Marcus Orr

Your church has a unique mission. Have you taken time to understand exactly what it is? White helps pastors and lay leaders break “old molds,” check assumptions, and answer vital questions about how their ministry can best foster evangelism, discipleship, worship, and more. This revised edition emphasizes how to move from rethinking to transition. 160 pages, softcover from Baker.

An Unstoppable Force will excite and inspire readers about being part of the Church that God had in mind! A “force” created to change the world. A Church that is engaged with its community, daring to cut itself free from atrophied practices and programs to flourish in creative and compelling worship. A Church that risks reaching out to our jaded culture with “outside the box” expressions of faith and love.

Is your church’s women’s program vibrant? In need of a makeover? Just getting started? Davis’s flexible resource offers a proven plan to enhance, revitalize, and inspire any size ministry! Filled with ideas for discipleship, missions, fellowship, and special events, it includes sample forms, surveys, notes for small churches, evaluation tools, leadership tips, and more. 208 pages, softcover from B&H.

By John Piper / Baker

Why do we do missions? We are told, by Jesus, to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations. So missions is duty, right? Wrong. If you do missions purely from a sense of duty you will not honor those you are reaching out to, nor will you truly honor God. Duty is the wrong place to look, so where do we find the answer to why we do missions? We turn, according to John Piper, to worship.

In our worship of God we encounter God’s glory. The overflow from our worship is a desire to share God’s glory with others (the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever), and we naturally become missional. When Jesus was asked what the kingdom of God was like, he compared it to a pearl so valuable that one would sell all they owned simply to possess it. Does that seem like duty to you? Instead, Jesus calls us to a new mindset, which flows from the mindset that worship creates in us. Thus, according to Piper, does worship become the goal of missions and the fuel which makes missions possible.

Worship as the fuel for missions makes sense to a lot of people, but worship as the goal of missions? Piper reminds us that the true reason we share God with others is to make them worshippers (and sharers) as well. He feels that the true goal of missions is “the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God.” If it is true, (as Piper states) that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him,” then increasing the number of people who are satisfied in God will bring God more glory. And missions is the way we can do that.

Missions must be seen as more than simply saving people from sin, though that is a very important aspect. And missions is not just about getting people into heaven, although that is important as well. Instead, through missions we should always seek to make as many people as possible into true worshippers, into those fully satisfied with the greatness of God.

With that mindset, missions becomes a joyous experience, as we joyfully share the life-changing presence of God in our lives with those who don’t know God. When we have made worship both the fuel and goal of all our missionary endeavors, we realize that “missions is not a recruitment project for God’s labor force. It is a liberation project from the heavy burdens and hard yokes of other gods.” Missions is never a burden, because it comes out of our overwhelming joy in God’s grace and mercy, and we just want to share that joy. So make God the center of your missions work, and joyfully share what He has graciously given to you.

By Bill Hybels / Zondervan

People matter to God. That foundational truth is why Bill Hybels planted a church where people can hear a clear, contemporary presentation of the gospel, relate to others who have decided to follow Jesus and respond to the life-changing good news of the gospel. In Becoming a Contagious Christian you will discover why we are called to be Contagious Christians, how authenticity, compassion and sacrifice help us relate to seekers and how to clearly share the gospel with those you love. This resource is designed for Sunday school, small group and individual study. Let Becoming a Contagious Christian revitalize your passion for evangelism and enable you to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission!

By Charles Spurgeon / Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Winning souls is ”the chief business of the Christian minister” and of every believer in Jesus, wrote Spurgeon. The most compelling preacher of the 1800s, Spurgeon continues to challenge today’s believers. In this classic work, he gives you effective, encouraging instruction on how to share ”the exciting, disturbing, even sensational news” of the Great Commission. 319 pages, softcover from Eerdmans.

By John MacArthur / Crossway Books & Bibles

Ashamed of the Gospel bears a message the church just can’t ignore: that we dare not be ashamed of communicating the convicting message of the Gospel. That we dare not candy coat it. Or make the church so user-friendly that the preaching of God’s Word is compromised. MacArthur reminds today’s church of the inevitable spiritual consequences if Christians continue to compromise biblical doctrine and the preaching of the Gospel. This masterful work challenges the church to return to the roots of the Great Commission and encourages a steadfast preaching of the Word of God.

By Alvin L. Reid / Kregel Publications

In America today, the ranks of the radically unchurched are growing. How can we effectively communicate the gospel to an indifferent culture who regards the church as irrelevant? Examining the causes behind the loss of America’s Christian identity, Reid provides proven strategies for touching people who desperately need to be confronted with Christ’s life-changing truth. 219 pages, softcover from Kregel.