Are you looking for fresh ideas to energize your small group? Here are hundreds of activities contributed by small group experts from across the United States. Tested in the field and drawn from the front lines of small group ministry, these creative ideas will help you evaluate the state of your group and enhance the five components of healthy group life. Community activities for the four stages of a group's life help you to get acquainted, go deeper with one another, process conflict, make memories and prepare for your group's ending. Whether charismatic, liturgical or somewhere in between, you'll find ideas for worship and prayer that stretch group members in these vital areas of spiritual growth. Your group will grow closer to one another as you draw near to God together. Ideas for study offer you some creative methods for Bible study and life application as well as ideas for learning through books, videos and other resources. A section on outreach helps your group to look beyond its borders and serve the needs of others. You'll find ideas for inviting others into your group and for working together in evangelism, social action and world mission. Edited by Cindy Bunch, this edition features new ideas gathered from The Small Group Network (www.SmallGroups.com) founded by Michael Mack and now directed by Dan Lentz. Whether you are a small group leader, a group coordinator or a pastor, you will return to this valuable resource again and again.

Newly revised edition of the classic course/workbook on confirmation instruction continues the tradition of providing readers with a meaningful approach to living as Christians.

Book Description Flash! Ping! Whiz! Pop! Boom! Bang! Such are the sights and sounds of modern youth ministry. We look for the bigger, the louder, the brighter, and we work long and hard to make our ministry the biggest, the loudest, the brightest. But look out and listen up: God has no desire to see young people caught up in sound and fury. Nor does he want to see youth workers burn out and fade away. All the momentum surrounding youth ministry signifies nothing once youth workers disengage, letting the momentum define their purpose. Mike Higgs, reflecting on over two decades of work with youth, thinks the greatest need among youth workers is a reminder of who we are. We need to set aside the distractions of an emphasis on performance and focus instead on following God in his work in us, our students and other youth workers. When a renewed vision and mission shapes our work with youth, our ministry will become less a cacophony of strategies and targets and more a symphony of purpose and practice.

Alberto is an energetic, people-pleasing eighth grader. He seems to have it all--from the junior high varsity team to his family's beautiful new home to leadership in his youth group. But he feels pressured by team members who mock his Christianity and rejected by his dad whose work requires more and more travel. His young spiritual life is in a precarious place. Last year, as a high school sophomore, Jonathan began spending time with some recreational drug users. He was confident in his ability to hang out with these guys without getting involved with drugs. But he crossed the line. Jonathan is broken and cannot find his way back to the comfort of his previous trust in Jesus. Rachel is estranged from her parents. In her freshman year at college, she is sharing an apartment with her boyfriend. She is torn between her emotional dependence on his attention and the fear that he will once again hurt her in a drunken rage. She has tried church but deemed it to be unsafe for a person like herself. This generation is the first to travel a truly postmodern pilgrimage where religious pluralism and faddish spiritual experiences are in vogue while Christianity is considered out of style. You want to reach them. But how? Richard Dunn suggests that the key is to set the pace in their lives--physically, intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Pacing takes time. It requires listening to youth and digging beneath the surface. But it pays off, because pacing allows you to enter the world of an adolescent and communicate caring. In this book, Dunn shows you how to set the pace with sensitivity to the unique spiritual issues that occur during each stage of adolescent development: junior high, senior high and college.

You know that part of the Old Testament where the priest finds a suspicious sore on your arm and shaves a ring around it? A week later the priest takes another look to see if the skin has gotten better or if the sore has spread. If it's spreading, the priest knows you've got a big problem on your hands. Like most diseases, apathy surfaces in observable symptoms that are frustrating to its victims and to the people who care for them. Teenagers are particularly susceptible to apathy--and apathy is particularly contagious. In Bored with God, Sean Dunn catalogs what he's seen of apathy in his ministry to youth. He offers sympathetic guidance from the Scriptures for keeping apathy from spreading and for shepherding students into spiritual hunger. Teenagers can be frustratingly sleepy in their faith, but once these slumbering giants are awakened to a life with God, they can apply virtually tireless energy to the problems of a world bored with God. And their energy is particularly contagious.

The Christian church hides a multitude of secrets; it is, after all, a mysterious religion. For instance, what if Jesus did not start Christianity? What if Paul, who knew Jesus only through visions, created it? In Cover-Up, author and lay minister Lawrence Goudge disputes the Christian theology that has dominated the world for millennia. G

oudge, who has spent more than twenty-four years researching the suppressed history of Jesus's Jewish followers, demonstrates how the church has corrupted Jesus's message. "Cover-Up "takes an innovative and investigative approach to Christianity, St. Paul's credibility, and ways in which theological truths have been concealed for two thousand years. Goudge's analysis debunks the myths and provides alternative theories. A

s hatred and heresy haunt Christianity's shadows, this study addresses the intolerant nature of the Christian church and sets out to right the wrongs by bringing the truth about the Nazarenes into the light of day. Goudge's message presents hope for a just world.

What You Believe Drives Everything Think about the last time someone put you on the spot, and questioned what this whole Christianity thing is all about. Maybe they asked you why going to church matters, or how you could possibly believe the Bible, or how God could really care if there's so much bad happening in the world. Do you feel unsettled by questions like this? In Think Like Jesus, Randy Frazee wants to give you the confidence to know what you believe, deep down in your heart, and to help you dig into Scripture to see for yourself the biblical foundation for those beliefs. The first five key beliefs deal with our relationship with God: God is the one true God God cares about our daily lives Our salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible is God's roadmap for our lives. We receive a new identity when we embrace these beliefs. The last three key beliefs deal with our relationship with others: God accomplishes his purposes on earth through the Church God calls Christians to see people the same way he does We will be reunited with God and his family in the new heaven and new earth The bottom line is, it's not enough to know what you're supposed to believe. Jesus calls us to live differently. Living differently starts thinking like Jesus so you can act like Jesus and ultimately be like Jesus. Think Like Jesus will help you begin the process of transformation, because the way you behave, the habits you form, and the character that defines you are all driven by what you believe. Sessions include: Who Is God? Does God Care About Me? How Do I Have a Relationship with God? How Does the Bible Guide My Life? Who Am I in Christ? What Is the Purpose of the Church? How Does God Value People? What Is Eternity Going to Be Like? This study is adapted from the Think portions of the Believe Study Guide and Think, Act, Be Like Jesus by Randy Frazee (2015). Designed for use with the Think Like Jesus Video Study available on DVD or streaming video, sold separately.

Over the years I have collected and accumulated a number of, what I call: "Bits and Pieces of Kingdom Wisdom and Revelations." This book contains some of my favorite, power pack, key words of wisdom and revelations. As you read you will understand my reason for using this title. The little bits and pieces in this book will, either, add too, or change your concept about certain views in Christendom and kingdom insight. The title of this book is not mentioned throughout the book; in reading you will, also, understand why. For instance, this book is not written with much detail, or with exhaustive information about any particular subject. Most of my views are short with a proverbial fl avor; this means, that sometimes it may seem as if you are actually, reading proverbs. Some of these sayings might be viewed as, idioms, motto and some, as I said, have the fl avor of a proverb, which from a kingdom perspective, I believe, fit the messages in this book perfectly. Most of these proverbial sayings were conceived in my spirit and were birthed by the Holy Spirit, often times, when I was in prayer. Many years have passed since I started recording these sayings. I believe this book of Spirit filled wisdom should've been blessing people everywhere long ago. My greatest desire for this book is that every reader will discover a greater passion for purpose, and a greater desire to grow in kingdom revelation, which will be beneficial for kingdom living. This book contains a wealth of, what I believe to be: wise spiritual snacks, lunch and occasionally, readers might discover a full meal to dine on, which is-without a doubt-good for the spirit, soul and body.