Shepherding a congregation comes with many responsibilities. In addition to preparing weekly sermons, pastors manage church teams and minister to a variety of people with different needs. Attempting to tackle these roles separately can be exhausting and may eventually affect the health of the church. How should leaders integrate their roles to effectively shepherd their congregations? This guide shows pastors how to simplify and strengthen their ministry work by integrating leadership, preaching, and pastoring in biblical exposition. Authors Scott Pace and Jim Shaddix clearly lay out 6 categories of leadership—scriptural, spiritual, strategic, servant, situational, and sensible—and explain how to leverage them through sermon development and delivery. Offering practical advice and biblical wisdom related to each role, they help readers find balance in their ministries while nurturing their congregations in healthy, sustainable ways.
There has always been a special weight to ministry. As pastors come to lead their churches, they recognize very quickly the task they have been called to comes with very special expectations. And with each passing year, it feels like we now live in a time when pastors and ministry leaders can no longer live up to those expectations. Burnout is rampant. Pastors are stepping down in order to protect the well-being of themselves and their families. Moral failings seem to bring down leaders we once viewed as giants. And amid all of this, upcoming pastors are entering the ministry with the difficult task of finding hope in trying times. Mark Dance addresses this frustration in his book, Start to Finish. In this book, ministry leaders will find the guidance to finish the race well from start to finish. Whether you are ten years into your ministry or have not even taken the first steps, this book will discuss the important steps to take that will encourage the reader to serve well, lead well, and end well.
We are made for community. Deep within the heart of people is a longing to both know others and be known by them, and groups ministry has the opportunity to meet these needs in every church. Groups are an art, not a science. There's no one-size-fits-all formula for designing transformational groups that God uses to mold people into the image of Christ together. There are dozens of variables and unknowns in the work of groups, but we believe the following is true: There is no lasting transformation in a person without another person or persons. The less relational your church is, the less transformational your church will be. The people in your group are a partial inheritance from the Lord right now. Groups exist for community with God and one another. So goes groups, so goes the church. So goes the church, so goes groups. Groups, at their core, embody the call to love one another found sixty times throughout the New Testament. This book is for people who love the possibilities of groups. And for those who want to.
