Millions of people in North America choose not to become part of a congregation. The majority of those persons self-identify as Christian; what they have given up on is not Christ but the church as an institution. The majority of church members feel uncomfortable talking about their faith and rarely if ever invite people to worship or other church activities. "Beyond the Church Door" provides practical, tested strategies for reaching out to people outside the church in comfortable, nonmanipulative ways. Readers will learn:
- Why it is important to reach out to people who do not belong to any congregation. (Chapter One)
- How to understand people outside the church, respecting the faith they may already have and recognizing the hurt they may have experienced in a faith community. (Chapter Two)
- How to share in acts of servant evangelism that bring people into positive connection with the church, relying more on actions than on words. (Chapters Three, Four, Five)
- How to comfortably invite family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others to church activities. (Chapter Six)
- How to comfortably talk about their faith with people both inside and outside the congregation. (Chapter Seven)
- How to practice the kind of biblical hospitality that will result in guests becoming members and growing in discipleship. (Chapter Eight)
- How to expand their circles of friendship in ways that include persons they may previously have avoided. (Chapter Nine)

The book includes a guide for class and group study.

Within a year of officially joining a congregation, 62% of new members are less active in the church than at the time they joined. Twenty-five percent simply stop coming within the first year of official membership. Evangelism and outreach are important, and growing churches have learned how to practice warm hospitality to new people. But new members don't continue involvement unless they are thoroughly assimilated.

In this new book, you'll learn that the level of hospitality in many congregations just doesn't go deeply enough to connect with people at a level that will keep them coming--and the level of hospitality isn't wide enough to help newer members really feel that the are as much a part of the community of faith as longer-term members.

This book includes guidance on reaching new people, involving them in the initial weeks and months, and truly assimilating them into the life of the church. The book talks frankly about the many ways people can get hurt in the life of the church and offers suggestions for making the church a safer place. The authors also give guidance on how to respond when people have been hurt.

The book includes a study guide and is excellent for individual, small group, or congregation-wide study. This book can make your church a warmer, more hospitable place for new members and long-time members.

Now in its 4th edition-revised and expanded! Pastor Fred Bernhard, convinced that hospitality is an essential part of the Gospel, developed a comprehensive model of a welcoming congregation which has had a dramatic impact. his congregation, located in rural Ohio, had a 19% increase in worship attendance and a 36% increase in Sunday school attendance in the first three months using this model-and the growth has continued! This book gives you step-by-step help for transforming the hospitality of your congregation. A guide for group study is included. Recommended in Net Results.

Greeters and ushers are the "first contact" with the congregation for many who visit. The number one question visitors want answered is: "Is this a friendly congregation?" This booklet offers clear training for greeters and ushers, with an emphasis on hospitality. Giving copies to all greeters and ushers in your church can help widen your church's welcome.

Media exposure and publicity can play a valuable role not only in a church's evangelistic efforts but also in its outreach ministries. This practical kit, which comes with permission to photocopy, shares how the Internet, newspapers, radio, television, direct mail, the yellow pages, the telephone, the appearance of the church, and the attitudes of people can all contribute to the church as a place of hospitality.

Looks at worship through the lens of hospitality. This book is an effort to move beyond the tension among traditional, contemporary, and blended worship to create worship which speaks to the deepest needs of people and builds up the church as the body of Christ. A guide for individual or group study is included.

This book deals directly with the tough questions raised by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and reveals that the answer to fear is not turning inward but turning outward. Learning to recognize the presence of Christ in others can have a liberating impact on all that we do and can enable us to move past the fears which threaten to immobilize us. This book offers practical help in cultivating hospitality as a part of the spiritual life not only in the church but also in the home, at work, and in the community. Includes discussion questions for classes and small groups. Another Net Results recommended book.

The Invite a Friend Sunday Kit is a practical guide to having an effective Invite a Friend Sunday in your church! Joan was for many years the executive director of New Life Ministries and has had extensive experience taking congregations through the Invite a Friend Sunday process. This can be a fabulous outreach opportunity for your church. The kit includes five copies of the new booklet A Guide to an Effective Invite a Friend Sunday. You’ll find practical guidance on:

• Establishing a realistic timeline for the event.
• The role that each person on the leadership team should play.
• How to engage the congregation in participation.
• Developing effective publicity materials.
• Creating the right worship service and brunch or luncheon for the Sunday.
• Following up so that visitors are drawn into full participation.

So the New Year’s resolution to lose weight and hit the gym is now just a fading memory to good intentions. How about tackling a new diet that eliminates excess e-mail pounds and a training program that can turn you into the Schwarzenneger of cyberspace!

Martin A. Siegel, executive associate dean of the School of Informatics at Indiana University, and Steven E. Clapp of Fort Wayne, Indiana, have a recipe to help computer users keep their in-boxes toned and empower them to use e-mail to achieve personal and professional goals. The E-Mail Diet Book is a slim 121-page book that gives weighty and practical tips.

According to the authors, a recent survey estimates that 55 billion e-mail messages will be sent daily in 2007.

"The book began over a Sunday brunch conversation with Steve and his wife," recalls Siegel. "We realized that we were overwhelmed, as were many of our friends were, with the sheer volume of e-mail we deal with in our daily lives. We came to the conclusion we would develop some strategies that would benefit ourselves and others."

Among the healthy servings of advice Clapp and Siegel offer in their book are ways to help users avoid becoming victims of spamming, identity theft and discourteous messages; explore ways to use e-mail to streamline work and improve productivity; discuss approaches to use e-mail to better connect users with their families and the world at large; and the future of e-mail as it becomes more a part of global communications.

Steve Clapp says, "Marty and I have been close friends since we were roommates at the University of Illinois, and Marty has always been on the cutting edge where technology is concerned. We both learned a great deal researching how people use e-mail and determining the best and the worst practices with this powerful medium."

The authors use comparisons, strategies, and the successes and failures of nutritional dieting to illustrate to readers how they can achieve and maintain a healthy balance in the e-mails they send and receive. The book contains an insert card summarizing core strategies that can be placed by your computer as a reminder.

"Our intention was to have fun using the diet analogy but at the same time make it clear we are serious about the importance of the strategies we suggest," says Siegel, an expert in human-computer interaction design.

Oh – and about that chocolate information. Many of the book’s nine chapters close with a dessert recipe using chocolate.

This book has its own website if you’d like further information or chocolate recipes: EMailDietBook.com.

Discounts are available for quantities of fifty or more. Call us for details (1-800-774-3360) or e-mail us at info@churchstuff.com

Larry Hayes was for a quarter century the editorial page editor and columnist for The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana. During that time, he won more than 50 state and national awards. In 1986 he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. While a self-professed liberal, Hayes had the ability to make friends and enlist supporters from all sides of the political and social spectrum.

Hayes never took the role of an impartial journalist, sitting on the sidelines. He got involved in the pressing issues of his community, state, and nation, and he persuaded others to work with him and make a difference.

Nowhere was that more evident than in his efforts to bring about full integration of the schools in Fort Wayne. When Hayes writes about that, he says, "I saw a powerful connection between our neglect of black children and the city's well-being. The refusal to desegregate the elementary schools, I argued in one editorial, was a stain on the city's reputation. In my zeal, I wasn't always fair or even nice. I offended some people that I didn't need to, although I never explicitly accused anybody of racism." Hayes took his activism from the editorial page into the community and involved Ian Rolland, the CEO of Lincoln National Corporation, in the struggle, as well as hundreds of other people.

Monday I'll Save the World gives the full story of the integration of Fort Wayne's schools and tells how ordinary people and civic leaders can make a difference. William Barton, Professor of Social Work at Indiana University, writes: "The list of causes Hayes has championed is nearly unprecedented: promoting school desegregation, ending corporal punishment, advocating for the rights of children in the juvenile justice system, fighting against the death penalty, and perhaps most passionately raising awareness of society's stigmatization and oppression of persons with mental illness." Senator Lugar and Hayes especially connected with each other in their mutual concern for persons with mental illness.

The book is a memoir but it is also a "how to" book for people who want to make a difference in their communities. Hayes describes with passion and detail how a small group of people can make an enormous difference in the quality of life.

No one would call U.S. Senator Dick Lugar a liberal, but this Republican Senator has written the Foreword to Monday I'll Save the World, a memoir by journalist Larry Hayes. In the Foreword, Lugar writes, "Larry Hayes not only had views, he had missions. By doggedly pursuing them, he changed lives and made extraordinary contributions to Indiana. Larry's own story and the others he tells are an inspiration for all seeking to find their place and work in life."

Copies ordered directly from Christian Community/LifeQuest come with a free study guide for congregational or community reading group use.

This brand new package draws on Christian Community's extensive research to give your congregation four options for the annual commitment program:

• Cottage Meetings
• Celebration Sunday
• Pass It On
• Every Member Visitation

You can choose the most appropriate strategy for your church at this time and use the other options in future years. Each option directly connects giving to the development of the spiritual life and helps participants focus on how giving is directly connected to spiritual health. And you can expect to have a great time with the dessert first theme that also connects food and pleasure with your stewardship program!

The Dessert First Complete Financial Commitment Program includes:

• The Dessert First Notebook filled with detailed instructions for all four campaign options.
• A separate packet of materials ready to photocopy.
• A computer cd with letters in several formats.

Permission to duplicate the above materials is included in the price of the kit. The kit also includes copies of these additional publications (that are described in more detail later):

• The Desires of Your Heart: Financial Giving and the Spiritual Life which reports on Christian Community's research and offers 10 strategies to increase giving in the congregation.
• The Dessert First Devotional Booklet, a 28-day resource for use by church members. Quantity discounts are available.
• Cell Phones, Dessert, and Faith, a personal reading or group study book for congregational use. Quantity discounts are available.

There are many myths about money that impact our lives as Christians – bringing harm to our financial lives and our spiritual lives. This book is a frank look at those myths combined with practical advice that balances healthy financial planning with healthy spirituality. This book avoids the trite and often manipulative advice sometimes associated with Christian financial planning. This book has been written for personal use, family use, or class/group study.

The ten myths challenged in this book:
-Your worth and happiness are determined by what you earn and by what you own.
-God wants you to be wealthy; if you aren't you are failing to follow God's guidance.
-Having additional money would solve all your financial problems.
-You can't manage your finances without a budget, and a budget is a great deal of work.
-Sales people, financial planners, stockbrokers, and bankers have your best interests at heart.
-Debt is always good or always bad (depending on which "expert" is involved).
-Money problems are the primary cause of marriage and relationship problems.
-Ministers shouldn't talk to the congregation about money.
-A tithe (10%) is the correct level of giving for all Christians.
-Estate planning is primarily for wealthy people.

Ten Money Myths Introduction and sample forms are available as a PDF download.

The Desires of Your Heart: Financial Giving and the Spiritual Life reports on Christian Community's major research on giving that involved 1,157 congregations from thirty different denominations. That study made clear that the single most important step needed to increase church giving is to directly connect individual giving to the spiritual life of each person. This book shows how to make that connection and provides ten practical strategies for increasing the giving in your congregation.

This booklet provides devotions for 28-days that directly relate spirituality to financial giving. Providing one of these for every household in the congregation is a great way to involve everyone in daily reflection on the spiritual life. The devotions help people deal with their anxieties about money, with issues of consumerism in our culture, with concern for the poor, with priorities on time, and with the environmental aspects of stewardship-as well as providing motivation for people to increase their giving.

$5 each for 1-25 copies; $4.50 each for 26-50 copies; $4 each for 51-75 copies; $3.50 each for 76-99 copies;

This book has been written for individual reading or for group study and provides a positive, insightful look at the place of money in our lives. Readers will:

• Be helped to recognize how their childhood experiences influence their present practices and values on money.
• Recognize that cell phones and other aspects of our culture offer tremendous pleasure but also exert enormous control over our lives.
• Look at the ways that time management and concern for the environment are also a part of stewardship.
• Learn to challenge the force that consumerism has on our lives.
• Find helpful strategies for dealing with their anxieties about money.
• Better understand how the our generosity affects the ministry and outreach of the congregation.
• Better recognize the way that money in our society determines our opinions of other people and of ourselves.
• Come to see that God seeks to bless our lives not only financially but in other ways as well.
• Learn to celebrate dessert and all the other blessings of our lives.

Contains strategies and information that have not previously been this accessible for local church leaders. You'll not only learn the basics about wills, estates, life insurance giving, endowment funds, and similar topics but also how to develop a comprehensive planned gifts program. This report is clearly written, easy to understand, and includes a resource section with additional information not in the main text. Your church may be missing out on tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars by not having a planned giving program in place.

Church members across North America give generous support to the current budget and capital campaigns of their congregations. Relatively few members, however, have considered the benefits of helping the church and other charitable causes through planned giving. In this easy-to-read booklet, leading stewardship authority Tom Rieke gives clear explanations of planned giving options and answers your questions. Tom Rieke was for many years in charge of Stewardship for the Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church. He is one of the most knowledgeable persons in the country on planned giving.

Intentionally priced low at $6 each so you can provide copies to people in your congregation.

This notebook contains forms and formats you'll find helpful in setting up current and planned giving within your church.

Alternatives for Worship contains twenty ready-to-use, non-traditional worship services in a convenient loose-leaf notebook, which makes it easy to remove pages to make copies for other participants (and permission to photocopy is included!). In order to communicate each of the twenty worship messages, the services utilize an assortment of media, including drama, video clips, reader's theater, storytelling, guided meditation, sharing, and music. Services include:

• Vegetarian Fair: Using a drama called "Help! My Daughter's a Vegetarian," this service calls attention to the unequal distribution of global resources, God's call to care for creation, and the luxuries we take for granted.
• The Titanic - When Dreams Die: Using a clip from the blockbuster movie, this service helps people deal with dreams and hopes that are destroyed and shows how to experience God's vision for the future.
• Love Stories: Using stories and songs, this service explores the power and truth of God's all-encompassing love which we are called to share with others.

And there are 17 more services plus many suggestions for additional services you can create. Each of the twenty services includes an order of worship, ready to photocopy; the full text of prayers, readings, and meditations; and all the guidance needed to handle video clips or other special arrangements.

The Alternative Worship Primer is arranged in a question-and-answer format like an old-fashioned school primer. But there is nothing old-fashioned about the strategies and ideas shared in this practical book! The Alternative Worship Primer provides up-to-date counsel on the issues churches face when they consider and start alternative worship services. Questions answers in this report include:

• Why should we consider an alternative worship service?
• Why do people want alternative worship experiences?
• How can we determine if there is a need for an alternative service?
• How do we go about promoting an alternative service?
• How can we involve enough people to ensure success?
• Where can we find music and musicians appropriate for an alternative worship service?
• How can we generate the funding for such a service?

Sharing Living Water - Evangelism as Caring Friendship provides practical, non-manipulative, non-canned guidance to help church members share their faith. Most church members, while readily agreeing that they should share their faith with others and invite them to church, are not comfortable doing so. This practical, easy-to-understand book deals directly with the major barriers to faith-sharing and helps people identify:

• The natural connecting points which give opportunities to share their faith or invite others to church without being manipulative.
• How to express their faith and the importance of the church in their lives in comfortable, natural ways, using their own words.
• Ways to more meaningfully share concern with others.
• Comfortable ways to invite others to worship and other activities.
• Strategies to effectively assimilate visitors into the life of the congregation.

A study guide is included.

Healthy Pastor–Healthy Church addresses what pastors, church leaders, and church members can do to nurture the kind of pastoral health that results in congregational health. Chapters in this booklet include:

• The Tension–the difficulty of maintaining spiritual health in a performance-based culture
• Taking Care of Yourself–A Guide for Pastors
• Taking Care of the Pastor–A Guide for the Church Board, Executive Committee, Pastor-Parish Committee, and Other Official Groups
• The Congregation–Supporting and Encouraging the Pastor
• When Change Comes–suggestions for handling pastoral transitions
• Plus a discussion guide for a five-session study of the booklet.

The Church of Recovery explores healthy ways congregations can help people grow in their spiritual lives and help people deal with addiction and stress. Alcoholics Anonymosu and other 12-step programs have changed the lives of tens of millions of people in North America. And the principles taught in such programs have tremendous power to help anyone deal with the tension and pressure found in everyday life. This book can be a valuable resource for churches wanting to find creative, practical ways to speak to the spiritual needs of members and for churches wanting to have more effective outreach to persons in need. A study guide is incorporated into the book.

Blessed Assurance Greeting Cards are full-color cards based on great hymns of the faith. These greeting cards are a wonderful way to express concern and support to others with simple and sincere messages. Ideal for caregivers, other groups within the local church, and for personal use. Each box has eight cards and four designs.

How do religious faith and congregational involvement influence the sexual values and behaviors of teenagers? This book reveals the results of Christian Community’s national study of 5,819 teenagers representing a broad range of religious traditions, ethnic backgrounds, economic levels, and geographic locations.

This book provides:

• an understanding of how teens feel about themselves, their bodies, and their sexuality
• personal, honest feedback from teens about their own experiences, feelings, and insecurities
• a discussion of abstinence and abstinence-only programs
• a look into what teens know about contraception, including where they are learning their information
• information on how many church active teens are having unwanted sexual experiences and how the church can help youth avoid those situations
• a look into gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth and how they relate their sexual orientation to their faith
• ways to build support in your congregation for sexuality education
• guidelines and program suggestions for talking with youth about sexuality
• discussion questions and activities for adults and youth.

Based on Christian Community’s extensive research on teenage sexuality, this book contains factual information and clear guidance to help empower teenagers for the decisions they face about the care of their bodies, dating, sexuality, marriage, and parenting. This book can be used in a variety of ways: for private reading by teenagers; for reading by teens and discussion with their parents; and for class, youth group, or retreat use.

This book includes:

• a survey for teens to see what they already know about their bodies, sex, contraception, and marriage preparedness
• a discussion of “sexuality,” including looking beyond physical acts
• a look at health, including how teens feel about their bodies and appearance
• the good reasons for not moving rapidly in sexual behavior, for abstaining from intercourse, and why abstinence is difficult
• a discussion of masturbation, kissing, touching, oral sex, and intercourse
• a look at life for non-heterosexual youth and why some religious people are negative about homosexuality
• what the Bible says about sex and how we treat each other in relationships
• how to protect against unwanted sex, including harassment, rape, and sexual abuse
• factual information on contraception, pregnancy, STDs, and abortion
• a guide to dating, marriage, and parenting.

Developed to accompany the youth resource described above, this book provides helpful guidance for parents, clergy, youth workers, and community leaders who are concerned about teens and who either want to study the youth resource along with teens or who are looking for a resource about teen sexuality from an adult perspective. This book gives practical advice on talking with teens about sex and also provides session plans for six week, eight week, or thirteen week studies of The Gift of Sexuality.

This important book provides the tools that faith communities need to:

• determine under what circumstances, if any, a convicted sex offender may be involved in the congregation
• determine how to respond if someone in the congregation is accused of a sexual offense
• be sensitive to and supportive of persons in the congregation who have been victims of abuse
• develop and implement strategies that will keep children in the congregation safe and which will prevent sexual abuse from happening.

A Time to Heal shows the unique way that faith communities can make a difference both by protecting and transforming lives. This resource can be used by clergy, lay leadership in churches and synagogues, denominational executives, regional judicatory executives, correctional officials, judges, parole officers, probation officers, and treatment providers.

This book affirms the unique role of congregations in providing sexuality education. This publication explains:

• why religious institutions must be involved in sexuality education
• how churches can provide sexuality education in the congregational environment
• how churches can support sexuality education in the community.

This resource includes an extensive listing of denominational statements on sexuality education and a thorough guide to sexuality resources available from many denominations. This book is a great planning tool for the local church.

This book provides:

• characteristics of sexually healthy faith communities
• characteristics of sexually healthy religious professionals
• guidance on “safe congregation” policies, including the prevention of sexual abuse and sexual harassment
• ideas for worship services and sermons on sexuality issues
• guidance on sexuality counseling by trained religious leaders
• strategies for sexuality education for children, youth, and adults
• information on becoming a welcoming and affirming congregation
• suggestions on how congregations can advocate for sexual and spiritual wholeness in their communities.

Clergy and other congregational leaders around North America are painfully aware of the risks that are involved in a congregation becoming fully welcoming and affirming of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Much less attention has been focused on what congregations lose by not being welcoming and affirming. The reality is that a loving and accepting attitude toward LGBT people brings many blessings to a church. A congregation that chooses to be welcoming and affirming of LGBT people:

1. Contributes to a positive image of inclusive Christianity.
2. Creates an atmosphere fostering church growth.
3. Gains the considerable gifts of LGBT clergy, professional staff and lay members
4. Offers safe places for LGBT youth.
5. Provides opportunity for LGBT members to participate more fully in the life of the church.
6. Provides support to families and friends of LGBT persons.
7. Positions itself better to offer sexuality education for children, teens and adults.
8. Demonstrates the kind of expansive hospitality God expects of us.
9. Demonstrates solidarity with persons pursuing human rights and justice for all people, including LGBT persons.
10. Frees silent friends of LGBT people from damage to the soul caused by the disconnect between their personal convictions and their public vocalization.

Click here for a free pdf of this booklet.

This ground-breaking report is based on surveys of 1,511 clergy from 32 different denominations; telephone interviews with 268 clergy; many focus group meetings; and work with 61 pilot congregations. The report looks at the attitudes of clergy toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people; the work of advocacy groups within denominations; and the issues that block full acceptance of LGBT people in congregations. Readers of this report will gain:

• better understanding of effective practices to motivate clergy who feel positive toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to take proactive actions on their behalf.
• better understanding of effective practices to move those who are undecided toward affirmation of LGBT people.
• better understanding of effective practices to use in congregations to gain greater acceptance of LGBT people and greater willingness to work for the rights of LGBT people.

Clergy and other congregational leaders around North America are painfully aware of the risks that are involved in a congregation becoming fully welcoming and affirming of LGBT people. Much less attention has been focused on what congregations lose by not being welcoming and affirming. The reality is that a loving and accepting attitude toward LGBT people brings many blessings to a church. This report helps readers identify and articulate those blessings.

Steve Clapp is the president of Christian Community, Inc. and the author or coauthor of over thirty books on congregational life including Faith Matters: Teenagers, Religion, and Sexuality; Widening the Welcome of Your Church; and Deep and Wide: Hospitality and the Faithful Congregation.

Click here for a free pdf of this book.

As people of faith, we envision a world where all of God’s children are loved for who they are. Many people believe that God’s love and acceptance extend to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and have set out to build families, congregations, and communities that demonstrate this love, acceptance, and welcome.

But there are many concerns about how to make this a reality. When are children old enough to learn about sexual orientation and gender diversity? Will openness about these topics influence children’s developing gender identity and sexual orienation? This practical publication faces these concerns directly.

This book explains how to talk with children about sexual orientation from a faith perspective. The practical guidance will be of great value to parents, to clergy, to teachers, and to others who care about children. This is a gentle, non-threatening approach that reinforces how precious all of God’s children are.

Melany Burrill, the author of this publication, has been teaching sexuality education for young people and their parents in churches for over 25 years. She has a master’s degree in Religious Education from Wesley Seminary and worked for 16 years as a local church education director. Her love for young people and her passion for open, honest communication led her to write this book.

This is an attractive, easy-to-read booklet that gives an introduction to issues of sexual orientation and is designed to initiate dialogue in the church. Made in God’s Image (Described below) is a companion booklet that helps people understand gender differences.

In our work in Christian Community, we have found this publication to be the single best introduction to understanding gay and lesbian persons in congregations. It’s attractively illustrated, easy to understand, and answers the basic questions that people have.

This booklet grew out of experiences in a local congregation that wanted to become more welcoming. During that period of time, the congregation has thrived and grown. They’ve also been able to raise a generation of children in the context of a wider welcome.

Ann Thompson Cook has been educating people about sexuality, reproductive health, and gender for 25 years. She has written extensively and is considered one of the most knowledgeable people in North America on strategies to improve hospitality for LGBT people. Christian Community is very pleased to be offering her resources.

Dios Nos Ama Por Igual is the new Spanish language companion to And God Loves Each One, both written by Ann Thompson Cook. Dios Nos Ama Por Igual is not just a book, it is an invitation to learn and talk together about sexual orientation, in the context of our churches and families.

It’s time to bring to light that which has been shared only in darkness and secrecy. We must light a spark of understanding to help families and communities to grow together – reclaiming our profound faith that God loves each one of us equally.

Read it and begin a conversation. Share it with your church. Use the resource, Dios Nos Ama Por Igual to strengthen your family and your Christian community and to gain a better understanding of sexual orientation.

Like the tremendously helpful resource And God Loves Each One, this booklet grew out of the experiences in a local congregation that wanted to become more welcoming of all people. Made in God’s Image helps people better understand those whose experience of gender doesn’t fit conventional understanding.

In Christian Community’s study of pastors and lay persons, we have found that many people who have a reasonable understanding of gay and lesbian persons are unsure how to understand those who may describe themselves as transgender. Most of us are accustomed to thinking of gender in terms of male and female. Yet there are people who are not able to describe themselves in that way. Gender is determined by many factors including genes, hormones, prenatal environment, and the brain.

Like the publication And God Loves Each One, this resource is attractively illustrated and presents warm, positive images of diverse people. This publication is thoroughly grounded in the Christian faith and will be helpful to individual Christians as well as to congregations.

During the past two decades, religious institutions have struggled with issues related to sexual orientation and identity. Several of the largest mainstream denominations in the United States are currently engaged in fierce debates about how to include LGBT persons. On a local level, congregations find themselves mirroring these struggles about how to truly welcome people of diverse orientations and identities.

This multi-faith Study Guide can help you and your congregations seek answers to questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. The Guide brings you the most up-to-date scientific and religious information available. Each section includes resources for additional information and suggested questions for use in group discussion or individual reflection. The contents include:

• Definitions
• Prevalence Information
• What Science Says on Sexual and Gender Diversity
• Marriage, Family, and Youth Information
• What Scripture and Denominations Say

Rev. Debra Haffner and Tim Palmer work with the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing, which is a part of Christian Community. Debra is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and was for many years the chief executive officer of SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. She is the author of several books including From Diapers to Dating: A Parent's Guide to Raising Sexually Healthy Children. Tim is the Research Director for the Religious Institute.

In the summer of 2009, the Religious Institute convened the 2020 Colloquium, calling together 23 clergy, theologians and religious leaders from Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Unitarian Universalist traditions. Colloquium participants established an overarching vision - that by the year 2020, all faith communities will be sexually healthy, just and prophetic.

In the report Sexuality and Religion 2020: Goals for the Next Decade, Rev. Debra Haffner and Tim Palmer outline ten goals that will enable this vision to be achieved. This report is for clergy, congregations, denominations, faith-based organizations - indeed, for all religious leaders and people of faith who believe we must create a healthier, more positive and inclusive relationship between sexuality and religion.

This book focuses on helping teenage and young adult women relate their faith to their sexual decision-making. Grounded in conversations with hundreds of young women, the authors offer candid advice on selecting a partner, communicationing in a relationship, avoiding sexual violence, and making healthy decisions. Includes information on sexual response, contraception, dating, and marriage. For both heterosexual and LGBT girls and women.

The guidebook provides a multifaith perspective for clergy on the pressing ethical and spiritual issues raised by the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). A Time to Be Born addresses the current medical and theological issues related to ARTs. It also covers practical issues, including pastoral counseling, congregation-based education, written resources, and organizatinal lists.

This resource is a collection of progressive theological statements, bibliographies, responsive readings, and socioeconomic data on six issues at the intersection of religion and sexuality: sex education, marriage equality, abortion, adolescent sexuality, sexual and gender diversity, and assisted reproductive technologies. Originally published as a series of Open Letters to Religious Leaders, the theological statements are the collaborative product of more than 60 theologians, clergy, ethicists, and scholars.

This book provides a wide range of strategies for working on greater LGBT acceptance in congregations and in other settings. Topics include: why congregations need to involve LGBT persons; where caring clergy and other religious leaders are on the issues; making a decision to act; a factual primer on human sexuality; the Biblical basis for action; how to work with teens and their parents; worship suggestions; and how to advocate within denominations and the broader society.

Describes Christian Community's "Cleveland Project" which involved over 300 Congregations from many faith traditions in new initiatives to better prepare teens for sexual decision-making, dating, marriage, and parenting. While a portion of this publication is specific to the greater Cleveland area, you’ll find pratical strategies and a helpful resource listing that can help wherever you live.