Love Your Church

Love Your Church PDF

Author: Tony Merida

Publisher: The Good Book Company

Published: 2021-06-01

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 1784986097

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How to grow in love for your church. God calls us to be "devoted to one another in love" (Romans 12:10). What does this look like for us today? How can we be the kind of church member who makes a real difference? This engaging book by Tony Merida explores what church is, why being part of it is exciting, and why it’s worthy of our love and commitment. He sets out eight privileges and responsibilities of a church member: to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, to honour, to witness and to send. As we see how wonderful it is to belong to God’s family and be a part of his amazing witness to both the earthly and the heavenly realms, we’ll grow in our love for and commitment to our local church. This is a great book for every churchgoer to read, whether they’re new or have been attending for some time but need re-energising with God’s vision for the local church. With a discussion guide at the end of the book, Love Your Church is also a great resource for small groups.

The Caring Congregation Ministry Implementation Guide

The Caring Congregation Ministry Implementation Guide PDF

Author: Karen Lampe

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 1791013392

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Pastors and church leaders genuinely want to care for people in their congregations and communities. But pastors cannot care for an entire church, and most laypersons don't have the training to do it. The Caring Congregation Ministry is a model for person-to-person care that's been proven to work in small and large churches across the U.S. It is a laity-centered ministry, where laypersons receive rigorous training and then are commissioned to serve as Congregational Care Ministers, caring for others in their own congregation and their extended community. This remarkable approach to congregational care was first developed by author Karen Lampe and her team at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, in Kansas City. It has been tested, refined, and strengthened, and is now being adapted in all sorts of congregational settings. One early adapter was co-author Melissa Gepford, who launched a Caring Congregation Ministry in her own rural church. Together, they have created this immensely practical guide for any pastor or leader seeking to create a congregational care ministry. This Implementation Guide is the main book for getting started. It introduces the ministry model and explains the Five Essentials which form the ministry's foundation. It is extremely practical, full of checklists and other tools to help pastors and other leaders understand (and explain) this way of providing congregational care. The Implementation Guide also includes a section focused on the crucial component of this ministry–the Congregational Care Minister, or CCM. This section fully describes the characteristics of CCM's, how to recruit people to this ministry, how to discern if candidates are a good fit, and how to conduct the CCM training over a multi-week period. It details the critical information CCM's must know, and the behaviors and habits they must practice in order to be effective. Note that the companion book, The Caring Congregation Ministry: Care Minister's Manual, is required for the CCM training. It serves as a training workbook, which then becomes the CCM's personal reference manual.

Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused

Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused PDF

Author: Brad Hambrick

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2019-06-04

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 1535988150

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Is your church prepared to care for individuals who have experienced various forms of abuse? As we continue to learn of more individuals experiencing sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of abuse, it’s clear that resources are needed to help ministries and leaders care for these individuals with love, support, and in cooperation with civil authorities. This handbook seeks to help the church take a significant step forward in its care for those who have been abused. Working in tandem with the Church Cares resources and videos, this handbook brings together leading evangelical trauma counselors, victim advocates, social workers, attorneys, batterer interventionists, and survivors to equip pastors and ministry leaders for the appropriate initial responses to a variety of abuse scenarios in churches, schools, or ministries. Though the most comprehensive training is experienced by using this handbook and the videos together, readers who may be unable to access the videos can use this handbook as a stand-alone resource.

The Caring Church

The Caring Church PDF

Author: Howard W. Stone

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published:

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9781451409772

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'Howard Stone has given a very useful gift to parish ministers and their congregations in this very concise, clearly written, practical, lucidly illustrated book. (His) contribution... grows out of the accumulation of practical experience, as well as scholarship.'---David K. Switzer, Journal of Pastoral Care

The Caring Church

The Caring Church PDF

Author: Oliver McMahan

Publisher:

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780871484871

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In this insightful look at contemporary culture and the church's response to human need, the author offers workable strategies for moving congregations from "church as usual" to the doorway of the ministry of care.

Caring Pastors, Caring People

Caring Pastors, Caring People PDF

Author: Marvin Andrew McMickle

Publisher: Living Church

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780817017002

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With so many broken and hurting people in our congregations and in our communities, how is a church pastor supposed to address so many needs? This second volume in Judson Press¿s new ¿Living Church¿ series explores the nature of pastoral care and invites laity and clergy alike to become partners in this essentially human ministry. Beginning with the traditional core of pastoral care as a critical function of the church pastor, author, professor, and veteran pastor Marvin McMickle expands that core into a second circle of care¿as the pastor equips and empowers church members to partner in caring for one another. Finally, McMickle throws open the doors of the church and challenges pastor, lay leaders, and church members alike to extend their ministries of pastoral care to the local community, through ministries of advocacy, justice, healthcare, education, and service. A richly reflective and utterly practical resource, this volume deepens the church¿s understanding of pastoral care¿and expands that compassionate and priestly ministry in the church and in the world.

Our Father's World

Our Father's World PDF

Author: Edward R. Brown

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2008-03-24

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 0830834842

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What does the Bible have to say about creation care and the responsibility of Christians? Edward Brown offers a biblical framework for creation care as well as practical steps that ordinary Christians can take to exercise good ecological stewardship.

Caring Ministry

Caring Ministry PDF

Author: Sarah A. Butler

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1999-03-01

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 0826421512

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The Caring Ministry program was developed by the Pastoral Care Team at St. John as Episcopal Cathedral in Denver, Colorado, to train lay people in basic pastoral skills. Its premise is that there is no better way to cultivate a receptive posture toward others than by practicing listening to God. The Caring Ministry Approach thus combines basic pastoral skills and guidelines along with an emphasis on being grounded in prayer. It invites both clergy and lay ministers to deepen the well of relationship with God as a means to developing a caring, listening heart. The text weds expertise with reflection and draws up the rich stories and lessons from scripture that add the spark of wisdom and grace to psychological programs. It is particularly suited for use in church-based pastoral care programs.

The Care of Souls

The Care of Souls PDF

Author: Harold L. Senkbeil

Publisher: Lexham Press

Published: 2019-06-26

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1683593022

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Drawing on a lifetime of pastoral experience, The Care of Souls is a beautifully written treasury of proven wisdom which pastors will find themselves turning to again and again. Harold Senkbeil helps remind pastors of the essential calling of the ministry: preaching and living out the Word of God while orienting others in the same direction. And he offers practical and fruitful adviceâ€"born out of his five decades as a pastorâ€"that will benefit both new pastors and those with years in the pulpit. In a time when many churches have lost sight of the real purpose of the church, The Care of Souls invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care.

Caring Liturgies

Caring Liturgies PDF

Author: Susan Marie Smith

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13: 1451424450

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Caregiving practices in churches often center around listening and giving counsel, making referrals, and creating support groups for specific needs. In Caring Liturgies, Susan Marie Smith proposes that Christian ritual is both a method and a means for helping people through liminal times of transition and uncertainty, even vulnerability and fear. This volume teaches readers to recognize the ritual needs of fellow Christians and thus create post-baptismal rites of passage and healing that might strengthen and support them in the fulfillment of their ministries. The book extends the usefulness of denominational "occasional services" books and other resources by suggesting ways to build a rite around a central symbolic action, pointing out issues of ritual honesty and ethics, and identifying skills and attributes necessary to preparing and leading a rite. Numerous narrative examples help to flesh out the principles and illustrate the key argument: that rituals are necessary means to enable human growth and maturity, both through times of suffering and times of transition, and that ritual-making leaders are central to the ongoing health of the church.