City Church

Many pastors struggle to translate their theological beliefs into fruitful ministry in the places they are called to reach. It’s not enough to simply know what to believe (theology), or on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology) - they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ.

It's not enough to plant individual churches in isolation from each other. The spiritual need and opportunity of our cities is too big for any one church to meet alone. Pastors Neil Powell and John James contend that to truly transform a city, the gospel compels us to create localized, collaborative church planting movements. They share lessons learned and principles discovered from their experiences leading a successful citywide movement. The more willing we are to collaborate across denominations and networks, the more effectively we will reach our communities for Jesus.

Compared to the Puritans, Mormons have rarely gotten their due, often treated as fringe cultists or marginalized polygamists unworthy of serious examination. In Kingdom of Nauvoo, Benjamin E. Park excavates the brief, tragic life of a lost Mormon city, demonstrating that the Mormons are essential to understanding American history writ large. Using newly accessible sources, Park re-creates the Mormons' 1839 flight from Missouri to Illinois.

John Wimber (1934–1997) has been called one of the most important and controversial figures in North American evangelicalism in the twentieth century and the fountainhead of the Third Wave movement. This sensitive and compelling biography of his life and ministry ultimately tells the story of a man with humble—and, some might say, surprising—beginnings, who was called and moved by God to eventually impact the hearts of millions. The first book-length biographical treatment of his life, John Wimber: His Life and Ministry takes you from the day of his birth—also the day his father ...

More people live in cities now than at any other time in human history, presenting a historic opportunity for Christians to influence the majority of the world. Unfortunately, most Christian literature about the city focuses solely on its problems (crime, homelessness, etc.), rather than providing a comprehensive analysis of the city that informs, instructs, and inspires. Using sociological research and data, urban pastors Justin Buzzard and Stephen Um lay out the vision and rationale for church planting, cultural engagement, and missionary impulses in our world’s cities as they provide a solid foundation for motivation.

Christians and other people of good will are longing for a response that can lead the way out of the divisiveness and vitriol of our times. I wrote this book to provide some assistance to listeners to discern a way out of the toxicity in which we live.

“Don’t you ever want to run away from Christmas?” Mildred Budge’s answer to Dixie was immediate and truthful. “Yes, yes, yes,” Mildred said with conviction. She couldn’t stop saying yes, though the very idea that a good church lady would want to run away from the occasion during the year that marked the birth of Jesus-- the reason for the season for a tried and true church lady of the South-- was almost beyond explanation. “Then, let’s go. Let’s go to Fountain City and find Mr. Fixit and eat sublime pies,” her friend Dixie urged. The two needed Mr. Fixit because of a ...

In Loving the City, bestselling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the biblical foundations for contextualizing the gospel as we communicate to the culture in a way that is both respectful and challenging. He articulates the key characteristics of a city vision, showing how the city develops as a theme throughout Scripture, from its anti-God origins, to its strategic importance for mission, to its culmination and redemption in glory.

The City of God is the usual English translation of the most influential work written in the fifth century. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, wrote it between 413 and 426. Augustine argued that Christianity was not the cause of the empire’s collapse. He turned the gaze from the city of Rome to the City of God, in the spiritual life of true believers.

Developing the Puritans' understanding of religious freedom, Jesse Johnson shows how Christ's followers have reasoned through this tension in past centuries, and he identifies biblical principles for navigating government restrictions in the future. Johnson reminds his listeners that God made government with a purpose, and that purpose makes the world livable for believers. So sit back, and let Johnson take you on a tour of what the Bible teaches about government, and why we should be more like Daniel, by recognizing the limits on our obedience to earthly authorities.

If you're a woman, chances are you know the cycle: You start the day already exhausted and end it defeated, all the while telling yourself things will get better if you can just power through this week. But then the weeks turn into months, and you start to believe you'll never be able to stop, slow down, or catch your breath. You wouldn't even know how if you tried. And yet God has made you for a life of abundance, not a life of exhaustion. It's time to quit the unsustainable pace and receive God's gift of realistic rest.

Understand the paradigmatic shift that is happening in city ministry around the world - the shift from internal church concern to external community focus - and learn how to live out and lead others in this missional approach.

Each Christmas retired chemistry teacher Edwina Bopp makes her newest invention of miracle fudge as a fundraiser for missions in her small Southern town Fountain City. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the good lady cooks through the night and then gives the candy away to the fudge-hungry group of people who know this year's newest recipe is coming and line up in front of her store before she ever opens the door of her Main Street candy shop. People receive their portion of this year's fudge and place donations for missions in her jar on the counter, expecting miracles. Some miracles have...

Our goal as Christians is never simply to build our own tribe. Instead, we seek the peace and prosperity of the city or community in which we live through a gospel movement led by the Holy Spirit, a movement united by the gospel of Jesus Christ, a common mission to reach and serve others, and a commitment to be gracious and generous to those who disagree with you. In Serving a Movement, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the nature of the church’s mission and its relationship to the work of individual Christians in the world.

Abbie Finch loves her job. Unfortunately, her boss doesn’t love her. When she finds herself unexpectedly unemployed, Abbie realises that she’s let all her friendships fall by the wayside and has no one to turn to. Lost and lonely, Abbie decides to leave her comfort zone and join the neighbourhood café’s community table.

He lives and breathes expressive art. She has no time for his type of fluff. A struggling artist tries to get his recycled mixed-media art pieces displayed at a local art gallery now run by the owner’s daughter who has zero appreciation for his folk art. Sophie’s Sentiments… A freelance technical writer who writes obscure user guides that nobody reads and engineering manuals for little-used heavy machinery, Sophie Kowalski’s career is filled with black ink on white paper, legalese and technical stuff that few people care about—except for proofreaders and publishers. When her dad ...

Reluctantly, Chef Isaac finds himself working in the kitchen of his nemesis, Chef Piper Peyton. Why would he want to cook his way into her heart? To save a landmark family restaurant in Savannah, two chefs must put aside their twenty-year-old feud and cook together. Can they at least try to be kind toward each other without digging up old hurts? I can’t wait for you to read Piper’s story. Fans of my Savannah Sweethearts and Coastal Sweethearts Christian coastal romance series might recall that Piper is profoundly deaf. Here comes Chef Isaac, who does not speak American Sign Language at ...

Don't get mad, get even is advice Jamie Silver takes to heart when she discovers her boyfriend is sleeping with her best friend. What she doesn't bank on is her hateful professor placing her on academic probation and it's all her ex's fault. When his rival, Ryan Sommers, offers her a way to get back into her professor's good books as well as get back at her ex, what's a girl to do? Revenge is a dish best served hot.

He loves her… He loves her not… She’s waiting for him to decide. A young pastor of a growing church in a thriving community, Diego Flores has to come to grips with God’s will for his church and his personal life. Diego’s Disquiet… Single and unmarried, Pastor Diego Flores has been interested in his best friend’s younger sister since their college days, but his calling to grow Riverside Chapel takes up most of his time. When Heidi Wei becomes his strongest supporter in his church-planting ministry, how does Diego show his feelings for her without giving her the wrong idea? Does...

Hope for the City unites two academic and ministry interests and practices – transformational leadership and urban ministry. One of the clarion calls is for leadership development and training for laity and clergy serving in urban settings. Hope for the City provides a framework that addresses this call. My prayer is that this volume will serve as a resource for urban leaders who are seeking to develop transformational leaders and vital churches and organizations.