Featured Book
Essential Church?
Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts
by Thom Rainer and Sam Rainer
Why do so many young adults (18 to 22) leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back? This important question is examined and duly answered in Essential Church?, a follow-up to Thom S. Rainer’s best-selling Simple Church cowritten this time with his son, research expert Sam Rainer.
The book is based on a study of one-thousand so-called "church dropouts" who were interviewed about why they left. Their answers are quite surprising, having less to do with "losing their religion" and more about the desire for a community that isn’t made stale by simply maintaining the status quo.
In turn, the Rainers offer churches four concrete solutions toward making their worship community an essential part these young people’s lives again:
Simplify - develop a clear structure and process for making disciples.
Deepen - provide strong biblical teaching and preaching.
Expect - let members know the need for commitment to the congregation.
Multiply - emphasize evangelism, outward focus, and starting new churches.
Books from B&H Leadership
| A Theology for the Church Hardcover: $49.99 A Theology for the Church, an immense 992-page work edited by Daniel Akin, with contributions from leading Baptist thinkers Albert Mohler, Jr., Paige Patterson, Timothy George, and many others, addresses four major issues in regard to eight Christian doctrines. What does the Bible say? Each Christian doctrine is rooted in the... read more | |
| Augustine as Mentor by Edward L. Smither Trade Paper: $17.99 Coming January 2009 Lauded for his thoughts, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) has influenced virtually every philosopher of the last fifteen hundred years. But his personal character and ministry are even more remarkable, for in a time when most monastery dwellers sought solitude, Augustine was always in the company of friends, visiting disciples and writing mentoring... read more | |
| Basic Budgeting for Churches by Jack A. Henry Trade Paper: $14.99 In this clear, comprehensive guide, church financial management expert Jack Henry explains all the basics of building a solid church budgeting system.The book includes sample forms with complete instructions and commentary. read more | |
| The Book of Church Growth by Thom S. Rainer Trade Paper: $31.99 The Church Growth Movement has divided devout Christians. Even though Rainer is an advocate, his aim here is to present an objective view of the movement--its history, the theology associated with it, and the principles which seem to separate churches that grow from those that don't. read more | |
| Breaking the Discipleship Code by David Putman Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $17.99 Ed Stetzer and David Putman’s popular church leadership book Breaking the Missional Code is helping pastors and ministry staff to guide their collective congregations toward becoming missionaries in their communities. But the need remains for this concept to be further defined at an individual level.Breaking the Discipleship... read more | |
| Church Administration by Robert H. Welch Hardcover: $34.99 For churches and religious nonprofits, the business of business is not business - it is ministry. However, these organizations still have to plan. Because organization is needed to accomplish specific tasks, leadership must train and motivate workers for progress and effectiveness. Church Administration will assist pastors and church... read more | |
| Comeback Churches by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $17.99 Research shows that over time, most churches plateau and then eventually decline. Typically, they start strong and experience periods of growth, then stagnate and lose members. Since 1991, the North American population has increased by 15 percent while the number of "unchurched" people has increased by 92 percent. Large church houses that were... read more | |
| The Educational Ministry of a Church by CharlesTidwell Trade Paper: $29.99 This book is a thorough resource for students taking their first course as well as a handy reference tool for the person who is already immersed in the educational work of a church. read more | |
| The Empowered Leader by Calvin Miller Trade Paper: $12.99 God blessed King David as a leader only after David submitted himself to God's strength. In The Empowered Leader, Dr. Calvin Miller shows how following David's example can turn you into the leader you can be, the leader God wants you to be. read more | |
| Essential Church? by Thom Rainer and Sam Rainer Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $19.99 Why do so many young adults (18 to 22) leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back? This important question is examined and duly answered in Essential Church?, a follow-up to Thom S. Rainer’s best-selling Simple Church cowritten this time with his son, research expert Sam Rainer.The book is... read more | |
| Eternal Impact by Ken Hemphill Trade Paper: $14.99 Greatly respected church strategist Ken Hemphill believes the only process that will radically transform the mission and structure of today’s community of believers is the Word of God applied by the Holy Spirit. Toward that goal, Eternal Impact presents to readers a biblical study of the New Testament Church, focusing on the... read more | |
| Evangelism by John Mark Terry Trade Paper: $19.99 Ministers and other speakers will discover a wealth of illustrative and inspirational messages for sermons and every day living. Any Christian with a gift and calling for evangelistic witnessing will find themselves caught up in how the Good News of Jesus has been passed down through time. John Mark Terry recounts the fascinating story of Jesus and... read more | |
| Experiencing Ministry Supervision by Mary Alice Seals and William T. Pyle Trade Paper: $22.99 A useful and thorough presentation of the most important dimension of a supervised ministry program written by experienced and competent leaders in the field. read more | |
| Find Us Faithful by David Olford Trade Paper: $12.99 Coming March 2009 Find Us Faithful is a unique study of leadership based on the Apostle Paul’s farewell address to the church elders of Ephesus found in Acts 20:17-35—the profound final words of one great leader to another historic group of leaders. Author David Olford explains, “In studying this text we are going to be looking at three... read more | |
| Fresh Ideas For Women's Ministry by Diana Davis Trade Paper: $16.99 Picture this: women of all ages arriving in droves to the church building, excited that their weekly ministry together is about to begin. Syndicated columnist and pastor’s wife Diana Davis knows this can happen wherever the women’s ministry program is purposeful, of top quality, and fresh. Fresh Ideas for Women’s... read more | |
| The Great Commission by Martin Klauber and Scott M. Manetsch Trade Paper: $14.99 A unique book that focuses exclusively on the history of evangelical cross-cultural missions from the eighteenth century through today, The Great Commission will interest anyone who is passionate about the spreading of God’s Word. read more | |
| In Real Time by Michael Glenn Trade Paper: $12.99 Coming April 2009 Research shows that churches are seeing a dramatic decrease in the membership of 18 to 34 year-olds. One major cause traces back to when the gospel was watered down to a non-confrontational level for baby boomers, resulting in a generation that proclaimed faith without changing its lifestyle. Now many among that generation’s children feel... read more | |
| The Incredible Shrinking Church By Frank Page Trade Paper: $14.99 Who can save the incredible shrinking church? Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president Frank Page enters the booming church growth book market from a fresh angle, writing from his own experience in leadership positions at several houses of worship that soon turned around on what had looked like a path of irreversible decline.Page’s... read more | |
| InnovateChurch Edited by Jonathan Falwell Trade Paper: $14.99 Based on a new ministry conference and Web initiative of the same name, innovatechurch gathers expert advice from a who’s-who of next generation church leaders keenly determined to uphold never-changing truth in an ever-changing world.These eight esteemed contributors write two chapters each about their field of expertise... read more | |
| Killing Cockroaches by Tony Morgan Trade Paper: $16.99 Coming March 2009 Pastor and popular church culture blogger Tony Morgan once worked as a city manager, a CEO-type job with the suit and tie, corner office, the works. Despite his top-rank status, Tony’s list of responsibilities still included killing cockroaches whenever a freaked out co-worker spotted one in the building. That’s where this... read more | |
| Leadership Lessons of Jesus by Bob Briner and Ray Pritchard Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $14.99 This newly redesigned edition of The Leadership Lessons of Jesus is expanding to include more than seventy unique easy-length readings that explore and adapt the individual techniques that made Christ’s leadership so powerful. Going through the gospel of Mark, the authors highlight succinct examples of guidance methods that can influence... read more | |
| The Leadership Lessons of Jesus by Bob Briner and Ray Pritchard Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $14.99 Jesus had no paid staff or sales and marketing department behind him, yet he inspired others to carry His message around the world. Simply put, he was the greatest, most inspiring leader in history. read more | |
| Lost and Found by Ed Stetzer Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $17.99 Coming January 2009 Lost and Found presents comprehensive research about, and in-depth interviews with, over one thousand young adults in their twenties, mostly in regard to how open their generation is to spiritual things. The findings will surprise many readers and break some long established assumptions. Expert church and culture author Ed Stetzer... read more | |
| Management Essentials for Christian Ministries by Michael Anthony and James Estep Paper Over Board: $39.99 Management Essentials for Christian Ministries is a thorough examination of management principles for Christian ministries including churches, denominations, and parachurch organizations. Contributors represent a diverse denominational cross section. Study of management principles is required coursework for seminary students today.... read more | |
| Mentor Like Jesus by Regi Campbell Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $16.99 Coming May 2009 More time, spent with fewer people, equals greater kingdom impact.Desiring to see God widely embraced as more than a remote concept, entrepreneur Regi Campbell began a deeply successful mentoring program years ago that has become one of his greatest joys. Though it seemed radical at first—spending more time with less people to further an all... read more | |
| Missiology by John Mark Terry, Ebbie Smith, Justice Anderson Trade Paper: $39.99 A valuable resource for anyone currently involved in missions, considering a life as a missionary, seminary students, or those simply interested in the foundations, history and strategy of missions. The writers offer readers a historical as well as current-day tour of international missions. In the end, the editors make a plea for continued support of... read more | |
| Mission Edited by David J. Hesselgrave and Ed Stetzer Paper Over Board: $34.99 Coming September 2009 Veteran missionary David Hesselgrave and rising missional expert Ed Stetzer (Breaking the Missional Code) have compiled and edited this engrossing textbook of new essays on missions and missiology suitable for course work as well as vocational and volunteer Christian workers. Major sections include The Mission, Indigeneity and... read more | |
| Multi-Site Churches by Scott McConnell Trade Paper: $16.99 Coming April 2009 Based on research of forty congregations that have grown by opening one or more additional worship locations, Multi-Site Churches provides the next generation of believers interested in this same type of growth with practical insights about how and when to proceed. Common practices and mistakes to avoid are clearly explained, and first-person... read more | |
| Prayers for the Faithful by Mary Ann Bridgewater Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $18.99 A few words from Beth Moore: “About ten years ago God began leading me to take a far more active role in missions . . . primarily through daily intercession. I recall wondering, How does a person approach praying for the entire world? God graciously placed tools in my hands along the way, but I can assure you I’ve never seen... read more | |
| Recreation and Sports Ministry by John Garner Hardcover: $24.99 How open is our culture to recreation and sports? The popular culture today is saturated with recreation and sports. The Olympics, Super Bowl, World Series, X-Games, Iron Man events, the Final Four in college basketball, and the playoff series in professional basketball capture the imaginations of millions of people in America each time they are held.... read more | |
| The Secret of Soul Winning by Stephen Olford and David Olford with forewords by Billy Graham and Adrian Rog Paper Over Board: $12.99 The late legendary pastor Stephen Olford’s mid-twentieth century ministry classic, The Secret of Soul Winning, returns to print in 2007 with extensive updates from his son David Olford, plus a previously unreleased foreword by the late Adrian Rogers in addition to the original introduction from Billy Graham. Here, the Olfords... read more | |
| The Shape of Faith to Come by Brad J. Waggoner Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $19.99 Various studies suggest Christians in North America are not qualitatively different in their character and practices than non-believers. While some churches are growing numerically, many wonder to what impact. Can we determine if our churches are producing Christians who look, think and act like true followers of Jesus Christ?In The... read more | |
| Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger Trade Paper: $14.99 Coming June 2009 The simple revolution is here. From the iPod design to Google’s uncluttered homepage, simple ideas are changing the world. Now in paperback after selling more than 100,000 copies in hardcover, multi-awarded #1 national bestseller Simple Church guides Christians back to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No... read more | |
| Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $19.99 The simple revolution is here. From the iPod design to Google’s uncluttered homepage, simple ideas are changing the world. Multi-awarded #1 national bestseller Simple Church guides Christians back to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required. Based on case studies of 400 American churches, Thom... read more | |
| Spin-Off Churches by Rodney Harrison, Tom Cheyney and Don Overstreet Trade Paper: $24.99 The past two decades in Christendom have brought forth a proliferation of books about church planting. One denomination (Southern Baptist) has even set a goal to start fifty thousand new churches over the next twenty year period. But what’s missing toward that end is a solid resource that specifically defines how one established church can... read more | |
| TransforMissional Coaching by Steve Ogne and Tim Roehl with Foreword by Ed Stetzer Hardcover w/Dust Jacket: $19.99 Even leaders need leading. In the context of this greatly changing world, ministry experts Steve Ogne and Tim Roehl have coined the phrase "transformissional" to define the unique type of inspired coaching they offer to spiritual leaders in need of fresh direction."The path that the Lord of the Harvest has designed sometimes takes us beyond... read more | |
| Understanding, Preparing For, and Practicing Christian Worship by Randall Bradley and Franklin Segler Trade Paper: $24.99 This book explores the foundations of Christian worship and addresses both age-old traditional questions and takes up the latest in contemporary controversies. read more | |
| When the Church Was a Family by Joseph Helleman Trade Paper: $19.99 Coming August 2009 Spiritual formation occurs primarily in the context of community. But as the modern cultural norm of what social scientists call “radical American individualism” extends itself, many Christians grow lax in their relational accountability to the church. Faith threatens to become an “I” not “us,” a “my... read more | |
| Women Leading Women by Jaye Martin, Terri Stovall Paper Over Board: $29.99 Coming January 2009 Based on the precept that a biblical paradigm for women’s leadership must occur under the authority of the local church, Women Leading Women fills the void of research-based textbooks that address academic requirements for the core women’s leadership course curriculum and guide pastors n how women can help fulfill the... read more |

