The Safe Congregation Handbook
Author: Pat Hoertdoerfer
Publisher: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 188
ISBN-13: 9781558964983
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Church As a Safe Place
Author: Peter R. Holmes
Publisher: One Way Books
Published: 2008-01-29
Total Pages: 330
ISBN-13: 9781860246036
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWe are all looking for relationships and environments that are safe, that give us life. Sadly, however, many people suffer as a result of the failure to create a safe place within the church environment. Drawing upon the authors’ experience in counseling those who have suffered spiritual abuse, Church as a Safe Place offers help to those who are victims of abuse or anyone committed to ensuring that church is a “safe” place.
The Welcoming Congregation
Author: Scott W. Alexander
Publisher: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Published:
Total Pages: 164
ISBN-13: 9781558961906
DOWNLOAD EBOOK"This manual, prepared by the UUA's Office of Lesbian and Gay Concerns, is designed to help interested congregations become more welcoming places for the gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in their midst and in the wider community"--P. 1.
Governance and Ministry
Author: Dan Hotchkiss
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: 2016-01-14
Total Pages: 263
ISBN-13: 1566997712
DOWNLOAD EBOOKGovernance and Ministry has proven to be an indispensable guide for leaders and clergy on how to work together to lead congregations. In this second edition, veteran congregational consultant and minister Dan Hotchkiss updates the book to reflect today’s church and synagogue landscape and shares practical insights based on his work with readers of the first edition. Governance and Ministry highlights the importance of reaching the right governance model for a congregation to fulfill its mission—to achieve both the outward results and the inward quality of life to which it is called. Hotchkiss draws on governance research from business, non-profits, and churches, as well as deep experience in a variety of denominations and congregations to help readers determine the governance model that best fits their needs. The second edition has been streamlined and reorganized to better help readers think through leadership models and the process of change. The book features new material on the implications of congregation size, the process of governance change, policy choices, and the lay-clergy relationship. It also features two appendices with resources often requested by Hotchkiss’s consulting clients: a style guide for policy-makers and a unified example of a board policy book. Written with energy and humor, and offering plenty of practical examples, the second edition of this helpful resource is ideal for anyone involved in church leadership to assist in framing critical questions, creating a vision, and implementing a plan.
Coming of Age Handbook for Congregations
Author: Sarah Gibb Millspaugh
Publisher: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Published: 2009
Total Pages: 274
ISBN-13: 1558965408
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDefending the Flock: a Security Guide for Church Safety Directors
Author: Kris Moloney
Publisher:
Published: 2017-12-12
Total Pages: 312
ISBN-13: 9781981674770
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis Church Safety and Security Ministry Guide is intended to help Safety Directors of small to medium size churches with training their volunteer teams. This guide was developed by painstakingly researching nationally recognized publications and by consulting with experts in church security, crime prevention, emergency medical response, fire safety, pastoral protection, security, and a number of other fields of study. It contains chapters on everything from Active Shooter Neutralization to Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse.
Serving With Grace
Author: Erik Walker Wikstrom
Publisher: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
Published:
Total Pages: 106
ISBN-13: 1558965807
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDiscover how to experience congregational work as an integrated element in a fully rounded spiritual life. Written for both those in the more typically recognized "leadership roles" such as board members and committee chairs as well as for those who lead while serving on a committee, teaching in religious education or helping to pull together the Holiday Fair. Makes a useful addition to a congregation's leadership development programs.
The Caring Congregation Ministry Implementation Guide
Author: Karen Lampe
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2021-05-04
Total Pages: 155
ISBN-13: 1791013392
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPastors and church leaders genuinely want to care for people in their congregations and communities. But pastors cannot care for an entire church, and most laypersons don't have the training to do it. The Caring Congregation Ministry is a model for person-to-person care that's been proven to work in small and large churches across the U.S. It is a laity-centered ministry, where laypersons receive rigorous training and then are commissioned to serve as Congregational Care Ministers, caring for others in their own congregation and their extended community. This remarkable approach to congregational care was first developed by author Karen Lampe and her team at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, in Kansas City. It has been tested, refined, and strengthened, and is now being adapted in all sorts of congregational settings. One early adapter was co-author Melissa Gepford, who launched a Caring Congregation Ministry in her own rural church. Together, they have created this immensely practical guide for any pastor or leader seeking to create a congregational care ministry. This Implementation Guide is the main book for getting started. It introduces the ministry model and explains the Five Essentials which form the ministry's foundation. It is extremely practical, full of checklists and other tools to help pastors and other leaders understand (and explain) this way of providing congregational care. The Implementation Guide also includes a section focused on the crucial component of this ministry–the Congregational Care Minister, or CCM. This section fully describes the characteristics of CCM's, how to recruit people to this ministry, how to discern if candidates are a good fit, and how to conduct the CCM training over a multi-week period. It details the critical information CCM's must know, and the behaviors and habits they must practice in order to be effective. Note that the companion book, The Caring Congregation Ministry: Care Minister's Manual, is required for the CCM training. It serves as a training workbook, which then becomes the CCM's personal reference manual.
The Y-B-H Handbook of Church Planting (Yes, But How?)
Author: Roger N. McNamara
Publisher: Xulon Press
Published: 2005-05
Total Pages: 662
ISBN-13: 1597811033
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book is a practical step-by-step guide for church planters and their coaches. It covers everything they need to know to start healthy, growing churches that are biblically faithful and yet culturally relevant. While addressing the who, why, and where of planting new congregations, this comprehensive manual focuses primarily on the "how-tos." The authors use a five-stage "life cycle" (conception, pre-natal development, birth/infancy, adolescent growth, and adult reproduction) to flesh out the entire process of starting and growing a new church. Under each of these stages, a host of essential ministry and planning tasks is addressed so the planter can keep his "baby" church on course and can have the joy of watching the new church grow to maturity and eventually reproduce itself.
Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused
Author: Brad Hambrick
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2019-06-04
Total Pages: 155
ISBN-13: 1535988150
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIs your church prepared to care for individuals who have experienced various forms of abuse? As we continue to learn of more individuals experiencing sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of abuse, it’s clear that resources are needed to help ministries and leaders care for these individuals with love, support, and in cooperation with civil authorities. This handbook seeks to help the church take a significant step forward in its care for those who have been abused. Working in tandem with the Church Cares resources and videos, this handbook brings together leading evangelical trauma counselors, victim advocates, social workers, attorneys, batterer interventionists, and survivors to equip pastors and ministry leaders for the appropriate initial responses to a variety of abuse scenarios in churches, schools, or ministries. Though the most comprehensive training is experienced by using this handbook and the videos together, readers who may be unable to access the videos can use this handbook as a stand-alone resource.
