A holistic view of the multiple dimensions of black family life is offered in this resource. Practical steps for establishing, organizing and maintaining a thriving family life ministry in local congregations; models of churches engaged in ministry to black families and ideas for establishing critical links and partnerships with local and federal agencies. It also includes a non-profits and for-profit resources and the contribution of many experts in a variety of fields, bringing together years of professional experience, faith in Jesus Christ and a determination to tackle the problem facing our families.

The church must get “unstuck” from its current context in order to address the context of younger generations; otherwise, it will not be relevant to younger people and will die with the older generations. As an example, a letter from the Younger Generations to Baby Boomers: Dear Baby Boomers, Thank you for all you've done, but I don't want your church. I want you, our relationship, our engagement, but not your church structure and outdated assumptions. Signed, The Younger Generations Blank Slate guides leaders to envision, and actually design, the future church. The authors start by describing each generational group currently living in the US, helping readers understand the varied context of people in every age group. Next, they explore five innovative secular organizations, drawing sharp lessons for the church. The last section includes a seven-step process for ministry leaders to engage current and upcoming generations. This book, with questions for individual and group reflection in each chapter, is a powerful planning tool for ministry teams. “In a time when so many of us want a blueprint for how to do ministry in a rapidly changing world, McIntosh, Smothers, and Smothers hand us a pencil and tell us to draw it ourselves. God has entrusted us to be the designers and visionaries for a new way. Blank Slate is the guide that you and your team need to design a new future together.” –Jacob Armstrong, pastor, Providence Church, Mt. Juliet, TN

Resources for preachers steadily appear, called forth by the perennial need on the part of working pastors for helpful and inspirational materials backed by tested experience, reverent scholarship, and creative insights. The essays in this book are of that cast, and each essay is the work of an experienced practitioner-scholar in the field of preaching. The chapters focus on the preaching ministry of Gardner Calvin Taylor, in whose honor the volume was prepared. They are offered, with affection and esteem, by colleagues, students, and friends, fellow preachers all, whose own attempts to speak the unsearchable riches of Christ owe much to the life and labors of Gardner C. Taylor.Considered by many as the greatest living American preacher, Gardner C. Taylor has often reminded other preachers about the need for divine help in fulfilling the call: All in all, a summons to the ministry is no light calling. The work of communicating the gospel requires us to be more than we are-to exceed who we are. This volume will lead readers to the realization of the need for grace and a sufficiency only found in God (II Cor 3:5, KJV) as indicated by the title: Our Sufficiency Is of God.

Offers the "village of hope" as a framework where pastors and leaders offer the church as a place of support, guidance, and accountability for youth, parents, and other adults who are raising today's black youth. The first edition of Working with Black Youth, edited by Charles R. Foster and Grant S. Shockley, was published in 1989. Since that time the challenges for black youth have only intensified and grown in complexity. A burning question of Black churches continues to be: How can we effectively ministry with our youth? Their world is fast-paced, media-centered, techno-savvy, hip-hop, violent, and plagued with HIV/AIDS. The Church wants to guide youth toward a Christian identity with values for wise decision-making. Youth want their questions heard. They want to see hope modeled. They need leadership opportunities. While there are no quick, easy, or singular approaches to working with black youth, there can be a framework to offer vital and relevant youth ministry. This book proposes a comprehensive framework that has evolved over ten years of annual youth and family convocations of the Interdenominational Theological Center as well as youth and family forums and activities related to the Youth Hope-Builders Academy of ITC. The framework builds on the image of the congregation as a "village of hope" where pastors and leaders get real to offer the church as a place of support, guidance, and accountability for youth, parents, and other adults who are raising today's black youth. Contributors: Daniel O. Black, Philip Dunston, Maisha I. Handy, Michael T. McQueen, Tapiwa Mucherera, Elizabeth J. Walker, Herbert R. Marbury, Annette R. Marbury, and Anne E. Streaty Wimberly

“A Guide for Pastors, Leaders, and Congregations.” How to Grow a Congregation Spiritually and in Number through Preaching By: Dr. Clinton Craig Hoggard "A Guide for Pastors, Leaders, and Congregations” How to Grow a Congregation Spiritually and in Number through Preaching is just that: a study in how to grow congregations through preaching, addressing such challenges as: How to make prospective members of the church feel more welcomed/accepted; How to welcome back lapsed members of the congregation who may feel detached from the congregation or church leadership; How to speak to the congregation using their voice, with specific understanding to their needs and circumstance. By interviewing church goers, those who used to attend church, and church leadership at Vine Memorial Baptist Church, all of whom provided up close and personal information that speaks directly to the problems facing many congregations today, Hoggard was able to provide meaningful solutions to these issues and more.

Can the African American family thrive in the 21st century? According to the authors, It is through flexibility, resiliency, clarification of values and commitment to God that the black family can continue to survive, in spite of pressures bearing down upon it. The book contains guidelines for strengthening single parent, dual parent, and extended African American families. Each chapter contains case studies and Bible applications.

In the fifteen chapters that comprise this comprehensive look at the Black family today, each of the contributors deals with an aspect of family life that pertains especially to the Black community. The topics include the extended family, single female parenting, teenagers, male-female relationships, the role of the church, pastoral counseling, marital counseling, sexuality, money management, sexual abuse, drug abuse, and evangelizing the Black male.