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!'

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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

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."

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.

A must-read for anyone seeking to truly understand the relationship between the Christian faith and UK society. Outside In explores the perceptions of the Christian faith by those who do not regularly attend church. Based on postgraduate research conducted during 2013 (extracts of which were published on the Willow Creek UK website), the book is split into two parts. One part provides the methodology and detailed analysis for those who wish to fully understand the actual research and findings, whilst the other part explores the key findings and implications in an easily digestible format, and offers some suggestions for consideration. In the UK, a majority (albeit declining) of the population identify as Christian, but a relatively small proportion are engaged in regular church-going. Why is this? Rather than rely on assumptions, the research asked the participants many questions, such as, what do they really think of the church? Why might they not find it helpful for their spiritual journey and daily life? What are the predominant perceptions, of church, Christianity, Christians, God, Jesus? Is the Christian message of grace being perceived in any significant way? The book explores what the participants thought of church, and outlines the range of opinions found from those who see it as a faith community through to others who simply view it as a foreboding building or institution. It also explores how perceptions vary across the generations. Part sociological and part theological; Outside In offers significant insight into how the church and the Christian faith are really viewed by those who do not regularly attend. This book provides a fantastic opportunity for churches to better understand how they are truly perceived, and therefore has significant implications for how they could better relate to, and communicate with, their local communities, as well as wider UK society.

Who is "the One" in your life who needs to know God's love? The One, a study of Luke 15 by Jim and Jennifer Cowart will help you discover your "One". As believers, we are called to share the love and message of Christ with those who don’t know him. We mean to share Christ, we really do. But then we get busy with other things—even as the church! But what if a subtle shift in focus could reignite a passion within you and your church for reaching the lost? What if instead of trying to reach “them” you began to focus on simply reaching “the One”—that person in your life who is far from God and needs to know his love? This study explores Luke 15, where Jesus tells three stories about rejoicing when lost things are found—specifically, a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons. First, we will discover that we are “the One” who is dearly loved and sought after by God, and then we will join together in Jesus’s mission to seek after “the One” in our own lives with intentionality, perseverance, and joy. This study is not about taking people on as a project—no one wants that. It’s about rediscovering the heart of God and his passion for going after those who are far from him. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the four-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options. In addition, a free digital download includes information for incorporating The One as a church campaign, sermon starters, and more. Additional components for this study, each available separately, include a participant book and video sessions/DVD featuring Jim and Jen Cowart.