Resources for Leaders
We exist to encourage, train and send people into their neighborhoods and workplaces to reveal Jesus’ Kingdom. In addition to equipping microchurch leaders with monthly gatherings and individual coaching sessions, we have curated the following, regularly updated list of resources to provide leaders with spiritual food, encouragement and practical tools.
+ Quick Reads & Listens
In this section, you will find condensed versions of the resources offered on this page in the form of short videos, podcasts and articles:
Compelled: Speaking and Living the Gospel - Tim Mackie (The Bible Project)]
It all begins here. However you see the Gospel, it should be GOOD NEWS! Yet, many of us grew up learning a Gospel that was incomplete--even wrong. This video gives a brief explanation of what the Gospel is all about!
The Starfish and the Church Podcast. The Starfish and the Church podcast is a mix of interviews and storytelling where hosts Rob Wegner and Lance Ford explore a paradigm shift away from modern, hierarchical structures of leadership to a radical Jesus-centered, starfish approach. Like the podcast, check out more at thestarfishandthespirit.com
The Gospel Comes with a Housekey. A video of Rosaria Butterfield, author of the book by the same title.
Remarkable: The Diversely United, Blood-Bought Church of Jesus Christ. Learn the theology and the history of Peoples Church.
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Churches are filled with leaders who have advanced ministry skills and a high level of zeal and commitment, yet, they live at the level of an emotional toddler! This book is a path toward emotional healing and maturity.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. A sermon by John Mark Comer that provides an overview of the book by the same name (sermon begins at 0:41:00).
The Art of Neighboring. A sermon from the Dave Runyon, the book's author.
A Meal with Jesus. An excellent article that summarizes much of the book by Tim Chester.
+ Prayer
Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." It all begins and ends with prayer. Below are tools we've found to be helpful in making prayer a daily rhythm.
12 Key Prayer Points for Disciple Making Movements Shodankeh Johnson is part of the Core Team of New Generations. He is responsible for the mobilization of intercessors across all regions and the training of Disciple Making Movement (DMM) leaders in the ‘pioneer places’ where the gospel has never been or has never flourished.
Bless Every Home This is an app that provides free tools to become a Light for Christ in your neighborhood. Join an ever-growing community of Christ followers who are devoted to being a Light in their neighborhoods through praying for, caring for, sharing the gospel with, and discipling their neighbors.
Bless Prayer Guide Using the B.L.E.S.S. acronym, this guide offers three different tools/concepts to pray and care for those in our lives who need Jesus.
+ Biblical Literacy
BibleProject: Produced and written by Tim Mackie, this is a great place to start for someone who wants an overview of how the Bible fits together, why it was written, and what to expect.
The Bema Podcast: Hosted by Marty Solomon & Brent Billings, the BEMA Podcast is a walk-through of the context of the Bible and the Text itself, as well as surrounding history. They deconstruct common readings of the Bible and attempt to reconstruct them through the lens of historical context.
+ Discovery Bible Engagement
Dallas Willard defines a disciple of Jesus as someone who knows how to hear Jesus’ voice and easily obeys what He is asking them to do. The primary way to do this is by reading the Bible and asking, 1) What does this say about God/Jesus? 2) What does this say about me/us? 3) Based on these truths, what is one thing Jesus is asking me to do this coming week? 4) Who is someone you can care for in response to today's truths? (What will you do and when will you do it?)
Discovery Bible Engagement Template and Tips
Gospel of Mark Guides (Coming Soon)
KC Underground Resources for Discovery Bible Engagement Created by KC Underground. This website provides sets of scriptures for DBE and coaching tips for facilitators.
+ Spiritual Formation
Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace by John Mark Comer. This book combines cultural analysis with spiritual formation by identifying the role lies play in our spiritual deformation. Comer then lays out a strategic plan to overcome them.
No Longer I: The Power Of The Gospel Like You Have Never Heard It Before by Jacob Hotchkiss. Does the Gospel work? Does it deliver what it promises--freedom from addictions, bondage to anger, freedom from anger. In spite of scriptures stating that we are "new creations...more than conquerors...dead to sin...slaves to righteousness"--most followers of Jesus see very little evidence to suggest this is true in this life. Jacob Hotchkiss offers a clear path, based in scripture, to freedom and purity. Intead of the two options, "try harder (legalism)" or "lighten up (cheap grace)"--Hotchkiss offers a better path--trust and believe in Christ's finished work in our lives--even when we see evidence to the contrary.
Practicing the Way: Practicing the Way is a curriculum for Christlikeness. After years of shaping communal discipleship materials for Bridgetown Church, John Mark Comer and his team are launching a new initiative to make similar resources, free and available to all. Practicing the Way is a set of practices, courses, podcasts and more that walk churches and small groups into transformative experiences for formation into the image of Jesus.
[Emotionally Healthy Discipleship][4]: Emotionally Healthy Discipleship is a Christian ministry birthed out of the realization that key areas were missing in the church’s spiritual formation/discipleship. Over a 22-year period, these missing elements were identified and applied deeply at New Life Fellowship Church and then in churches around the world. Click HERE to watch a 9 minute introduction by Pete on Emotionally Healthy Discipleship.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer. In our current cultural moment, hurry and its cousin, distraction, are the greatest enemies to becoming like Jesus. As a result, the first step to becoming a disciple of Jesus is to take one’s foot off the gas and step on the brake. This requires trimming some of the nonessential activities that crowd our days. In an age of smartphones, Netflix, X-box and all the activities that are considered necessary, this is not easy. For some, it may require questioning one’s 50-plus hour work week. Entering the Kingdom of Jesus is to adopt his lifestyle with its pace and daily rhythms. To walk with Jesus is just that—walking, not running.
+ Practices & Habits
Practicing Daily - In order to experience the daily presence of God in our lives, we must make room for Him. We do this through spiritual practices -- daily rhythms and disciplines that invite God to work in our lives and the lives of others. To encourage one another in this, we use materials found at Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer. This is a simple tool in which we focus on one of nine practices for a month at a time. They include Sabbath, prayer, fasting, solitude, scripture, community, simplicity, generosity and hospitality.
+ Neighboring
The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield. What did God use to draw a radical, committed unbeliever to himself? Did God take her to an evangelistic rally? Or, since she had her doctorate in literature, did he use something in print? No, God used an invitation to dinner in a modest home, from a humble couple who lived out the gospel daily, simply, and authentically.
The Art of Neighboring: Building Genuine Relationships Right Outside your Door by Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon. This unique and inspiring book asks the question: What is the most loving thing I can do for the people who live on my street or in my apartment building? Through compelling true stories of lives impacted, the authors show readers how to create genuine friendships with the people who live in closest proximity to them. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book perfect for small groups or individual study.
Bless Every Home: This is an app that provides free tools to become a Light for Christ in your neighborhood. Join an ever-growing community of Christ followers who are devoted to being a Light in their neighborhoods through praying for, caring for, sharing the gospel with, and discipling their neighbors.
A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table by Tim Chester. Moving from biblical times to the modern world, Chester applies biblical truth to challenge our contemporary understandings of hospitality. He urges sacrificial giving and loving around the table, helping readers consider how meals can be about serving others and sharing the grace of Christ.
+ Biblical Justice
The Racially Disconnected Church a video series featuring Chris Beard, Senior Pastor of Peoples Church Cincinnati. These are short episodes that provide the why and the how of becoming a church that looks like heaven. Episodes: 1) It Begins With Theology 2) Christian Nationalism 3) The Whole Church 4) Black Lives Do Matter 5) Open The Wounds 6) Heaven on Earth 7) Justice is Endemic to the Gospel.
Remarkable: The Diversely United, Blood-Bought Church of Jesus Christ by Pastor Chris Beard. This tells the story of Peoples Church in Cincinnati, Ohio from it’s days as a church made up of mostly white members who drove from the suburbs to a church building that was in a mostly black neighborhood to its becoming one of the most diverse churches in the nation.
One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love by John Perkins. The racial reconciliation of our churches and nation won't be done with big campaigns or through mass media. It will come one loving, sacrificial relationship at a time. The gospel and all that it encompasses has always traveled best relationally. We have much to learn from each other and each have unique poverties that can only be filled by one another. The way forward is to become "wounded healers" who bandage each other up as we discover what the family of God really looks like. Real relationships, sacrificial love between actual people, is the way forward. Nothing less will do.
+ Training for Doing What We Do
Invited: Living, Thinking and Doing What Jesus Did The word disciple isn't just a noun, it's a verb. One of the last things He told His followers to do was to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--teaching them to do everything Jesus told them to do!" (Matthew 28:18-20). In Jesus' Kingdom, we are Invited to be more than spiritual adults, we are called to be spiritual parents! What we have received, we are to freely give to others! (Matthew 10:5-8)
+ What We Believe
We have chosen to not post a doctrinal statement on our website. This is not due to a lack of commitment and convictions, but due to our desire to invite conversation. That being said, our core beliefs, the ones we hold tightly to, can be summed up in the Apostle's Creed.
There is no singular author by which this creed can be traced, rather it is the work of the Western Church. Though, it seems to have grown out of Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16. Its origin is as a baptismal confession, those laying down their life to join Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:4) confess this as their new reality and guiding story.
Every time the Creed is spoken, we affirm our allegiance to the Trinitarian God and align ourselves with the Church that has come before us–
*I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the global Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.