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Christian Church Ministry Leadership Resources
Church and ministry leadership resources abound to equip, train, and provide ideas for today's church and ministry leaders to help them lead more effectively. Below you will find a variety of resources covering a spectrum of issues leaders might face or practices they could implement.
Clicking on many of the links below will take you to articles on other sites or to one of our affiliate bookstores. While seeking to choose sites and books that are doctrinally sound the Ministry Tools Resource Center makes no claim to total endorsement of any listing.
Links to other sites will open in a new page to allow you to keep the list available to look at additional leadership resources.
Click on a link of interest or scroll down for the entire list of resources.
Administration:
- Article: Church Leadership Skills
- Book: Business Management in the Local Church by David Pollock
- Book: Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry by Robert Welch
- Book: Church Administration, Effective Leadership for Ministry by Charles A. Tidwell
- Book: Church Administration Handbook, Third Edition: Revised and Updated by Bruce P. Powers
- Book: Church Operations Manual: A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Church Management by Stan Toler
- Book: Feeding and Leading: A Practical Handbook on Administration in Churches and Christian Organizations by Kenneth O. Gangel
- Book: Leadership Handbook of Management & Administration by James D. Berkley
- Book: Management Essentials for Christian Ministries by Michael Anthony
- Resource Kit: The Church Administration Kit: Resources for Daily Operations by Gene Grate
Boards, Committees, Meetings:
- Article: Church Board Meetings Reflecting What You Say You Want?
- Article: Healthy Church Boards
- Article: Ideas to Revitalize Church Board Meetings
- Article: Making the Most of Meetings
- Article: Responsibilities of the church board
- Article: Working Together
- Book: Leading Leaders: Empowering Church Boards for Ministry Excellence by Aubrey Malphurs
- Book: Meetings That Work: A Guide to Effective Elders' Meetings by Alexander Strauch
- Book: Nailing Down a Board: Serving Effectively on the Not-for-Profit Board by Charles Ryrie
Change:
- Article: First Things First When It Comes to Implementing Change
- Article: Four principles for leading the change resistant church
- Article: Not Everything Changes in a Changing World
- Article: The Church and Change
Church Health and Church Growth:
- Article: A Christ-like Church: God's Heart for the Church to Be Holy
- Article: A Christ-like Church: Holiness, Not Legalism
- Article: A Christ-like Church: Holiness, Not By Leaders Taking a Hands-Off Approach
- Article: Alignment with the Truth Required for Christ-likeness
- Article: Importance of Truth to Christ-likeness
- Article: Church Health: Doing Right Things, Doing Things Right
- Article: Disciplemaking: Whose Responsibility is It?
- Article: How Ready Are We?
- Article: Stay Out of the Church Growth Quicksand
- Article: Spiritual Principles of Church Health
- Book: Becoming a Healthy Church by Stephen A. Macchia
- Book: Effective Church Growth Strategies by Joseph Walls, Gene A. Getz
- Book: Growth by Accident, Death by Planning: How Not to Kill a Growing Congregation by Bob Whitesel
Communication:
- Article: 4 Keys for Improved Communications with Church Staff
- Article: Christ-like Communication
- Article: Church Leaders & Communication
- Article: Church Leaders & Listening
- Book: Communication and Conflict Management in Churches and Christian Organizations by Kenneth O. Gangel, Sam Canine
Conflict Management and Dealing with Criticism:
- Article: Basic Principles
- Article: Church Leadership Skill: Conflict Management
- Article: Conflict Diagnosis: Are you Hot or Cool?
- Article: Let All Be Harmonious - Really?
- Article: Let All Be Harmonious – What’s that mean?
- Article: Let All Be Harmonious - How's that going to happen?
- Article: Obstacles in Becoming More Purposeful
- Article: Responding constructively to church conflict
- Article: The Escalating Stages of Unresolved Church Conflict
- Article: The Pastor's Role in Managing Church Conflict
- Article: The Slippery Slope: Staying on Top of Conflict
- Article: Transforming Your Church: Cultivating a Culture of Peace™
- Article: Unity Prohibited by the Need for Control
- Article: When Resistance from Others Hinders Pursuit of God's Purposes
- Book: Caring Enough to Confront by David Augsburger
- Book: Firestorm: Preventing and Overcoming Church Conflicts by Ron Susek
- Book: Resolving Disputes in Christian Groups by Marlin E. Thomas
- Book: The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict by Ken Sande
- Book: Transforming Conflict In Your Church: A Practical Guide by Marlin E. Thomas
- Book: Well-Intentioned Dragons: Ministering to Problem People in the Church by Marshall Shelley
- Book: When People Throw Stones: A Leader's Guide to Fielding Personal Criticism by Blaine Allen
Core Values:
- Book: Ministry Nuts and Bolts by Aubrey Malphurs
- Book: Values-Driven Leadership: Discovering and Developing Your Core Values for Ministry by Aubrey Malphurs
Decision-Making:
- Article: 5 Decision-Making Questions Ministry Leaders Should Ask
- Article: Making the Tough Calls
- Article: Ministry Decision-Making
- Article: Role of Feelings or Instincts
Delegation:
- Article: 10 Reasons Leaders Don't Delegate
- Article: Interdependence Blocked by Leaders Doing Too Much
- Article: Leadership Skills: Delegation
Developing Leaders:
- Book: Developing the Leader Within You
by John Maxwell
- Book: Mentoring Leaders: Wisdom for Developing Character, Calling, and Competency by Carson Pue
- Book: The Leadership Baton: An Intentional Strategy by Rowland Forman, Jeff Jones, Bruce Miller
- Book: The Making of a Leader by J. Robert Clinton
- Site: Train Church Leaders
Developing the Next Generation of Leaders:
- Article: 3 Practical Ideas on How to Develop Students Into Leaders
- Book: Ministry by Teenagers: Developing Leaders from Within by Youth Specialties
- Resource: Leaders are Learners - Student Edition
by Doug Fields
Evaluation:
- Article: Constructive "What Ifs" for People in Ministry
- Article: Defining Effective Ministry
- Article: Evaluating the Ministry
- Article: Glorifying God in Ministry: Both Results & the Process Matter
- Article: How to do a year-end evaluation
- Article: Leader - Organization Fit (pdf)
- Article: Leadership Ministry: Critique
- Article: Leadership Skill: Assessment
- Article: Ministry Assessment
- Article: The Party's Over - Debriefing after an Event
- Article: Turning Performance Evaluation Into Contribution Analysis
Examples to Follow:
- Article: Great Leaders Of The Bible And How They Led
- Book: Excellence in Leadership: Reaching Goals with Prayer, Courage, and Determination by John White - from Nehemiah
- Book: Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard
- Book: The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur - 26 principles in the life of the Apostle Paul
- Book: The Good Book on Leadership: Case Studies From the Bible by John Borek, Danny Lovett, Elmer L. Towns
Facilities Management:
- Article: Estimate Space Needs for Parking, Worship, and Education (pdf)
- Book: Planning and Building Church Facilities by Gwenn McCormick
- Book: When Not to Build by Ray Bowman, Eddy Hall
- Download: Church Facilities Management - Word Document by Christianity Today International
- Download: Church Facilities Manager - Word Document by Christianity Today International
- Download: Getting the Most Out of Your Facilities - Word Document by Christianity Today International
Financial Management:
- Article: ABC's of Church Budgeting
- Article: Budget a Process of Body Life?
- Article: Budget Fit Your Church Purpose?
- Article: Choosing the right people
- Article: Financial accountability in church administration
- Article: Making Embezzlement Too Easy?
- Article: The Basics of Budgeting
- Book: Basic Accounting for Churches by Jack A. Henry
- Book: Basic Budgeting for Churches by Jack A. Henry
- Book: Business Management in the Local Church by David R. Pollock
- Book: Money Matters in Church: A Practical Guide for Leaders by Aubrey Malphurs, Steve Stroope
- Book: Zondervan Church and Nonprofit Tax and Financial Guide
General Leadership Helps:
- Article: Church Leadership Basics
- Article: Church Management: Combining the Spiritual and the Organizational
- Article: Leadership Defined
- Article: Ministry Leadership Resources Abound
- Book: Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels
- Book: Leadership 101, What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
- Book: LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture by Eddie Gibbs
- Book: Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders
- Book: Spiritual Leadership: Moving People On to God's Agenda by Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby
- Book: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
- Book: The Church Leader's Answer Book: A Reference Guide for Effective Ministry ed. by Phyllis TenElshof
- Book: Who Runs the Church? 4 Views on Church Government by Steven B. Cowan, Stanley N. Gundry, Paul E. Engle & Steven B. Cowan, eds.
Job / Ministry Descriptions:
- Book: The Big Book of Job Descriptions for Ministry
- Download: Church Job Descriptions - Word Document
Legalities:
- Article: 7 Building Blocks of the 21st Century Church
- Article: How to Protect Your Church from Lawsuits
- Book: Nonprofit Law for Religious Organizations: Essential Questions & Answers by Bruce R. Hopkins, David Middlebrook
- Book: Safe Kids: Policies & Procedures for Protecting Children in the Church by Blake Caldwell
Organization & Coordination:
- Article: Healthy Church Organization
- Article: Leadership Skill: Coordination
- Article: Leadership Skill: Organization
- Article: Organization Needed But Who Determines It?
- Article: Organization Needed But For What Purpose?
Personality of the Leader:
- Article: Hindrance of Personality in Pursuing God's Purposes
- Article: Leaders with Trust Issues
- Resource: eDISCprofile Biblical Style Report
- an online report to identify your personality style using the DISC personality system
- Book: Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: The Paradox of Personal Dysfunction by Gary L. McIntosh, Samuel D. Rima Sr.
Power for Leadership Ministry & the Church:
- Article: God's Power for the Church
- Article: Church Leaders & the Holy Spirit's Power
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of God's Word
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of the Gospel
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of the Grace
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of His Name
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of Prayer
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of the Resurrection
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of Using Spiritual Gifts
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of Using Spiritual Weapons
Prayer:
- Article: 8 Reasons to Pray for Your Ministry
- Article: Church Leaders & the Power of Prayer
- Article: Role of Prayer in Determining & Pursing God's Purposes for the Church
- Article: The Prayers Of A Leader
- Book: Leadership Prayers Richard Kriegbaum
- Book: Partners in Prayer John C. Maxwell
Purpose of the Church:
- Article: What is the Church's Purpose?
- Article: Actively Pursuing the Church's Purpose?
- Article: Not Leading Purposefully?
- Article: Benefits of Following the Church's Purpose
- Article: Do You Have a Written Church Purpose Statement?
- Article: How to Use & Be Driven by a Church Purpose Statement
- Article: Tips for Using & Being Driven by Your Church Purpose Statement
- Article: Obstacles in Becoming More Purposeful
- Article: Our Greatest Purpose in Life Made Clear by Jesus
- Article: Our Greatest Purpose in Life Must be Two-Fold
- Article: Practical Outworking of the Church's Purpose
- Article: Staffing & the Church's Purpose
- Article: God's Purpose for the Church - Help Breaking Through Barriers
- Book: Church Purpose Ministry Manual by Ministry Tools Resource Center
Qualities, Character, Attitude of the Leader:
- Article: 5 Signs Ministry Leadership Has Turned Abusive
- Article: 5 Signs Ministry Leadership Has Turned Christ-like
- Article: A Word to Church Leaders About Servanthood
- Article: All Authority is His - Leaders with Authority Issues
- Article: Be an Example
- Article: Be a Guide
- Article: Be a Servant
- Article: Be a Shepherd
- Article: Christ-likeness: Focus Must Be On Christ
- Article: Christ-likeness: Grace and Truth
- Article: Christ-likeness: Integrity
- Article: Church Leadership Qualities
- Article: HE is "The Authority" Not You
- Article: Hindrance of Laziness
- Article: Leaders with a Sense of Superiority
- Article: None of Us Have Arrived
- Article: Not Staying the Course?
- Article: Pastors & Ministry Leaders: Lead by Example
- Article: Servant Audit (pdf)
- Article: Unity Prohibited by Defensiveness
- Book: Being Leaders: The Nature of Authentic Christian Leadership by Aubrey Malphurs
- Book: Leading with Love by Alexander Strauch
- Book: Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader by Kevin G. Harney
- Book: Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership by Gary L. McIntosh, Samuel D. Rima
- Book: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell
- Book: The Difference Maker: Making Your Attitude Your Greatest Asset by John C. Maxwell
- Book: The Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges
- Group Study Book: Seven Traits of a Successful Leader by Jeffrey Arnold
Relationship Building:
- Article: Developing Your Discernment: How to read the people you lead
- Article: Failure to Show Value of All by Lack of Affirmation
- Article: Loving Unlovable People
- Book: Becoming a Person of Influence: How to Positively Impact the Lives of Others by John C. Maxwell
- Book: Relationships 101, What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
- Book: Winning With People by John C. Maxwell
Safety Issues:
- Article: Safety Measures in the Church: Trust God or Take Precautions?
- Book: The Missing Ministry: Safety, Risk Management, and Protecting Your Church
Staffing:
- Article: Church Leadership Skill: Staffing
- Article: Church Staffing Ministry: Overview
- Article: Ministry Needs Assessment
- Article: Ministry Profiling
- Article: Placement or Deployment of Church Volunteers into Ministry
- Article: Recruiting Volunteers for Christian Ministries
- Article: Staffing & the Big Picture
- Article: Staffing & Body Life
- Article: Staffing & the Church's Purpose
- Article: Staffing & Prayer
- Article: Staffing & Shepherding
- Article: Training of Church Volunteers for Ministry
- Book: Staffing Ministry Manual
- Resources: Variety of Book & Internet Resources
Strategic Planning:
- Article: 5 Basic Principles of an Effective Strategic Plan
- Article: Advanced Strategic Planning Method (pdf)
- Article: Deceptions about the Planning Process
- Article: Is Strategic Planning Biblical?
- Article: Leadership Skill: Assessment
- Article: Leadership Skill: Strategic Planning
- Book: Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry Leaders by Aubrey Malphurs
Team Building:
- Article: Church Leadership Skills: Team Building
- Article: Interdependence Blocked by Blind Trust
- Article: Ministry Teams as a Shepherding Venue
- Article: Qualities Needed in Team Members
- Article: Responsibilities of Team Leaders
- Book: Doing Church as a Team: The Miracle of Teamwork and How it Transforms Churches by Wayne Cordeiro
- Book: Leading From Your Strengths: Building Close-Knit Ministry Teams by John Trent Ph.D.
- Book: Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne
- Book: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John C. Maxwell
- Book: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell
- Book: The Power of Team Leadership: Achieving Success Through Shared Responsibility by George Barna
- Book: Transform Your Church with Ministry Teams by E. Stanley Ott
- Resource: TEAMS: Thinking Style Assessment
Time Management:
- Article: Hindrance of Time Constraints in Pursuing God's Purposes
- Books: Books on Managing Our Schedules Wisely (general time management, not from leadership perspective)
Vision Casting:
- Article: Developing a Vision
- Article: Goal Setting & Vision Casting
- Article: Not Visionary?
- Book: Developing a Vision for Ministry in the 21st Century by Aubrey Malphurs
- Book: Ministry Nuts and Bolts by Aubrey Malphurs
- Book: The Power of Vision by George Barna
- Book: Transitioning by Dan Southerland
- Book: Turning Vision Into Action by George Barna
- Book: Visioneering by Andy Stanley
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