From the one-room chapel in a prairie town to the grandiose cathedral on a city street, churches stand at the heart of the Minnesota landscape. A photographer and an award-winning writer come together to honor these icons and share their stories.

In Churches of Minnesota, Alan Lathrop profiles more than one hundred religious buildings in a valuable compendium made even richer by the photography of Bob Firth. More than 140 black-and-white and full-color images present a comprehensive view of the architectural styles that make up Minnesota's religious and cultural heritage. Lathrop embarked on a journey to explore the architectural histories of churches in every corner of Minnesota, and what he found was a panorama of designs steeped in the traditions of their communities. From the board and batten siding on the tiny St. Mark's Episcopal Chapel in Annandale to the grand elegance of St. Paul's cathedral, Lathrop discusses a variety of architectural styles in both urban and rural settings across the state. He reveals the intrinsic character of these buildings and uncovers the enchanting stories behind the lives of those connected to each church - the architects, the leaders, the parishioners - and the history that brought them to where they are today.

Wise and enduring spiritual guidelines for everyday living –– as relevant today as when The Rule was originally conceived by St. Benedict in fifth century Rome.

People are leaving the church J.D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that’s exactly how he wants it to be. When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn’t how many people you can gather. It’s about training up disciples and then sending them out. The true measure of success for a church should be its sending capacity, not its seating capacity. But there is a cost to this. To see ministry multiply, we must release the seeds God has placed in our hands. And to do that, we must ask ourselves whether we are concerned more with building our kingdom or God’s. In Gaining By Losing, J.D. Greear unpacks ten plumb lines that you can use to reorient your church’s priorities around God’s mission to reach a lost world. The good news is that you don’t need to choose between gathering or sending. Effective churches can, and must, do both.

For the traveler seeking to find the spirit--however he or she chooses to define that term--Minnesota is blessed with a large number of sacred sites, many of which are unique. This book profiles approximately 350 sites, including retreat centers, churches, temples, cemeteries, and effigy mounds. Learn about each site's history, uniqueness, aesthetic beauty, and awe. Specific location and contact information is also included.

Stearns County, Minnesota, contains a generous sprinkling of small communities with handsome Catholic churces. Most of these towns were formed as, and still are, predominately Catholic settlements. No county in Minnesota, or even in the United States, compares in density of Catholic hamlets to Stearns County. With a population approximately two-thirds Catholic, this county contains fifty Catholic churches, the majority of which were built between 1871 and 1930. This is the story of those churches and the people and times that built them.