» 2005 » September

I’ve sifted through the lists that have been coming in via comments on the blog and email. Here’s the list of the top 10 (ok 11) books/resources recommended for church planters in alphabetical order.

I’ve avoided listing them in order of priority as the differences between them have more to do with ministry values and models [...]

This just came in from Ian Hamilton of CRM UK. Experienced church planter and coach of church planters in Australia, UK and Europe. That means it should be a pretty good list. Here we go…

1. Stuart Murray: Church Planting: Laying Foundations
2. Aubrey Malphurs: Planting Growing Churches for the 21st [...]

Manfred Rusner is an experienced church planter (Vienna) and now heads up church planting for the Evangeliska Frikyrkan in Sweden. Here’s his list in order of priority:
Murray, Stuart: Church Planting. Laying FoundationsSjogren, Steve & Lewin, Rob: Community of KindnessMoore, Ralph: Starting A New ChurchMalphurs, Aubrey: Church Planting in the 21 CenturyVineyard (Nicholson, Steve): Coaching church [...]

Mark Kenzie is in the first year of planting. How come he’s got time to read! I guess Cheryl’s doing all the work.

Top 10 for the Kenzie’s at H2O - Hope 2 Offer:
Planting Growing Churches For The 21st Century, Aubrey Malphurs, Baker Books, 2000.The Shaping Of Things To Come, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, Hendrickson [...]

This just came in from Brad Buchanan. He’s five years into his church plant and doing well.

Brad’s best books and resources:
Church Planter’s Tool Kit – helpful practical resourceSpiritual Leadership – J. Oswald Sanders – helping get leadership in perspectiveUnder the Unpredictable Plant – Eugene Peterson – Understanding the nature of pastoral ministryThe Shaping of [...]

We’re looking for the best books and resources around for church planters. Here’s the original post with plenty of suggestions.

A couple of lists have come in via email. Here they are.

From Barry, a church planter in Queensland:

Hi Steve,
How are you? Hope all is well. We have another 4 baptisms this Sunday. That will be 44 [...]

The great Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of something that was not known before.
They happen when someone takes radically something that was already there.

Helmut Richard Niebuhr (1894-1962)
Source

While I was in Europe John Kaiser was in Australia for a church planting conference run by the Careforce College of Ministry. Jim Hughes who runs the college sent through his thoughts on some of the most significant lessons.

Here they are:
Church planting is essentially relationship. It is Jesus who is building His church. Relationship [...]

Appreciating the input into a list of resources for church planting. One of the best lists is to be found here.

If you’re a church planter read whatever you can. Work out your strategy. Then embrace the chaos of ministry in the real world with only one certainty… God is faithful.

Any more suggestions on resources?

Just had a request from a mate putting together a reading list for a course on church planting.

Before I answer him I’d love to hear what others think. What are the best resources out there for church planters? Why not submit them in order of priority with a short reason why.

Happy to hear from everyone. [...]