What we said, what we heard, and why it matters : a report of the Together conversations

Steve Clapp

Brethren Press

Fifty Ways to Reach Young Singles, Couples and Families

LifeQuest Publishing Group

Evangelism: Good News or Bad News? (Andrew Center Report)

In "Worship and Hospitality," Steve Clapp and Fred Bernhard offer hospitality as a new lens for looking at what happens in Christian worship. The practice of biblical hospitality can take people beyond their personal preferences for traditional or contemporary and help them recognize Christ as the host of the service. 
"Worship and Hospitality" explores: 
How the concepts of hospitality and worship relate to each other and what it means to see the presence of Christ in those with whom we worship. 
How the practice of hospitality should influence music, prayers, the sermon, and the entire flow of the service. 
How the setting of worship impacts what we experience. Lighting, carpeting, seating, electronics, the pulpit, and the rest of the church facilities all affect our worship and reflect our hospitality. 
How to reach out to people without a church connection and to help our services speak to those person when they come without sacrificing the core purpose of worship. 
Specific strategies for identifying needed changes in worship, including exit interview with those who leave the church. 
How to understand the major trends affecting worhsip and evangelism without automatically embracing each trend. 
Discussion questions are included.

Worship and Hospitality: Reaching Out and Healing through Worship

Fred Bernhard

Evangel Publishing House

Within a year of officially joining a congregation, 62% of new members are less active in the church than at the time they joined. Twenty-five percent simply stop coming within the first year of official membership. Evangelism and outreach are important, and growing churches have learned how to practice warm hospitality to new people. But people don't continue involvement unless they are thoroughly assimilated. The level of hospitality in many congregations just doesn't go deeply enough to connect with people at a level that will keep them coming and isn't wide enough to help newer members really feel that they are as much a part of the community of faith as longer-term members. In this ground-breaking book, you'll learn: -why so many people get hurt or disillusioned by their church experiences and how to prevent that from happening. -the DNA of a radically inclusive church. How to remove race, income, sexual orientation, social status, politics, and disabilities as barriers to full inclusion. -the changes churches must make if they want deep hospitality and full assimilation for both new and long-time members. -effective strategies for reaching more children, youth, and young adults. -how vital worship, prayer, and study can bring a church alive, resulting in more members, a deeper commitment to peace, and a wider concern for mission.

Deep & Wide: Hospitality and the Faithful Church

Ed Bontrager

LifeQuest

Silent and Undecided Friends : Motivating Greater LGBT Rights Advocacy Among Clergy and Congregations

LifeQuest Publication

Love, Sex, and Relationships: (Healthy Sexuality for young women of faith)

Life Quest

Beyond the Church Door: Healthy Strategies for Serving, Inviting, and Sharing Millions of people in North America choose not to become part of a congregation. The majority of those persons self-identify as Christian; what they have given up on is not Christ but the church as an institution. The majority of church members feel uncomfortable talking about their faith and rarely if ever invite people to worship or other church activities. Beyond the Church Door provides practical, tested strategies for reaching out to people outside the church in comfortable, nonmanipulative ways. Readers will learn: Why it is important to reach out to people who do not belong to any congregation. (Chapter One) How to understand people outside the church, respecting the faith they may already have and recognizing the hurt they may have experienced in a faith community. (Chapter Two) How to share in acts of servant evangelism that bring people into positive connection with the church, relying more on actions than on words. (Chapters Three, Four, Five) How to comfortably invite family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others to church activities. (Chapter Six) How to comfortably talk about their faith with people both inside and outside the congregation. (Chapter Seven) How to practice the kind of biblical hospitality that will result in guests becoming members and growing in discipleship. (Chapter Eight) How to expand their circles of friendship in ways that include persons they may previously have avoided. (Chapter Nine) The book includes a guide for class and group study.

Beyond the Church Door

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Books by Steve Clapp