Books from Resurrection

Caring for the congregation is more than any one person can do, even the pastor. All persons eventually experience grief and loss, crisis and suffering; and many come to church for the first time as a result of needing help.

Using this four-session study, modeled after The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, churches can form an effective team by addressing four key areas of congregational care: prayer ministry, support ministry, hospital visitation, and grief and death ministry.

Karen Lampe says congregational care should be modeled after the ministry of Jesus, who offered compassion, understanding, healing, and wholeness as a way of offering God's redemptive gift of grace. Congregational care is one reason, according to pastors Adam Hamilton and Karen Lampe, that their church is successful in attracting and keeping new members.

In each richly illustrated session, readers will find inspiration, Bible-connection, skill building, practical tips, and resources, including: information about anointing, helpful scriptures, application forms, suggested requirements and application for team member, a volunteer leader covenant, safety and self-care contract, and a counseling guide.

Catch is a comprehensive program for invitational evangelism developed by the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest-growing churches in the U.S. This newly revised and updated resource shows you how to attract visitors to your church, connect them with your faith community, and help them learn to know, love, and serve God. The Catch program has three phases:

This Program Guide with DVD-ROM lays out the basic plans for the initiative, complete with worksheets, team roles, task lists, and a plan for a four-week study and worship emphasis. Topics include:
- Becoming relentlessly outward focused
- Understanding what makes your church unique
- Transforming to a welcoming environment
- Helping individuals on their journey

The accompanying DVD-ROM offers training clips, inspirational clips about Bible study, worship, and small groups; and examples of useful tools and documents-- emails, letters, ministry team tips, and more--for your use in attracting visitors and connecting them to the life of your church.

Catch is a comprehensive program for invitational evangelism developed by the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, one of the fastest-growing churches in the U.S. This newly revised and updated resource shows you how to attract visitors to your church, connect them with your faith community, and help them learn to know, love, and serve God. The Catch program has three phases:

This Small-Group Participant Book takes small groups through four weeks of Bible study and intense evaluation designed to help your church attract visitors and then welcome them into the life of your community. Participants emerse themselves in the concepts and practices of invitational evangelism through daily readings that include Scripture, devotion, and reflection questions.

This four-week study features a Small-Group DVD with Leader Guide (available separately) that will lead your group through prayer, Bible study, and discussion. The study includes ideas for transforming your congregation, as well as action steps and personal reflection. The four weekly topics include:

1. Becoming relentlessly outward focused
2. Deciding what makes your church unique
3. Welcoming and inviting people in
4. Ways you can help

If you are the parent of a preteen, you may feel as if you are the only person in the world trying to deal with this almost-grown stranger in your home. You might describe your preteen as opinionated, sometimes defiant, seeking independence one day and totally dependent on you the next, inquisitive, and--above all--seeking to break the world record for the number of text messages sent and received in one day. How, with all that is going on in the hearts and minds of preteens, can we parents help them develop A Faith of Their Own?

Chris Folmsbee is an experienced youth worker, an author and speaker, and a dad. He understands that you the parent of a preteen is learning as you go.

Understanding the Common Cry of Preteens is the first piece of a three-part series designed to help you help your teen develop spiritually as he or she develops physically and mentally. The ultimate goal is to prepare you as you lead your child to conform to the image of God through Jesus Christ.

Gladhearted Disciples: Equipping Your Congregation with Generous and Enduring Faith addresses a critical need for church leaders and pastors: How can we guide people to live like Jesus and to draw others into that life? This is a book to study and with your leaders and teams.

Gladhearted Disciples starts with an indisputable yet often ignored reality: In a post-modern, post-Christian world, we can no longer attract people by convincing them of our “truth.”  We must instead embody the Gospel in such clear and compelling ways that they will be attracted to our way of life. This is the true measure of discipleship. Folmsbee provides a template for the spiritual formation of hopeful, grace-filled, kingdom-focused disciples who represent God’s love in the world.  Pastors, Christian educators, and small-group leaders will find here an inspiring new perspective to inspire and support their work.--Ann Michel, Associate Director, Lewis Center for Church Leadership

I recommend this book for faith communities and all who yearn for a new way of understanding our sacred calling as followers of Jesus.--DJ del Rosario, Sr. Pastor, Bothell UMC, Bothell, WA

If you are seeking to guide others in following Jesus into the mission field that exists right outside your front door, read this book. You’ll encounter vivid stories and a theologically grounded, practical, and missional approach to discipleship in a post-Christian world. --Sara B. Thomas, Chief Strategist for Vital Congregations, Discipleship Ministries, The United Methodist Church

Gladhearted Disciples takes a radically different and welcome approach to evangelism and discipleship. It is a winsome and accessible book with two audaciously important messages. First, Christian discipleship is grounded in grace, characterized by humility, upwardly focused in gratitude, and outwardly-turned in compassion. Second, Christian communities should be marked by the same. Every church would do well to heed this prophetic yet hopeful message.  --Robert K. Martin, Dean and Professor of Christian Formation and Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary

If you seek a fresh way to understand and share our faith—a way that makes sense in our current reality, I invite you to delve into this book. May you be newly inspired! --Dottie Escobedo-Frank, author of The Jesus Insurgency with Rudy Rasmus, from Abingdon Press

When Jesus taught the disciples, his message was simple and clear. In this illuminating study, Jeff Kirby sweeps aside the clutter of our daily lives and takes us to the heart of Jesus's message. With Jesus as our teacher and mentor, we explore Christian belief through Christian action, following in the footsteps of our Lord. Jesus's message is explored in four chapters: 1. The Day I Met Jesus 2. Announcing Good News 3. The Ministry of Healing 4. Praying for Self and Others

When Jesus taught the disciples, his message was simple and clear. In this illuminating study, Jeff Kirby sweeps aside the clutter of our daily lives and takes us to the heart of Jesus’s message. With Jesus as our teacher and mentor, we explore Christian belief through Christian action, following in the footsteps of our Lord. Jesus’s message is explored in four chapters:
1. The Day I Met Jesus
2. Announcing Good News 
3. The Ministry of Healing 
4. Praying for Self and Others 

This Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the Jesus Apprentice Bible study program. It includes session plans and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.

Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God is a three-part basic faith course that helps to answer essential questions as it guides participants on the journey of growing as a Christian. The goal? Becoming a deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ. The three studies are grounded in 15 core traits of a deeply committed Christian--traits that paint a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ with increasing passion and dedication.

This Daily Readings book serves as the devotional companion for the entire three-part Journey 101 Series, with a total of ninety devotions focusing on the topics of knowing, loving, and serving God.

Explore the good news of the Bible and discover Bible study tools and resources to deepen your understanding of God and the Scriptures.

Journey 101 Knowing God is one component of Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God.

Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God is a three-part basic faith course that helps to answer essential questions as it guides participants on the journey of growing as a Christian. The goal? Becoming a deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ. The three studies are grounded in 15 core traits of a deeply committed Christian--traits that paint a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ with increasing passion and dedication.

Each of the three separate, interactive 6-week studies utilizes a group teaching format with a leader and a video presenter combined with small group table breakouts. For the church and leadership, the three studies are part of a complete offering. However, the program is flexible enough that group members can take the three studies in any order.

Each Leader Guide includes complete session guides with leader helps for facilitating a six-week study.

Learn spiritual practices that will help you fall more in love with God as you grow in your relationship with God and others.

Journey 101 Loving God is one component of Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God.

Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God is a three-part basic faith course that helps to answer essential questions as it guides participants on the journey of growing as a Christian. The goal? Becoming a deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ. The three studies are grounded in 15 core traits of a deeply committed Christian--traits that paint a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ with increasing passion and dedication.

Each of the three separate, interactive 6-week studies utilizes a group teaching format with a leader and a video presenter combined with small group table breakouts. For the church and leadership, the three studies are part of a complete offering. However, the program is flexible enough that group members can take the three studies in any order.

Each Leader Guide includes complete session guides with leader helps for facilitating a six-week study.

Understand the biblical context for service that will enable you to share your time and spiritual gifts with others.

Journey 101 Serving God is one component of Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God.

Journey 101: Knowing, Loving, Serving God is a three-part basic faith course that helps to answer essential questions as it guides participants on the journey of growing as a Christian. The goal? Becoming a deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ. The three studies are grounded in 15 core traits of a deeply committed Christian--traits that paint a picture of what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ with increasing passion and dedication.

Each of the three separate, interactive 6-week studies utilizes a group teaching format with a leader and a video presenter combined with small group table breakouts. For the church and leadership, the three studies are part of a complete offering. However, the program is flexible enough that group members can take the three studies in any order.

Each Leader Guide includes complete session guides with leader helps for facilitating a six-week study.