This resource, written with the intention to support a new Lay Servant Ministries course, will give readers a general understanding of the developmental needs of the 18- to 26-year-old demographic in the United States; general categories of institutions of higher learning; basic structures for campus ministries and offices of spiritual and religious life on college or university campuses; a framework to discern how United Methodist congregations may be called to serve students in their local ...

What is scriptural imagination? The word imagination does not mean the Bible is fantasy or untrue. A scriptural imagination allows us to look at the world through the stories and images of the Bible. As we view our world with scriptural imagination, we enter a continuous process of becoming more Christlike. In A Beginner's Guide to Practicing Scriptural Imagination, Kenneth Carter focuses on four scripture passages to give readers an easy entry into the practice of scriptural imagination. Car...

Sixty-two percent of food pantries and meal programs in the United States are faith-based. Most of these ministries are transactional; people needing food interact with church volunteers to earn access to direct service. Elizabeth Magill advocates relational ministry as a better model for food ministry. People donating food or money eat with the people who need food and get to know them as they serve alongside them. Those needing food share all aspects of the ministry, including planning, set...

What energizes someone in pastoral ministry for the long haul? Holy days like Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost are the exception. Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Christian year, is where pastors spend most of their ministry. James Harnish invites pastors and other ministers to see Ordinary Time as a metaphor for the ordinary days of ministry. "Whether we thrive or merely survive depends on what we do with the ordinary days," he writes. Harnish encourages ministers to develop spiritua...

The why—and how—of faith-based fundraising and stewardship. For years, many faith-based fundraisers and communities have been inspired by Henri J. M. Nouwen's book A Spirituality of Fundraising and his approach to fundraising as a calling and ministry. Many who are inspired by Nouwen's vision remain hesitant to ask for money, saying, "I don't have the personality to raise money" or "Asking for money still feels too complicated and makes me fearful." Nathan Ball, a close colleague and friend ...

Este recurso es el fruto del trabajo misional del autor en iglesias de América Latina y EE. UU. Las clases están diseñadas para proveer enseñanza tanto a personas nuevas en la fe, como a quienes tienen más conocimiento o madurez y desean profundizar su estudio de las Escrituras a través de los lentes de la herencia, la teología y las doctrinas básicas de la fe wesleyanas—herramientas fundamentales para nutrir el discipulado cristiano en la tradición wesleyana. Cada estudio bíblico o clase co...

Don't Look Down: Answering Jesus' Call to Walk on the Water is for followers of Jesus who may find themselves stuck in a rut spiritually, at a decision point but too afraid to make a move or wondering why they aren't living a more fulfilled, purposeful life. This book features practical application for turning faith into Kingdom work and discipleship in our faith communities. It also features fresh, encouraging, and imitable stories of people (church planters and entrepreneurs) who have heard...

Douglas Ruffle escribe Hacia una mentalidad misionera utilizando los principios intemporales de E. Stanley Jones y los transfiere para su uso en la actualidad. Ruffle nos enseña a acercarnos al campo misionero como si fuéramos de un país diferente y aprendiéramos una nueva cultura, una nueva forma de comunicación y una nueva forma de conectar a las personas con las buenas nuevas del Evangelio de Jesucristo.

A companion to the author's earlier book Designing an Older Adult Ministry (Discipleship Resources, 1999), this book will provide new information and outline ways to develop and strengthen ministries by, with, and for older adults that can, and will, enhance the spiritual growth and well-being of people of all ages. The church is beginning to recognize that there are vast numbers of older people in its membership. It is becoming aware of its indebtedness to them for the leadership, support, ...