---

 

You Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less Author - Josh Hunt Publisher - Group Publishing

• Favorite Features -
• stresses importance of beginning with prayer
• looks at goal of growth and how to attain it
• emphasizes need for classes to take ownership and vision for their growth
• ten marks of great teaching - excellent!
• shows value of asking good questions to involve class
• emphasis on utilizing fellowship to grow
• how to have a successful party
• how to recruit and develop teamwork
• small group dynamics

---

 

Carpe Manana Author - Leonard Sweet Publisher - Zondervan

• Favorite Features -
• powerful explanation of how our world has changed
• challenges us to change our methods to present the unchanging Word of God to our "new" world
• quotes throughout, statistics
• "interactives" at the end of each chapter to help you think/work through the information presented

    This book challenges the church to "greet the future with open arms" rather than "keep refusing to take the hand of the future".  Extremely well done Leonard and Zondervan!

---

 

Igniting Passion in your Church Author - Steve Ayers Publisher - Group Publishing

• Favorite Features -
• asks many questions designed to get you to think
• passion points throughout to challenge your thinking
• wedding checklist at the end of each chapter with questions and activities to challenge you to think through and apply what you read
• looks at what it means for the church to be the Bride of Christ, what that looks like and how to accomplish it by getting people to love and be passionate about Jesus

    This book provides a unique and provocative approach to church growth - one that should be a "no brainer".  Grow the church by getting your people to truly, passionately love Jesus and their neighbor.  Tremendously well done Steve and Group!

---

 

Reach the Back Row - Creative Approaches for High-Impact Preaching Author - Murray Frick Publisher - Group Publishing

• Favorite Features -
• creative ideas to actually involve the people in the sermon - not just having them listen
• explains several creative methods for preaching and then provides examples
• helps you learn to tell the story, set the scene, deliver effectively and assess the results
• provides additional creative ideas for each type of presentation

    What better way to grow your church than to be a church where you as the Pastor actually "connects with your audience"?  Extremely well done Murray and Group Publishing!

---

 

Disciple Making Teachers Authors - Josh Hunt & Dr. Larry Mays Publisher - Group Publishing

• Favorite Features -
• nine traits critical to being a disciple of Jesus
• focus on importance of developing a specific goal
• "Biblical discipleship is all about the heart, about motives . . . about creating people of passion and desire"
• "disciple-making teachers seek to create people who pray whenever they want to . . . and they want to quite regularly"
• "the Gospel is about grace, about a God Who loves us completely no matter what"
• "we will only love God to the degree we are convinced He loves us"
• emphasis on necessity of developing incredible marriages for discipleship to be real
• "if we can produce disciples who have great families, we will have  great testimony with non-Christians.  If we don't, it is unlikely they will ever hear us"
• "our most effective strategy for growing churches may be to produce husbands and wives who love eachother passionately"
• emphasis on being a learner focused on learning more
• values learning for application
• covers valuable information on the point of teaching, the learner and the teacher

This may not be a book you would first pick up as a book on church growth, but the principles presented in this book when actually lived out in a church are sure to cause significant, real growth!  Tremendously well done Josh, Larry and Group Publishing!

---

Pastor's Study Table of Contents

---

Return to
'Round About the Church

---