Synopses & Reviews
If you are tired of being involved in a small group ministry that does not excite, fails to get people plugged in and takes a lot of energy to sustain but shows little results, then Activate is for you. The strategies in Activate will help you remove many of the barriers and answer the questions in the way of life-changing small groups at your church, such as:
How do I get people excited about small groups?
How do I get 100% of my church involved in small groups?
How do I raise up and train enough small group leaders?
How long should a small group last?
How big should a small group be?
What does a successful small group structure look like?
How do I get small groups involved in ministry and evangelism?
With Activate, you will discover, and learn to implement, proven, strategic principles and strategies that will make small groups at your church successful!
Review
Nelson Searcy is the ultimate renegade pastor. That means that he has a great passion to lead at his highest levelto be different when thats called for, and he never settles for average. He is the perfect person to lead you out of the rut of mediocrity so that you can lead to your highest level. Read this book and abandon average!
- Jimmy Britt, Lead Pastor, Rocky River Church, Concord, North Carolina
Wanting to be more than just average or mediocre? Then embed into your life the Seven Commitments of a Renagade Pastor that Nelson shares in this book. It could change your life.
- Bill Easum, President and Senior Consultant with 21st Century Strategies
Nelson Searcy more than wrote the book on how to do church. He has taken the principles of how-to-do” from Scripture and made it amazingly doable for the pastor who wants church to be better. Searcy is amazing. He leads. He trains. He equips. He writes. And when he does, some of the most profound principles of leading the greatest enterprise on earth come within reach of you the pastor.
- Dick Hardy, Founder and President, The Hardy Group www.thehardygroup.org, Author of Right Turns and 27 Tough Questions Pastors Ask
Review
Nelson Searcy loves ministers. I can say this because Ive worked with him now for over two decades. This book is an expression of Nelsons heart and passion to help every minister experience a spiritually healthy lifestyle. In my work with thousands of ministers in churches large and small, I can say with assurance that each one would benefit from this book.
- Milton A. Hollifield, Jr., Executive Director, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina
The Renegade Pastor shows church leaders how to move their life and ministry from average to awesome! Most of us start out with a dream of doing great things for God. The challenges we face often cause this dream to leak out. In this book Nelson Searcy will inspire church leaders to dream again and to dream bigger than ever. It provides valuable advice and tools for overcoming mediocrity and truly become a renegade pastor.
- Steve Reynolds, Lead pastor, Capital Baptist Church, Annandale, Virginia Author of Bod4God and Get Off the Couch
Seminary is an important part of a pastors preparation for ministry, but there are key areas of pastoral life that seminary doesnt address. The Renegade Pastor picks up the loose ends by delving into critical life management issues that every pastor faces. Over the years, I have come to consider Nelson Searcy a friend. I know the man and his work, and I trust both the heart and foundational principles that anchor everything he writes. This book is no exception. If you want to take a step forward in terms of the excellence you bring to your life and ministry, I encourage you to spend some time learning what it means to become a renegade pastor.
- Dr. Elmer Towns, Co-founder and Vice President, Liberty University Dean, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
Review
I always enjoy reading anything Nelson Searcy writes. He inspires growth in the local church and in church leaders as well.
The Renegade Pastor, will help you discover ideas that will sharpen you as a leader and help you fulfill the call of God in your life. Nelson defines T
he Renegade Pastor as one who is passionately abandoned to the plans of God and experiences fulfillment in life and ministry.” Every pastor needs a deeper, more personal understanding of both of these areas.
- Philip Wagner, Pastor, Oasis Church, Los Angeles, PhilipWagner.com
There is an epidemic of defection and defeat among pastors. The Renegade Pastor is a book that can help turn the tide. This book is chock-full of practical wisdom that will help pastors live well” and lead well.” Nelson doesnt write from theory but from years of experience as a local church pastor. What I love about this book is that Nelson doesnt just focus on the what,” he masterfully shows me how.” This book is a must-read for pastors.
- Lance Witt, Pastor and Founder, Replenish Ministries, replenish.net
If you want to be average dont read or apply the principles found in this book. On the other hand, if you want to move past "stuck," and experience momentum in your personal life, relationships and ministry, this book is for you! The principles found here have changed my life and the lives of countless others.
- Andy Wood, Lead Pastor, South Bay Church, Silicon Valley, California
Synopsis
Debunk the myths about small groups and find out the truth! Church leaders can implement a life-changing small-group ministry that gets the maximum number of people involved and solves many of the important problems facing churches of all sizes.
Synopsis
Drawing from their startling success at The Journey Church, the authors provide proven strategies and offer 12 unconventional principles for success.
Synopsis
Church leaders want to know how to make small groups work for their church communities, yet a quick look around shows that while small groups are all the rage, much of the time they create more problems than they solve. Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas, founding pastors of The Journey Church in the heart of New York City, suggest that this failure is due to widely held beliefs about small groups that just aren’t true—and they aim to debunk the myths and set the record straight! Drawing from the startling success of small groups at The Journey Church (which has had over 100-percent participation in small groups for more than 4 years) Searcy and Thomas show how church leaders can implement a life-changing small-group ministry that gets the maximum number of people involved and solves many of the important (yet irritating) problems facing churches of all sizes.
Synopsis
Creating an environment that both embraces our newcomers and excites them enough to return does not happen by chance. We must be prepared to be effective stewards of those God brings us. Why should the Church not be the epitome of service at its best, as modeled by the greatest server of all time? Built on The Journey Church of the City's Assimilation Seminar, Fusion embodies a step by step, biblically grounded, tested and proven plan for establishing a relationship with necomers that ultimately prompts them to become fully developing members of our congregations. This innovative, practical guide is full of how to information, testimonials from the recently assimilated and from participating church leaders, examples of the assimilation materials used and check points to make sure the reader is on track. Engaging, informative and immediately applicable, here is help for setting newcomers on the path toward true life transformation and spiritual maturity.
Synopsis
Next Sunday God will prompt hundreds of thousands of people in the United States, and millions around the world, to visit a church for the first time. The Sunday after that, He will do it again. God is consistently blessing His Church with regular guests. Are we doing all we can to accept and honor His blessing? Built on Nelson Searcy’s Assimilation Seminar, Fusion offers you a step-by-step, biblically-grounded, tested and proven plan for establishing a relationship with newcomers that starts with the first seven minutes of their visit and ultimately prompts them to become fully developing members of your congregation. This innovative, practical guide is full of how-to information, testimonials from newcomers-turned- members and from participating church leaders, examples of assimilation materials and check points to make sure you stay on track. Here is help for setting newcomers on the path toward true life transformation and spiritual maturity.
Synopsis
Starting a church from scratch? Start here! This is no typical church planting or church growth book. The authors, both pastors at The Journey Church of the City in Manhattan, offer specific strategies for beginning a church from scratch, based on their own experiences in launching a church with no members, no money and no staff and watched membership skyrocket to more than a thousand people in three years! They offer clear, practical how to strategies for quickly raising funds, creating a team, planning services, effective evangelism and rapidly developing a growing membership. Specific advice is included for reaching that often difficult to target demographic, the 20 to 40 year old. You will also get an insiders look at The Journey Church of the City as a model for church planting. The helpful strategies here will help you remove many of the barriers, questions and doubts encountered in starting a church from scratch. If these principles work in NYC, they will work for you!
Synopsis
Thinking about starting a church but feel like everything is stacked against you? Let authors Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas, both pastors at The Journey Church of the City, offer you specific strategies for beginning a church—from scratch. As true practitioners, they launched a New York City church with no members, no money and no staff, and then watched membership skyrocket to more than a thousand people in three years! How did they do it? You’ll discover clear, proven strategies for planning services, building a team, raising funds, doing evangelism and rapidly developing a growing membership. Specific advice is included for reaching that often difficult-to-target demographic, the 20- to 40-year-old. You’ll also get an insider’s look at The Journey Church of the City as a model for church planting. Let this be your toolkit to begin building a healthy, growing church—from scratch!
Synopsis
Break out of the trap of average and pursue Gods best for your ministry. The average church in America is declining by 9% every year, behind on budget and unable to move forward with the kingdom plans God has in store. The average pastor is stressed out and struggling to maintain healthy relationships and life balance. But while the cycle of average is strong, there is a way to overcome its pull and step into a life of impact and excellence. Drawing from Nelson Searcys decades of ministry experience,
The Renegade Pastor is a relevant, step-by-step resource for church leaders who are ready to break out of the trap of average and step up in surrender to the pursuit of Gods best for his or her life and work.
Addresses issues of personal and professional growth including:
Managing Stress
Controlling Emotions
Dealing with Criticism
Setting Godly Goals
Planning with Purpose
Establishing Healthy Friendships
Developing Strong Church Systems
Personally Honoring the Sabbath
Becoming a Better Spouse and Parent
Synopsis
Why are you in ministry? Probably because you felt called to accomplish great things for God. You had a vision to reach hurting people and introduce them to renewed life. You wanted to grow a healthy church that would influence your community and draw people in to learn the truth of the gospel. But if you are like the majority of pastors, your years of ministry have decreased your passion and increased your frustration. In the midst of life's chaos and the pressures of leading chuch week after week, average may have become your new standard--but you've been called to so much more.
Join Nelson Searcy, pastor of The Journey Church, on a mission to abandon average and reclaim a life of impact and excellence. The days of mediocrity are over. There is a new level of living calling your name. God wants to put you back on the the path toward the vision He put in your heart long ago. The next move is yours. Are you ready to rebel against average? Are you ready to go renegade?
About the Author
NELSON SEARCY and his wife Kelley founded The Journey Church of the City in New York in 2002. In a few short years, it has become a dynamic force that brings God’s message to over a thousand 20- and 30-somethings each week. Nelson trains church planters through his own seminars as well as through Saddleback Church training events. He is the publisher of the online resource Evangelism Online and prior to starting The Journey, he was the founding director of the Purpose Driven Community at Saddleback Church. Nelson is the coauthor with Kerrick Thomas of Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch.
KERRICK THOMAS is a teaching pastor at The Journey Church and regularly co-leads training events with Nelson Searcy. Prior to his move to New York to plant The Journey, he received a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.