Raising Disciples


Book Description

Children and youth will just “catch” the faith of their parents, right? Not necessarily. Talking with kids about Jesus no longer comes naturally to many Christian parents. In Raising Disciples, pastor Natalie Frisk helps us reconnect faith and parenting, equipping parents to model what following Jesus looks like in daily life. Filled with authenticity, flexibility, humor, and prayer, Frisk outlines how parents can make openings for their children to experience God in their daily lives. As curriculum pastor at The Meeting House, one of the largest churches in Canada, Frisk calls parents who follow Christ to ask the big questions about the spiritual formation of children and teens. In practical and thoughtful ways, she equips parents to disciple their kids in various stages of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Raising Disciples will awaken parents to the possibly of Jesus-centered parenting and encourage us to engage in the lost art of discipling our own kids.




John Wesley's Class Meeting


Book Description

John Wesley was an eighteenth-century Anglican priest and Oxford tutor. He and George Whitefield were the primary leaders of the Evangelical Awakening which had a profound effect on the spiritual, social, and political life of both England and colonial America. Wesley gathered converts into a network of small groups for personal accountability, behavioral change, leadership training, and the transformation of their communities. Central to his system was the "class meeting," which proved to be one of the most effective tools for making disciples ever developed. This study examines the historical development, the theological foundation, and the social outcomes of John Wesley's class meeting.




Follow to Lead


Book Description

Jesus' command to "go make disciples" is the foundational precept of the Great Commission. Pastor Stan Gleason explores the church's critical mandate to make disciples from biblical, theoretical, and practical viewpoints. An accomplished disciple maker himself, the author encourages every believer to make disciples.




Future Church


Book Description

Church growth models have often been long on promises and short on disciple-making. We continue to watch consistent church attendance shrink, and our desire to reach the lost is infected with a need for self-validation by growing our numbers at any cost. If we believe that God wants his church to grow, where do we go from here? What is the future of the church? Drawing from his 20 years and 15,000 hours of consulting, author Will Mancini shares with pastors and ministry leaders the single most important insight he has learned about church growth. With plenty of salient stories and based solidly on the disciple-making methods found in Scripture, Future Church exposes the church's greatest challenge today, and offers 7 transforming laws of real church growth so that we can faithfully and joyfully fulfill Jesus's Great Commission.




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 Ways of the Alongsider


Book Description

The Ways of the Alongsider is more than a Bible study. It's a new pathway for making disciples in life2life ways!




Diddy Disciples 1: September to December


Book Description

Diddy Disciples is a creative and playful new worship and Bible storytelling resource for babies, toddlers and young children. Diddy Disciples aims to encourage participation, discipleship and leadership from children’s earliest years, using storytelling, singing, colour, repetition, art and lots and lots of movement! Peer-learning is actively encouraged with many opportunities for young children to learn from each other. Groups are invited to build their own Diddy Disciples sessions, choosing from different options. Leaders can use the material to create a service to follow the pattern of their church’s Sunday worship, a simple midweek baby and toddler singing session, or anything in between! Book 1 includes: Over 20 weeks’ worth of fully worked-out sessions organized into 4-6 week units from September to December All the information you need to set up and run Diddy Disciples in your group Plenty of opportunities to tailor the material to your own context, resources and tradition All sorts of creative ‘starter ideas’ for using everyday art and play resources to spark children's imaginations and engagement as they respond to the biblical stories. The Units are: Jesus’ wonderful love: six weeks introducing some of Jesus’ most famous parables God the maker: six weeks on creation and caring for it, including a Harvest celebration In November we remember: four weeks including All Saints and Remembrance Sunday Getting ready for baby Jesus: five weeks journeying through Advent to Christmas




Total Family Makeover


Book Description

God calls us as parents to be key disciple-makers in our children’s lives, but if we’re honest, some days it’s a battle just to get them dressed and ready for school on time. How can you mold their hearts when sometimes you can’t even find their shoes? In Total Family Makeover, author Melissa Spoelstra gives parents a way—a sort of spiritual track to run on—when it comes to building family discipleship. She focuses on eight key habits of growth: • Spending Time in Prayer • Reading God's Word • Growing Through a Mentoring Relationship • Finding Community in the Church • Serving Others • Taking Time to Rest • Giving Back to God • Sharing Your Faith Disciples are made, not born. Whether your children are babes in arms or teenagers getting ready to leave the nest, making disciples at home starts with you! Give your family a makeover with this practical approach to helping your children learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.




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.




Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples


Book Description

"It is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it.... We know that with Jesus life becomes richer."-Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel In her first book, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, Sherry Weddell, cofounder of the Catherine of Siena Institute, captured the attention of Catholics across the globe as she uncovered the life-changing power that accompanies the conscious decision to follow Jesus as his disciple. Now, in the groundbreaking Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples, she has gathered together experienced leaders and collaborators whose exceptional field-tested wisdom and enthusiasm for transforming Catholic parishes into centers of discipleship and apostolic outreach is both inspiring and practical. The authors consider: The role of intercessory prayer in parish transformation How "fireside chats" can help a pastor connect with his parishioners and call them to personal discipleship and mission The co-responsibility of lay people andpastors in the work of making disciples The revolutionary impact of a discipleship approach to youth ministry How one parish successfully fostered a culture of intentional discipleship, and much more As Sherry asks in her own chapter, "Are we willing to answer the call and pay the price necessary to become a new generation of saints through which God can do extraordinary things in our time?"