This comprehensive study of the worship service style that is influencing thousands of churches and their leaders worldwide addresses controversies and draws lessons for the church today.

America's religious landscape is in flux. New churches are springing up and many older churches are redefining themselves to survive. At the forefront of this denominational free-for-all are evangelical "seeker" churches. These churches target "seekers"-individuals of any faith or denominational background who seek spiritual fulfillment but are not currently affiliated with any specific church. By focusing on this largely untapped group, seeker churches have become one of the fastest-growing religious movements in the country. In his study, Kimon Sargeant provides a sociological context for the rise of these churches by exploring the rituals, messages, strategies, and denominational functions of this emerging form of American evangelical Protestantism. Featuring live bands, professional lighting and sound systems, and multi-media presentations, seeker churches are attracting many people who have "dropped out" of organized religion. To broaden their appeal, they offer attenders advice on everyday issues ranging from relationships to finance. Sargeant focuses on the success of the Willow Creek Association, the seeker church association started by the Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. With over 5,000 member churches, the seven-year old association has already outdistanced 90 percent of American denominations and is the leader of the seeker church movement. Through eyewitness accounts and careful research, Sargeant reveals the "seeker" movement to be a "reformation" of American Protestantism.

Rediscovering Church is the candid story of Willow Creek Community Church’s phenomenal growth, from 100 members meeting in a Palatine, Illinois, movie theater to its present Sunday morning attendance of 15,000. Bill Hybels and his wife, Lynne, tell about Willow Creek’s beginnings, its struggles, the philosophy behind its success, and the strategies that have made it a model for church growth. The first half of the book, written by Lynne Hybels, explores the early years of Willow Creek and the personal accounts behind one of this century's most remarkable church stories. It offers an honest look at the ways God has used both the strengths and weaknesses of His people, creating a church of believers who have had tremendous impact for Christ in their community. In the second half of Rediscovering Church, Bill Hybels helps you apply the strengths of Willow Creek's ministry philosophy to your own congregation's mission. From mission statements to developing leadership, making sound financial decisions, and handling growth, Bill stresses that God wants to build His church to be an effective and committed community of faith that reaches out to a hurting world, to be the body of Christ in real and tangible ways. Rediscovering Church draws on the experiences of Willow Creek to show how one fellowship crystallized its mission and methodology, its vision and values. The Willow Creek story provides an example that churches and individuals alike can turn to for inspiration, encouragement, and a means of uncovering the pattern for their own unique mission and ministry.

When it comes to spiritual growth, we need to be able to measure more than numbers. We need a glimpse of people's attitudes, thoughts and emotions. We need a tool that reveals the heart of each person. Now Willow Creek invites you to learn what it discovered in a three-year process of study and research--involving six other churches as well as Willow Creeks' own congregation. Discover the four segments that characterize the journey of spiritual growth. Learn more about what catalyzes and stunts spiritual growth. And understand how the church needs to change in order to help people become more like Christ. What you discover here may challenge you. Or confirm nagging suspicions you've had all along. Either way, the findings in REVEAL will undoubtedly change the way you think about church--and what it really takes to make a difference.

Mittelberg presents a proven process for raising the value of evangelism in your heart and in your church. He spells out strategies for training all of a church's members to naturally communicate their faith and offers ideas for initiating outreach ministries and events. Includes inspiring stories of lives and churches that have been changed as a result of these practical, biblical approaches.

The book you hold resonates with this conviction: that leaders such as you have the potential to be the most influential forces on planet Earth. Yours is the staggering responsibility and the matchless privilege of rallying believers and mobilizing their spiritual gifts in order to help people who are far from God become fully devoted followers of Christ. Life transformation and the eternal destinies of real people depend on the redemptive message entrusted to the local church. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to lead your church effectively so God’s message of hope can change the world? Then this book is for you. Courageous Leadership is Bill Hybels’ magnum opus, a book far too important to be written before its time. Only now, after nearly thirty years leading his own church from a handful of people with a burning vision into a globe-spanning kingdom force—only after almost three decades of victories and setbacks, of praying hard and risking big—is Hybels ready at last to share the lessons he has learned, and continues to learn, about Christian leadership. Too much is at stake for you not to maximize your spiritual gift of leadership, insists Hybels. In this passionate, powerful book, he unpacks the tools, tasks, and challenges of your calling. You’ll discover the power of vision and how to turn it into action. You’ll gain frontline insights for developing a kingdom dream team, discovering your leadership style, developing other leaders, making decisions, walking with God, embracing change, staying your God-given course, and much, much more. Drawing on his own richly varied life experiences, Hybels fleshes out vital principles with riveting firsthand stories. This is far more than another book on leadership strategies and techniques. You’ll find those topics in here, to be sure. But beyond them, you’ll find the very essence of one of today’s foremost Christian leaders—his fervent commitment to evangelism and discipleship and his zeal to inspire fellow church leaders even as he seeks to keep growing as a leader himself. If unchurched people matter to you . . . if you love seeing believers serve passionately with their spiritual gifts . . . if God’s heartbeat for the church is your heartbeat as well . . . then this book is a must. Courageous Leadership will convince you to lead with all your might, all your skill, and all your faith. And it will give you the tools to do just that.

Practical help for church drama directors is only one of the features of this book. The text also includes: directing procedures, advice on building a drama team, actor training tips, script writing, and more, as well as a CD-ROM of staging examples.

Pastors want to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus. However, we've too often assumed this requires loud music, flashy lights, and skinny jeans. In this gentle manifesto, Jared Wilson—a pastor who knows what it's like to serve in a large attractional church—challenges pastors to reconsider their priorities when it comes to how they "do church" and reach people in their communities. Writing with the grace and kindness of a trusted friend, Wilson encourages pastors to reexamine the Bible's teaching, not simply return to a traditional model for tradition's sake. He then sets forth an alternative to both the attractional and the traditional models: an explicitly biblical approach that is gospel focused, grace based, and fruit oriented.

Kimball guides church leaders on how to create alternative services from start to finish in a very conversational narrative full of anecdotes about his own experiences at Graceland.

Dr. McGavran wrote 'Bridges of God' Òin the hope that it will shed light on the process of how peoples become Christian, and help direct the attention of those who love the Lord to the highways of the Spirit along which His redemptive Church can advance.Ó