits of good boundaries, even as it traces the legacy of denominational boundary trainings in the wake of the public clergy sexual misconduct crisis. Devor and Olsen supplement anecdotes from their experience leading boundary trainings with an examination of clergy/congregation dynamics through the le...

LEAD WISELY- One simple, genuine prayer led me to sit before my computer one afternoon and start writing this book. God has spoken to me so clearly through his leaders so often that I hoped he would offer something worthwhile to you through me. I know that you have more to read than you care to even consider. I know the value of your time. That is why these are brief, weekly devotions that you can quickly read and simply ask God to reveal the principle at work the following week. You will...

An essential, practical handbook that equips female worshippers to lead worship, work with musicians, pastor a worship team, write songs, and work effectively with their pastor.For women who are called to lead worship—or think they might be—worship leader Lex Buckley offers this essential handbook. Buckley shares from the Bible and from her heart to encourage, empower, and equip female worship leaders, urging them to be themselves and lead with confidence, secure i...

Why, when, and how should a church add to its professional staff? Here is a practical manual dealing with the issues of hiring and utilizing multiple staff positions to encourage church growth.