Mission edged Tracts from Lutheran Tract Mission

Lutheran Tract Mission has recently produced some tracts for situations which people in mission are encountering now.

'A Mission-Edge Tract' produced for those 

questioning God's care for the world and the environment.

'A Mission-Edge Tract' produced for those 

struggling with their faith and their relationship with Jesus.

'A Mission-Edge Tract' produce for those 

questioning their identity and their beliefs and where they fit in society and God's family

A Mission-Edge Tract' produced for those struggling with where God is in their life 

'A Mission-Edge Tract' for those struggling with who Jesus is 

and why do we celebrate a baby's birth at Christmas

For these and many other tracts visit Lutheran Tract Mission

Book: Faith for Exiles - 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon

Faith for Exiles focuses on helping people who live in a 2020 society where following Jesus can be challenging and even disheartening.

Some are experiencing Negative perceptions, Church dropouts, Prodigals and nomads. 
It's easy to get discouraged by all that's going wrong when it comes to Christianity and the emerging generation. 
Yet what's going right? 
In fact, signs of hope are springing up all around. In Faith for Exiles, the author of unChristian and You Lost Me unveils major new Barna research that uncovers what's working--five practices that contribute to resilience. Enter the world of resilient young adult Christians and learn how they are sustaining faith. Finally, you can find hope in all that God is doing among young disciples today.

In a world where always-connected smart devices and search algorithms educate and entertain, digital Babylon is the new context for discipleship. 
Faith for Exiles reveals findings from a groundbreaking three-year research study of young Christians whose faith remains resilient even in exile. Barna president David Kinnaman teams up with former executive director of Youth Specialties Mark Matlock to help you:
• Make sense of chaotic cultural changes and respond with compassion to the next generation of believers
• Recognize the biblical concept of exile as an essential framework for following Christ today
• Discover five research-based practices that cultivate faithfulness in digital Babylon
• Prepare young Christians to be on mission with Jesus in the world
• Empower Jesus followers of all ages to thrive in our current exile

Christmas Resource: The Really Good News of Christmas – For Me! (free)

In 2017 Australians loved this fresh telling of the Christmas story, and this year we they have improved the story to help churches reach children and families, with the book and resources.   The Really Good News of Christmas – For Me!

The Australian Bible Society are giving away the little books of The Really Good News of Christmas - For Me, along with digital resources. 

They would love everyone  to engage in the Bible story of Christmas.

To order your booklets visit https://www.biblesociety.org.au/goodnews/ 

To view the booklet visit https://issuu.com/biblesocietyau/docs/rgn2_samplepages_single/2

Outreach film: Road to Emmaus

The Road to Emmaus DVD is a tool to help local churches with outreach. At a very low cost, congregations can distribute copies of the DVD as a calling card to invite people to their local church

Written and produced by an Emmy-winning team, this acclaimed film offers a dynamic new opportunity to reach people with the story of Jesus. Road to Emmaus follows the story of Jesus and two companions on the Sunday of the resurrection, as "...he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." Created to reach the unchurched, the film is among the most widely used evangelism tools ever produced—a valuable tool your congregation can use this year.

Starring Bruce Marchiano ("Gospel of Matthew") Road to Emmaus follows the story of Luke 24:13-49 and imagines what the conversation between Jesus and the two disciples might have been. It builds from the actual stories and passages of the Bible (the writings of Moses and the prophets as well as the further explanations in the New Testament).

Also available free

• 5-Session Bible Study
• Discussion Guide
• Questions for Reflection

Watch the video 

for more information and to buy copies visit

http://roadtoemmausmovie.com/index.html

Welcoming Easter Kit - CPH

Concordia Publishing House is offering a free kit to welcome Easter Visitors

The purpose of the kit is to help you help every visitor feel welcome at your church on Easter! This kit helps pastors and other church workers reach out to every visitor to help them feel valued. Each item in the kit comes with a sample and an editable template for your church to customize.

The kit contains the following items:

• A welcome card for introducing visitors to your church
• A worship-folder blurb and a statement for the pastor to read about filling out a visitor card
• A follow-up email and letter for Easter visitors
• A note to attach to a small gift

To download your kit visit https://churchsupplies.cph.org/free-easter-welcome-kit

Outreach idea: i'll buy you a coffee

Craig McCourt of New Creation Lutheran Church offers to buy people a coffee as way of meeting them...

8 Articles to read from Outreach magazine

Outreach magazine is a bi monthly magazine offering articles and information orientated around outreach and mission...

8 recent articles from the Outreach magazine worth a reading

An Evangelism Equation for Non-Evangelists By Mark R. Teasdale
“Most of our church members are ready to grow in their faith as well as share that faith. They just feel unequipped to do so.”

5 Ways to Get People to Pay Attention When You Preach By Charles Stone
“Here are five neuroscience insights to keep in mind as you prepare your sermons.”

8 Habits of Healthy Church Leaders By Matt Brown
Matt Brown: “We are called by a great God. May we never be stagnant or half-hearted in that calling!”

13 Pastor Mistakes That Hinder Growth By Brian Jones
“Here are 13 common mistakes that lead to sluggish growth, or even decline. Fix these and watch what happens.”

Chris Stephens: ‘Jesus Never Defended Tradition’ By Meredee Berg
“My greatest concern is that churches are hanging on to tradition and losing the power of the gospel.”

Pastoring Portlandia: Dispatches From America’s Post-Christian Frontier By Paul J. Pastor
What does it take to shepherd believers in America’s post-Christian frontier? Cutting-edge savvy and old-time practices.

Pastoring Portlandia: John Mark Comer By Paul J. Pastor
“What a post-Christian world is making us do is get back to the the countercultural, revolutionary lifestyle of Jesus.”

Pastoring Portlandia: Rick McKinley By Paul J. Pastor
“The gospel is enough! We don’t have to sell out or hide in a self-protective group, shivering at the culture around us.”

Article: How one church is reaching the most secular society

The Relevant magazine shares the story of how a congregation belonging to mainline denomination is going against the trend...and reaching a significant number of people in their secular context.   visit here to read the article

Report: Objections to the Christian Faith from the unchurched and dechurched

Objections to the Christian Faith from the Unchurched and De-Churched is the focus of the Resurgence Report from Mars Hill

What do non-Christians really think about Christians and Jesus? 
What do they say when we’re not in the room?
Though the cultural divide between Christians and non-Christians is growing, we are still missionaries with a God-given passion to see people meet Jesus and be rescued for eternity. To do this, it would help to know what they love, what they hate, what they think about Jesus, and what they believe about the big questions of life.
In 21st century America, what reasons do people give for rejecting Jesus? You may be surprised to know that there are nine objections to Christianity that are brought up again and again among an incredibly diverse population. Chances are, the people you’re trying to reach have the same questions and objections, even if they won’t voice them in polite conversation.

The Resurgence Report represents our effort to hear non-Christians speak from the heart so that we can better love our neighbors and humbly lead them toward truth, freedom, and joy in Jesus.

What is the report?
Together with market research companies, Gfk and Saurage Marketing Research, we put together a massive collection of data and resources by polling and interviewing un-churched and de-churched people across America.
Interviewed 8 focus groups in 4 cities (San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, and Boston)
Conducted a telephone survey with 1,000 responses throughout the U.S.

What comes in the report?
Resurgence has made the entire report and all of our research available to you for free:

Phone Survey summary and responses from GfK.
List of the Top Objections to Christianity.
List of 1,000 verbatim responses to “What is your impression of Evangelical Christians?”
List of 1,000 verbatim responses to “Who is Jesus?”
Saurage Focus Groups summary.
10-minute audio clips of both men and women focus groups in 4 different cities.
Full transcripts from each focus group.

Who is this report for?
Pastors, Church Planters, Ministry Workers, Bible Students, Authors, Bloggers, and more. The Resurgence Report was built with ministry leaders in mind, but can be used by anyone, Christian or non-Christian, wishing to explore more about the objections to Christianity.

How do you define un-churched and de-churched?
Un-churched are those who have never attended a church regularly, and de-churched are those who once attended regularly but are no longer part of a church.

Our hope is this valuable research can be helpful for you as you prepare content such as sermons, books, or blog posts.

You can download this report at https://marshill.com/2014/12/02/the-resurgence-report

Share Life: Outreach lessons from Jesus

Share Life is an outreach resource produced by Concordia Publishing House

Share Life Devotional and Share Life Flipbook

In share life we discover how Jesus shows us how to live out our faith in small ways.
Each lesson walks readers through a Gospel of John narrative
Includes practical ideas to put into action immediately
Do you ever get tongue-tied talking about your faith? All of us struggle sometimes to find the right words. If you truly desire to make an emotional connection, focus on personal interactions instead.
Share Life! resources encourage Christians to focus on things we do rather than words we say, so that others may see the love of Christ in us. Show people the abundant life you have in Jesus instead of telling them about it. After all, actions speak louder than words.

Mission and Outreach hymns and songs

Hymns and Songs with a mission or outreach theme are available from:

• Nethymnal 
• Howard Culberstson - professor of Southern Nazarene University
• Hymnary
• Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
• Lutheranhymnal -  go to this link then scroll down to Mission entry
• Song Select - contemporary songs
• Worship Together - contemporary songs

Book: No perfect people allowed-creating a come as you are culture in the church

How do we live out the message of Jesus in today's ever-changing culture? 
The church is facing its greatest challenge---and its greatest opportunity---in our postmodern, post-Christian world. God is drawing thousands of spiritually curious 'imperfect people' to become his church---but how are we doing at welcoming them? 
In No Perfect People Allowed John Burke shows you how to deconstruct the five main barriers standing between emerging generations and your church by creating the right culture. 
From inspiring stories of real people once far from God, to practical ideas that can be applied by any local church, this book offers a refreshing vision of the potential and power of the Body of Christ to transform lives today. 

Sections include:

• The struggle for the emerging generations
• The struggle with trust
• The struggle with tolerance
• The struggle with truth
• The struggle with brokenness
• The struggle with aloneness
• The struggle forward

Reviews
Visit the Amazon Customer Reviews

'We now are living in a post-Christian America---and that means we must be rethinking ministry through a missionary mindset. What makes this book both unique and extremely helpful is that it is filled with real-life stories of post-Christian people becoming followers of Jesus---not just statistics or data about them.' Dan Kimball, Author, The Emerging Church '. . . 
John's 'get it' factor with people, lost or found, is something to behold! Reading this book filled me with optimism regarding the next generation of pastors and faith communities . . .' Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church 
No Perfect People Allowed is a timely and necessary word for church leaders in a post Christian culture. John Burke serves up quite a tasty meal full of the rich nutrients that will strengthen the Body of Christ. Randy Frazee, Senior Pastor, Pantego Bible Church; Author, The Connecting Church and Making Room for Life

Free EBook: Turning passion into mission planning book

Christian outreach tools offers a free planning ebook to help congregations, life groups and small teams of members to move from being passionate about sharing God's love to actually sharing God's love....
For more information visit http://www.christianoutreachtools.com/uploads/3/4/0/0/3400790/_____turning_passion_into_mission_sngl_pg.pdf

Book: Positioning Lutheran Schools for outreach

Lutheran schools can be an outreach tool.  Positioning Lutheran Schools for Outreach will help you create a plan to strengthen your school's outreach ministry. You will have everything you need at your fingertips, from Bible study to enrollment applications.

Available from:  http://online.nph.net/p-6577-positioning-lutheran-schools-for-outreach.aspx

Lutheran church was and can return to be an outreach church

Pastor Mike Newman, a pastor of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Texas District, as a Mission and Ministry Facilitator has written a summary and reflection of how the Lutheran Church was once an outreach evangelistic church and could return to that position....you can find his article Is outreach possible?  here

The Institute of Worship and Outreach

About the Institute of Worship and Outreach

The Institute for Worship and Outreach is a group of WELS pastors who have brought together their experience and training in public worship and mission outreach to assist and encourage pastors as they work to reach out to the lost with the gospel of Jesus.

The Institute for Worship and Outreach is a group of WELS pastors who have become convinced, on the basis of study and ministry experiences, that worship forms and outreach methods can and must intersect confessionally and evangelically in efforts to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. With this perspective, they have come together to assist and encourage pastors as they strive for excellence in public worship and mission outreach.

What they offer on their website:

• Blog:  listing good ideas and thoughts relating to worship and outreach'
• Academic Papers
• Worship Planning resources

Visit their website at http://worshipandoutreach.org/

Paper: Worship and Outreach a Lutheran pardigm

This paper explore the need for a Lutheran paradignm of worship and outreach.

 

 

Main points covered include:

• Necessity of a Lutheran paradigm of worship and outreach.
• The balancing act of a Lutheran paradigm of worship and outreach.
• Characteristics of a Lutheran paradigm of worship and outreach.
• A Lutheran paradigm is invitational in character
• A Lutheran paradigm is Gospel centred
• A Lutheran paradigm makes the worship experience accessible to the unchurched
• A Lutheran paradigm prioritizes preaching
• A Lutheran paradigm is Sacramental
• A Lutheran paradigm addresses children
• A Lutheran paradigm uses the marks of the church to lead the marks of the church
• A Lutheran paradigm features faithful follow up

 

 

To read the entire paper visit http://worshipandoutreach.org/paper/60/worship-and-outreach-lutheran-paradigm

Christian Publishing and Outreach - contemporary publications & posters

Christian Publishing and Outreach  
offers a coordinated range of designs presenting a consistent message for you to personalise and invite your local community to your events and services. Products include:
•A variety of different invitations and cards – these can be personalised by us, using our professional typesetting and overprinting service, or online, using our online overprint facility or DIY
•Customised church publicity posters
•Colourful posters with a Christian message for use in every situation and location
•Church banners to display inside your church
•Customised vinyl banners to create maximum impact outside your church
•Roll-up banners, portable, comes with a carry bag and ideal for use where a temporary display is required

visit http://www.cpo.org.uk/ to discover more

Bible, Nurture and Witnessing teaching resources by Jim Found

Jim has taught witnessing and other outreach courses at Concordia St. Paul from 1998 to 2006. Along with his wife offers the following workshop and course material online in English and some in Chinese at http://www.foundbytes.com/index.htm :

Introduction to the Bible
Aid to reading Mark
Nurture of Believers
Overall Suggestions for Nurturing Others
Suggestions for nurture of your own faith
Suggestions for meeting in small home sharing groups
Suggestions for Youth and Family nurture
Suggestion for a Classroom Setting (Sunday School, etc.)
Suggestions about Prayer
Nurture materials written by Jim Found (These are meant to help believers apply faith to daily life.)
Eight Lessons for new believers.
Key Bible Topics. Over 25 practical studies.
Christian Life Discussion Sheets
Guide to Growth
Biblical concepts for training new leaders
Development of Christianity over the years: Roots of today's situation
The Sunday Morning Church service: Understanding and planning
What God's Word says about common life issues.
Thinking Outside the Box: ideas for youth studies or sermon series.
A "How-to" guide for witnessing
Devotions relating to witnessing
Great Commission Living,
A Witnessing Workshop
How to Lead a Witness Workshop
Books on Evangelism
Web sites about evangelism

Web Site: Church Relevance

Kent Shaffer's blog Church Relevance aims to develop relevant and effective church ministries and assistance to churches.
There is a list and link to the 100 top Christian blogs, churches to watch, a range of free resources and regular articles. Available at http://churchrelevance.com/