Bivocational ministers face unique challenges. Often, you are called to lead smaller churches with few resources, many of which have plateaued or are in decline. Many bivocational pastors have little or no formal theological training. Bivocational ministry is looked at by some as a "second-class" ministry performed by people who do not have the opportunity to serve a larger church. Along with your family and church responsibilities, your second job also requires a large amount of time each we...

Change is rapidly occurring in almost every area of our society. However, the one notable exception to this is often found in the church, especially in smaller churches. Instead of responding to the changes around them, these churches have adopted a maintenance mentality, which is primarily interested in survival and riskfree ministries that are inwardly focused and fail to meet the needs of those outside their church community. If our churches are going to have an impact on today's culture, ...

Real-world guide to the challenges, rewards, and advantages of bivocational ministry. Excellent for individuals and churches exploring pastoring options.

Small churches can be found in every denomination and among every ethnic group but often these churches struggle to survive in the shadow of the larger churches around them. And many of these churches are afflicted with unhealthy issues such as feelings of unimportance, a lack of vision, exclusivity, limited resources, and unbalanced leadership. It is because of these aliments that many churches fail to survive. But it is possible for an unhealthy church to become a healthy church capable ...

It's a balancing act. If you're a bivocational pastor, you are familiar with the stresses, complications, and unique hurdles that come with bivocational ministry. You have a special calling. In The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry, Dennis Bickers renders sound advice to help bivocational pastors succeed while juggling second jobs and/or families at home. Along with his seasoned insights, you will find real-life case studies of the specific challenges bivocational ministers common...

Move over Boomers, Xers, and Millennials; there's a new generation--making up more than 25 percent of the US population--that represents a seismic cultural shift. Born approximately between 1993 and 2012, Generation Z is the first truly post-Christian generation, and they are poised to challenge every church to rethink its role in light of a rapidly changing culture.From the award-winning author of The Rise of the Nones comes this enlightening introduction to the youngest ...

Every Sunday people walk onto your church campus and decide if they will return the following week before the preacher even opens his mouth. Many of those people don't know what to make of Jesus. They're hesitant to be in a church. They're not sure they belong. But over and over in the pages of the gospels, we see something extraordinary.People who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus.Shouldn't that be true of his church as well?In Going Deep & Wide, Andy St...

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...

Proven Methods for Churches to Attract and Engage Young PeopleOne question faces every church leader looking to the future: How do we attract younger generations? Many things have been tried, but in this book, church consultant David Stark shares practical methods that have been proven to work in a variety of congregations.Stark helps leaders identify and use their church's strengths to engage millennials, even those with negative views of Christianity. Bas...

Y is the generation of tattoos, cell phones, social networking, and iPods. It is the generation of authenticity, social justice, racial diversity, and community. But it is also the generation of broken homes, school shootings, immense performance pressure, loneliness, self-indulgence, and insecurity. Christians have largely failed to bring restoration to this 70 million member group of young people. What are we missing? And what are the consequences if it doesn't change?Foregoing f...

The man behind the pulpit is the communicator of the Word of God, the dispenser of heavenly wisdom that restores the fainting, encourages the weary, and motivates the determined. The preacher is a minister—a servant to God and to his fellow man.But who ministers to the minister?In Fit for the Pulpit a host of preachers dispense comfort and counsel to their brethren in the trenches, men who often work in ministerial isolation as they seek to build up the body of Chr...

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...