Christian Resources

for the church:

Musings on Church Planting, by Phil A. Newton

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, by Mark Dever
This book is a pastor’s recommendation of how to assess the health of your church using nine crucial qualities that are neglected by many of today’s churches.

What is a Healthy Church, by Mark Dever
Author Mark Dever seeks to help believers recognize the key characteristics of a healthy church: expository preaching, biblical theology, and a right understanding of the gospel. Dever then calls us to develop those characteristics in our own churches.

Elders in Congregational Life, by Phil A. Newton
“A biblically functioning church requires intentional devotion to the New Testament model of the church. In this practical book, Phil Newton gives a definitive and biblical study of elder-based leadership.” - Amazon.com

The Deliberate Church, by Mark Dever
“Here is one of the most faithful and insightful pastors of our time, addressing the most crucial issues of church life. Mark Dever refuses to separate theology and congregational life, combining pastoral insight with clear biblical teaching. This book is a powerful antidote to the merely pragmatic approaches of our day—and a refutation to those who argue that theology just isn’t practical.” - R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

for parents:

Shepherding a Child’s Heart, by Ted Tripp.
Tripp helps parents address not only behavioral issues, but matters of the heart which ultimately drive behavior.

Family Driven Faith, by Voddie Baucham.
Subtitled “Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God”, this book addresses the challenges of Christian parenting in a day when teenagers are abandoning Christianity in droves, Baucham stresses the importance of parents — especially fathers — taking responsibility for the spiritual development and welfare of their kids. Spiritual training for children is not ultimately the church’s job — it’s the parents’ job, and Baucham provides insight into how parents can raise their children to love and fear God in a post-Christian age.

What the Bible Teaches about Christian Parenting, by Roger Ellsworth.
Insights from Scripture about how parents can raise Godly children.

Jim Elliff has resources for parents and teachers

Joe Thorn’s interview with Tom Ascol on family worship

for children:

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
This is a well-written, beautifully-illustrated Bible that shows how the entire Bible points to Jesus Christ.

The Big Picture Story Bible, by David Helm.
If you’re looking for a resource for your kids that provides an overview of the entire Bible, this is it. It addresses the themes of creation, fall and redemption in a clear, simple way.

Truth and Grace Memory Book, by Tom Ascol.
In this three-volume set, Ascol has Bible verses and catechism questions categorized for use by age, with a place where you can mark off when the material was memorized.

Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers, by Joey Allen.
There are four books in this series: The Trinity, The Mission, The Gospel and The Scripture. The books do an outstanding job of teaching fundamental biblical concepts and explaining them in a simple way — perfect for kids (and probably appropriate for many adults, too). The colorful illustrations are well done and attractive. Each book is about 32 pages long.

Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress, by Oliver Hunkin.
A delightful book that’s a children’s version of the John Bunyan classic.

from other ministries:

9marks.org’s mission is to cultivate and encourage churches characterized by nine distinct marks.

Answers in Genesis - Creation, Evolution, Christian Apologetics; Mega site on scientific evidence in support of the Genesis creation account and a short chronology. [www.answersingenesis.org]

Desiring God has God-centered resources from the ministry of John Piper.

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., serves as the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary-the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world.

Roger Ellsworth - After coming to the knowledge of Christ at an early age, Roger Ellsworth began preaching at age 11 and pastoring at age 16. He has served as pastor of churches in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri. He is currently serving as Pastor of Covenant of Grace Baptist Church, Salem, Illinois.