We like to think our church welcomes visitors. But how welcoming can we be, if we are not inviting? We are welcoming as long as people get themselves across the church threshold, but we fail to take our welcome outside. During the years Michael has been developing Back to Church Sunday, he has conducted an extensive study on the seemingly simple subject of 'invitation'. Over 650 times in 12 countries he has asked: 'Why don't we invite our friends to take a closer look at Christ?' The many answers form the impetus for this book. After considering why it seems so hard to invite friends to church, Michael looks at our concerns over acceptance and rejection, and suggests ideas gleaned from years of trying to establish a culture of invitation. 'When I have specifically encouraged Christians to issue an invitation, some people say yes and some no. God sent his son to invite us all into a relationship, and so to be like God is to be a person who invites!'

When we choose retreat we make a generous investment in our friendship with Christ. Seasoned spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton gently and eloquently leads us into an exploration of retreat as a key practice that opens us to God, guiding us through seven invitations to retreat. You will discover how to say yes to God's winsome invitation to greater freedom and surrender.

Pastors and church leaders are constantly faced with strategic questions. How much staff does the church need? How many workers are needed in the nursery this month? When is the right time to start a second worship service? How many people should we train for evangelism this year? How does seating and parking impact worship attendance? When church leaders have questions about planning, running, or growing their churches, they need answers fast! What Every Pastor Should Know offers pastors and leaders 101 valuable rules and "sacred" laws to help answer real-life ministry questions. From advertising to facilities to visitation, this valuable book offers the practical help that leaders need, just when they need it most. This comprehensive guide will become one of the most valuable books in a leader's library. Never again will they wonder if they based critical decisions on the right information. They'll get the answers they're looking for all in one place.

"Much ink and many pages have been devoted to all of the missional issues facing the Western church today. As our culture becomes more post-Christian with each passing day, we are all realizing that what has worked in the past is no longer working, that we are far less effective for the Kingdom than we were even 10 years ago. But we would suggest it isn’t because we don’t know what the Great Commission states or the imperatives of the Gospel, or that our church services just aren’t getting it done. It’s because we are in the midst of a discipleship crisis in the Western church. The people sitting in our pews are rarely becoming like the people we read about in Scripture. They may come to a worship service, join a small group or even tithe, but their lives just don’t seem to look like Jesus’ life. The truth of the matter is that we don’t have a missional problem or leadership problem in the Western church. We have a discipleship problem. If we make disciples like Jesus made them, we’ll never have a problem finding leaders or seeing new people coming to faith. The central issue is that we have no idea how to make disciples who can do the things that Jesus did for the reasons Jesus did them. Building a Discipling Culture is the product of more than 25 years of hands-on discipleship practice in a post-Christian context that has turned into a worldwide discipling movement, dealing specifically with how to make the types of missional disciples Jesus spoke of. We all want to make disciples. Most of us are unsure how to do it. Dallas Willard put it this way: 'Every church needs to be able to answer two questions. One, do we have a plan for making disciples? Two, does our plan work?' For most of our church communities, we have a plan, but the plan isn’t working. If you find yourself in this situation, this book is for you." -- Publisher's description.

If you’re a leader in a church or business, and you want to improve your culture of hospitality, then you’ll love Danny’s new book. It’s a must-read! -Dan T. Cathy, CEO, Chick-fil-A When it comes to interacting with guests, churches typically gravitate towards one of two camps: over-the-top, shock-and-awe, let-us-entertain-you or oh-man,-some-people-just-showed-up, underwhelming experience. Each extreme has drawbacks: on one end, people become the center of the universe. On the other, hospitality is effectively ignored in deference to the "serious business" of worship. People Are the Mission proposes a healthy middle, one where guests are esteemed but the gospel is the goal. Danny Franks, Connections Pastor at Summit Church, shows churches how to take a more balanced approach - a "third way" that is both guest-friendly and gospel-centric. He shows why honoring the stranger doesn't stand in opposition to honoring the Savior. People are the mission that Christ has called us to, and if we focus on people we can better assist people to focus on the gospel.

How to release a missional movement by discipling people like Jesus did.

Are you ready to see your church impact more people than you have ever before? Are you tired of church leadership books that are long on theory but short on practical help? Have you wanted to reach more people in your community but you weren''t sure where to start? Are you worried that your church isn''t reaching its full potential? "Church Growth Flywheel : 5 Practical Systems To Drive Growth at Your Church" is full of helpful insights to help your church reach more people starting today! Bestselling author, Rich Birch, has pulled together his own hard-fought experience leading within one of the fastest growing churches in the country as well as over 200 interviews with church leaders from prevailing churches. What Church Leaders are Saying About Church Growth Flywheel: "Rich is right again. Momentum is hard to catch, easy to lose, and most important. If Flywheel has any importance, it has loads of importance. Don''t miss this book!" - Clay Scroggins, Lead Pastor, North Point Community Church "Rich Birch has knocked it out of the park with Church Growth Flywheel. His new book is full of practical helps for church leaders looking to reach more people in their communities. Rich cuts through the theory and offers solid advice and guidance that you can put into action right away." - Dan Reiland, Executive Pastor, 12Stone Church, Lawrenceville, Georgia "Rich Birch has been reading my mind! After reading the first 15 pages, I made this book mandatory reading for my entire staff." - Hal Seed, Chief Mentor at PastorMentor.com and Founding Pastor of New Song Community Church "What an incredible book! Rich has a unique way of sharing real and relevant practices from his experience and conversations that will no doubt be a game changer for you and your church community. Church Growth Flywheel is a gift to church leaders filled with practical yet challenging steps to help initiate growth and change within your community. And what church leader doesn''t want to see more lives changed by Christ!" - Sonja Waltman, Executive Director of Ministries at LCBC Church "Rich brings a wealth of passion, knowledge and experience to the subject of church growth. He presents a treasure trove of best practices and learnings around engaging people in your city with the message of Christ. Church Growth Flywheel is full practical steps that you can actually start doing and growing in your church, today. I''m so grateful for Rich''s voice on this subject and I think you will be too." - Carey Nieuwhof, Founding & Teaching Pastor, Connexus Church "I''ve followed Rich Birch for many years as he has had a front row seat to some of the fastest-growing churches in North America. That''s why I got excited when I heard he was releasing a book with some of what he has learned. You will be energized, informed, inspired, and equipped after reading Church Growth Flywheel." - Tim Stevens, Vice President of Consulting, Vanderbloemen Search Group "Insanely practical... super simple... and absolutely essential! Rich Birch has captured the disciplines and behaviors that will allow your church to experience growth that enables you to thrive. Buy one for every member of your team and read it together!" - Jenni Catron, Founder/CEO The 4Sight Group and author of The 4 Dimensions of Extraordinary Leadership "Most pastors I meet are frustrated since they are trying tons of tactics for growth, but not seeing any results. It isn''t good enough to just go out and just do 100 things. Rich''s system is what they are lacking. For sustained growth, you need an end to end process that''s strategic and easy to follow. This book gives you the entire blueprint in one shot."- Kenny Jahng, Founder, Church Butler Social Media LOOK INSIDE for more endorsements!

You've probably noticed ... Churches aren't growing. Young adults are walking away. Volunteers are hard to recruit. Leaders are burning out. And the culture is changing faster than ever before. There's no doubt the church is in a moment in history for which few church leaders are prepared. You can look for answers, but the right response depends on having the right conversation. In Lasting Impact, Carey Nieuwhof leads you and your team through seven conversations that will help your church grow and have a lasting impact. What if ...- Having the right conversations could change your trajectory?- There was more hope than you realized?- The potential to grow was greater than the potential to decline?- Your community was waiting for a church to offer the hope they're looking for?- Your best days as a church were ahead of you? Maybe the future belongs to the churches that are willing to have the most honest conversations at a critical time. That's what Lasting Impact is designed to facilitate.

How to use the power of invitation to double the size of your church This book teaches the power of invitation. It may sound simple, but we are so caught up in our busy church lives that we have missed it. In 2004 Michael Harvey gave up a high-flying job in London to teach church leaders to see new possibilities, using an approach that has quickly become established as Back to Church Sunday. Michael likes to challenge churches of all sizes to double their congregation in a day. The basics are simple: Invite your friends and become an inviting church. Develop a mind-set open to what God might do; work on creating a welcoming environment; learn from mistakes; help people to know God. "It takes a very brave person to walk into a church on their own nowadays," says Michael, "but God is still speaking to them and all they need is a gentle invitation."

Drawing on insights from the training practices of the English medieval craft guilds, a global survey of 500 church planters, interviews with artists and church planting trainers and the authors 30 years of ministry experience, 'The Craft of Church Planting' offers a distinctive and imaginative perspective on the methods used to train future practitioners in the art of church planting. Demonstrating how training for the next generation of church planting leaders might be informed by the historic master-apprentice model, guild learning communities, creativity and an artisan approach to ministry, this book is a vital resource to inform the methods of training for the next generation of church planters.