| Small Groups
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Pastoral
- www.pastors.com - Has many sermons available for purchase. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, too.
- www.marbleretreat.org - Has counseling and other services for ministers.
- www.preaching.com - Has a neat weekly newsletter (available by email). Current issue is available online. They are also the publishers of Preaching magazine.
- www.bibleworks.com - Bible study software. Has many Bible versions, all unlocked, and is reasonable priced. PC-native.
- www.sermonfodder.com - Great source of ideas and illustrations.
- Internet for Christians - A great source of Christian news in the form of a weekly email. Provided by gospelcom.net
- Demographics Now - Demographics.
- Census. THE source of demographic & census information.
- Smart Leadership - Free leadership resources.
- Sermon Notes - Sermon Notes is an online preaching resource for pastors and teachers, offering sermons, illustrations and additional resources from some of America's best known pastors, as well as a number of other talented writers.
- Preaching Plus - Dynamic preaching resources.
- The Jesus Video - Bring Jesus into every home in America. An excellent video for use or distribution at special events such as Easter.
- Evangelism Toolbox - Lots of great evangelism resources.
- Crosswalk - "Our aim is to offer the freshest and most compelling biblically-based content to Christians who take seriously their relationship with Christ."
- Christianity Today. Excellent web site, resources, and magazine.
- Ministry Magazine. Ministry (monthly) reaches about 20,000 people monthly, and the Ministry PREACH issue is sent complimentary to about 70,000 clergy of other denominations (bi-monthly on the odd months).
- Rockridge University. The first (and only (so far)) university with a purpose-driven curriculum. Online and very reasonable rates!
- Sermon Audio. Excellent resource for audio sermons.
- Ministry Insights. Some great resources and analyses available here.
- Ministry Advantage. An excellent pastor coaching organization.
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- Search Google for "pastoral resources"
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Worship Music
- www.getdownrecords.com - Tommy Walker music and resources.
- www.encouragingmusic.com - Lead sheets and praise band arrangements for Rick Muchow's music. Some available for download, others by mail. They handle orders very fast!
- www.praisecharts.com - Lead sheets and praise band arrangements.
- www.wholeheartedworship.com - Lead sheets, praise collections, power point.
- www.willowcharts.com - Seeker songs and training. You can listen and watch many of the songs being performed. Sign up for their free newsletter.
- www.downloadcharts.com - Chord charts for many worship songs.
- zionsong.com - Lyrics, chord charts, and lead sheets
- www.whitesteeple.com - Lead sheets and other resources.
- www.todayspraise.com - Lead sheets, band arrangements and more.
- Charts For Worship - Charts, orchestrations, and more.
- www.pastornet.net.au - Free music.
- praisebook online - Online big blue praise book. Lead sheets and accompaniments.
- www.delicatefade.com - Praise and worship tabs.
- Paul and Rita Baloche online songbook. Audio, lead sheets, video, power point, lyrics chords, and band arrangements.
- Worship Together - Books, music, trax, DVDs, and more for the emerging generation.
- Parachute Music - This group has it together. A very wide range of styles. Many songs available as mp3, charts, and lead sheets on their web site.
- Celebration Concerts - Christian music concerts, mostly in California.
- Experiencing Worship - Has many worship resources.
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- Search Google for "worship music"
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Youth
- www.youthministry.com - Curriculum, drama, training, and many more resources for youth-oriented ministry.
- www.dougfields.com - Purpose-driven youth ministry. Ideas, books, resources, downloadable stuff. A good site.
- www.youthspecialties.com - Good ideas for the emerging church. They also have excellent conferences. Check 'em out!
- Source For YM - Good ideas, newsletters and articles, and resources for sale.
- Egad Ideas - Excellent resource for activities, games, and youth ministry ideas.
- Piece of the Pie - Good resource for ideas, products, and mission trips.
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- Search Google for "youth ministry"
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Innovative Churches
- Purpose Driven (Church) - Resources, training, and other information for purpose-driven churches. Highly recommended.
- Saddleback Community Church - Intended for members but very interesting nonetheless. Saddleback Community Church is an innovative large church in Southern California serving over 16,000 for worship on a typical weekend. Provides seminars and other materials.
- www.wiredchurches.com - Here's a prime example of an innovative church, Granger Community Church. Check out their web site and see what they are up to.
- Willow Creek Community Church - The originator of the "Seeker-sensitive" church. Has many resources on it's companion association site, Willow Creek Association - Jump over and browse around. There's some great stuff here.
- Cool Churches - Ministry in a changing culture.
- Center for Creative Ministry - Good resources for churches reaching out to new generations.
- www.thesprings.org - The Church @ The Springs, Ocala, Florida.
- www.nyjourney.com - The Journey (church), New York, New York
- www.sonrise.org - Sonrise Church, Auburn, California.
- www.clovishills.com - Clovis Hills Community Church, Clovis, California.
- www.fellowshipchurch.com - Fellowship Church, Grapevine, Texas.
- www.northpoint.org - North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia.
- www.ginghamsburg.org - Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio.
- www.fotw.org - The Fellowship of The Woodlands, Texas.
- www.harvest.org - Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA. An excellent web site.
- www.mecklenburg.org - Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- www.pointofgrace.org - Point of Grace Church in Des Moines, Iowa.
- www.enewhope.org - New Hope Christian Fellowship in Oahu, Hawaii.
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- Search Google for "purpose driven"
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Outreach
- Bibles At Cost - Excellent and affordable resource for Bibles to give out or to put in your welcome packets. We especially like the NLT Bible with the "seeker" (drop of water picture) cover. It's very easy to read, and, well, cool!
- www.servantevangelism.com - A great resource with innovative ideas for outreach.
- Steve Sjogren has written some excellent books on servant evangelism.
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- Search Google for "outreach"
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Drama
- Bobs Nook - Excellent drama resource! Free, reasonably large, and well-organized.
- Willow Creek Drama - Excellent set of dramas available. Reasonably priced, well-organized, and most with helpful summaries.
- Lillenas Drama - Plenty of other great drama resources.
- Dramatix - Dramatix is a community effort sharing QUALITY drama scripts by Christians around the world.
- Contemporary Drama - Drama for Christmas, Easter and much more.
- Dave Marsh - Plenty of Real Good Stuff here.
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- Search Google for "church dramas"
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| Church Biographies
These are books that tell the stories of churches. The fun and the failures, the pain and the gain, the losses and the lessons. Wonderful, inspiring, heart rending and heart warming stuff. It's good to know that other churches have problems, too. We can share and grow together. The lessons are tremendously helpful, particularly to young churches. [Names link to amazon.com; ISBN to Christian Books]
- Purpose Driven Church (Rick Warren) 1995. ISBN 0-310-20106-3. The story of Saddleback Community Church and the philosophy of purpose-driven churches.
- Rediscovering Church (Lynne and Bill Hybels) 1995. ISBN 0-310-59320-4. The story of Willow Creek Community Church. A balanced, husband & wife, perspective. An insightful, well-written story. The beginning, the ups and downs, the wonderful joy--and pain. Definitely recommended for those interested in church plants and church growth. (Shouldn't that be all of us?)
- Transformed by Truth (Joseph Tkach) 1997. ISBN 1-57673-181-2. An intriguing story of denominational transformation. "A compelling account of how God can change hearts and minds." A very insightful read. The problems mentioned in this book are, alas, in other denominations as well. This book is out of print, so search eBay, Amazon or your favorite used-book stores.
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| Humor
There is some good clean, Christian humor available. Enjoy these sites!
- Aiken's Short Laugh. Get email to brighten up your day.
- Clean laugh - Pastor Tim's Sermon Illustration and Inspirations List
- Mikey's Funnies - Brought to you by Mike Atkinson. A daily email with good, clean, funny stuff. Frequently church-related.
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| Church Planting
Books.
- Purpose Driven Church (Rick Warren) 1995. ISBN 0-310-20106-3. The story of Saddleback Community Church and the philosophy of purpose-driven churches.
- Ministry Nuts and Bolts (Aubrey Malphurs). What They Don't Teach Pastors in Seminary.
- Starting a New Church (Ralph Moore). The Church Planter's Guide to Success.
- Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century (Aubrey Malphurs and Joe Aldrich). A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal.
- The Church Planters' Toolkit (Robert Logan). Can't find this one anywhere.
- Church Planting for a Greater Harvest (Peter Wagner)
- Church Planting Notebook (Dave Page). Dave is at Sonrise Church in Auburn, California. You'll have to call the church on this one.
- Can We Do That? (Andy Stanley and Ed Young, Jr.)
- Doing Church as a Team (Wayne Cordeiro). Out of print.
- Rediscovering Church (Lynne and Bill Hybels) 1995. ISBN 0-310-59320-4. The story of Willow Creek Community Church. A balanced, husband & wife, perspective. An insightful, well-written story. The beginning, the ups and downs, the wonderful joy--and pain. Definitely recommended for those interested in church plants and church growth. (Shouldn't that be all of us?)
- Courageous Leadership (Bill Hybels). Audio tapes & CDs are available. An excellent book on church leadership.
- Conspiracy of Kindness (Steve Sjogren). A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus.
- Community of Kindness (Steve Sjogren and Rob Lewin). Full of ideas on church planting, strategy, organization, and outreach. This book is very high on my list for church planting mandatory reading.
- 101 Ways to Reach Your Community (Steven Sjogren). Steven has also written several other "101 Ways..." books.
- The Church on the Other Side (Brian D. McLaren)
- An Unstoppable Force (Erwin Raphael McManus). Daring to Become the Church God Had in Mind.
- Simply Strategic Stuff (Tim Stevens and Tony Morgan). Help for Leaders Drowning in the Details of Running a Church. An excellent, thoughtful book full of ideas.
Secular Books.
- Built to Last (Jim Collins). Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.
- Good to Great (Jim Collins). Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't.
- Victory (Brian Tracy). Applying the Proven Principles of Military Strategy to Achieve Greater Success in Your Business and...
- Fast Company. Excellent web site and magazine.
Web Sites.
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Media
- Ministry and Media. At Ministry and Media you'll discover practical and effective ways to use popular media in your ministry. You can look up current (or up coming) movie releases and get synopsis and possible sermon tie-ins. Also has a topic-searchable database. Not free, but well worth the money to be culturally current with media.
- Harbinger Online. Projection equipment, resources, and videos. Leading ministry through projection technology.
- Midnight Oil Productions. Has several outstanding collections of inspiring church graphics for sale. Also free ones for download from their web site.
- Christian Video Licensing. Licensing for clips from many sources. Also has clips in a subscription form (from ScreenVue).
- Sermon Spice. Video clips available for purchase online.
- Baptist International Mission Board. They have video clips available for downloading.
- SundayPlus. Software for visual effects, song backgrounds, hymn lyrics, etc. Also has downloadable images.
- Hollywood Jesus. Excellent movie reviews and clip ideas from a Christian perspective.
- Worship Films. Sermon Illustrators (clips), countdowns and worship background loops.
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| Audio/Visual
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