Growing True Disciples


Book Description

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 disciplemakers. And he reveals models and examples that will equip churches to dramatically increase their effectiveness. As a result, your church can begin to see more involved members who want to live out their faith in submission to God, and joyfully share their resources to fulfill Christ’s commission.




The Dangerous Duty of Delight


Book Description

Strengthen your relationship with God by enjoying Him and His creation! Discover just how to delight in the Lord in this compact version of Piper's classic Desiring God.




Growing Up


Book Description

If you are serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ—really, truly serious—a discipleship group can help you achieve that goal. Jesus established this model for us by forming and leading the first discipleship group—and it worked. The men who emerged from that group took the gospel to the world and ultimately laid down their lives for Christ. Discipleship groups can create an atmosphere for fellowship, encouragement, and accountability—building an environment where God can work. In Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples, Robby Gallaty presents a practical, easy-to-implement system for growing in one's faith. This guide offers a manual for making disciples, addressing the what, why, where, and how of discipleship. D-Groups, as Gallaty calls them, can teach you and others how to grow your relationship with God, how to defend your faith, and how to guide others in their relationships with God. Growing Up provides you with an interactive manual and resource for creating and working with discipleship groups, allowing you to gain positive information both for yourself and for others as you learn how to help others become better disciples for Christ.




Pray in Faith


Book Description

Growing Disciples Series: Pray In Faith by T.W. Hunt and Claude King is a revised edition of "In God's Presence" and helps believers develop intimate communion with God in prayer.




God Loves Me and All My Feelings


Book Description

As a pastor I see many people who stifle and stuff their feelings, particularly “negative” ones. Even more problematic is that they believe this is what God wants them to do. From an early age they received the message explicitly, or implicitly, that said God wants you to be happy all the time. The truth is this: God loves and accepts us in the whole breadth of our feelings, from joy to excitement, anger and sadness, and everything in-between. This message matters because it builds two essential qualities for authentic relationship: self-awareness and openness. Because God loves me and all my feelings there is nothing to hide or fear. Through accessible language and bright, beautiful pictures children and their parents are able to internalize this message of God’s love and acceptance.




Growing Disciples Organically


Book Description

"Follow me." These two simple words spoken by Jesus are often needlessly complicated with theological, psychological, and sociological interpretations. Using metaphors from organic farming, Don Detrick believes that a less complicated, organic approach for growing disciples makes sense. Maybe Jesus just wants us to simply accept the clear invitation to follow him, and experience the excitement and adventure of the journey. Don's powerful book on spiritual formation is uniquely positioned for such a time as this in the church, as younger generations are discovering that bigger churches do not guarantee spiritual formation in the life of attendees, nor do they equate greater numbers with greater levels of spiritual passion. Growing Disciples Organically addresses these honest questions: Why don't people act more like Jesus after spending a lifetime attending or actively engaged in a local church? Why can't we see that another sermon or class, however well intentioned, may not result in significant spiritual growth? Why is it difficult to face the fact that more commitment, trying harder, or more activity may not result in increased spiritual growth? Why are we reluctant to admit that we may not have all the answers? This book is intended to help people in church leadership ask, "How is our present strategy of creating disciples working for us?" Pastors, leaders and any follower of Christ will find Dr. Don Detrick's book important and compelling as it offers a fresh approach to effective, time-proven, and biblically-based methods for spiritual growth. Don Detrick has spent more than thirty years in ministry as a pastor of churches. He currently serves as one of three executive officers for a network of more than 300 churches and over 1400 credentialed ministers in the Northwest. In this role he serves as CFO, oversees credentialing, and is involved in speaking, conflict management, coaching, consulting, and training pastors and churches. In addition, he is a board member for his national denomination and an adjunct professor for Northwest University, Kirkland, WA, and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Springfield, MO. Detrick holds a doctor of ministry degree in leadership and master of divinity (equiv.) from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, a master's degree in counseling from Luther Rice Seminary, and a BS in pastoral ministries from Eugene Bible College and a BA in Bible from Baptist Christian College.




Growing Disciples Series: Fellowship with Believers


Book Description

Fellowship with Believers helps new believers understand the nature of the church as a whole and how it functions as the body of Christ. This small-group study guides them to develop healthy relationships, spend time with other believers, help one another grow strong in the Lord, and serve together to accomplish His kingdom purposes. 6-session study is great for small-group settings in homes, churches, or community centers. Leader Guide included. The Growing Disciples Series was developed by Claude King, co-author of Experiencing God. This new series begins with The Call to Follow Christ, which presents an overview of 6 spiritual disciplines. Subsequent studies help new and growing believers understand and put into action these 6 disciplines for a lifestyle of faithful and fruitful life in Christ.




Growing Everyday Disciples


Book Description

Growing Everyday Disciples: Covenant Discipleship With Children is a formational resource by Melanie C. Gordon, Susan Groseclose, and Gayle Quay that equips adults who serve in ministry with children ages 8-11 to guide children towards a mature faith through everyday acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Covenant Discipleship helps connect children with Jesus Christ and one another through ongoing mutual accountability and support for living in the world as Christ followers. The resource offers leaders in ministry with children suggestions for forming covenants, exploring accountability, evaluations, and a choice of plans to organize, maintain, and evaluate Covenant Discipleship groups with children. This resource also provides a brief background on discipleship, covenants, and society meetings of the Methodist Movement, and can be used as preparation for confirmation.




Being Disciples


Book Description

"If discipleship is a journey, this book belongs in the rucksack. . . Like the scriptures on which it is based, it deserves repeated reading." Stephen Cherry, Dean of Kings College, Cambridge This fresh and inspiring look at the meaning of discipleship covers the essentials of the christian life, including: faith, hope and love; forgiveness; holiness; social action; life in the Spirit. Written for the general reader by one of our greatest living theologians, this book will help you to see more clearly, love more dearly and follow more nearly the way of Jesus Christ.




Minister to Others


Book Description

Minister to Others, by Richard Leach and David Wheeler, is 6-session Bible Study that's a valuable tool in assisting churches to increase their relevancy to the community while building relational bridges.