A Ministry Survival Guide: Straight from the Heart explores the joys and challenges of life in the spotlight of ministry. Relatable stories, survival tips, biblical mentors, and a Bible study guide provide a valuable resource for pastors’ wives, women in ministry, and anyone who desires to thrive, not just survive in the Christian life. This book will help you: live a public-private life. fortify your marriage. balance family and ministry. prevent burnout. navigate transitions. manage painful relationships. grow through personal challenges. build a godly support system. discover blessings beneath burdens. nurture your soul.

Ministry is a noble vocation. Yet the statistics concerning ministers are startling! 45% of pastors' wives say the greatest danger to them and their family is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual burnout. 70% don't have any close friends. 75% report severe stress causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation. 80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively. 1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure. Minister's Survival Guide provides ministers with the keys to rediscovering joy, peace, and purpose through the vocation of ministry.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) Think it takes a professional actor to have a puppet ministry? Think again. This book gives you a step-by-step plan and tons of tips on using puppets to tell children all about Jesus while entertaining them at the same time! Puppets are a wonderful teaching tool. They can be whatever you want them to be. Puppets can take on different personalities, exhibit various character traits, teach different lessons. Kids are drawn to puppets, opening doors and establishing instant trust. Tell a conventional story to kids and watch as their eyes glaze over. Their short attention spans cause them to squirm and by the end they've missed out on the whole point of the story. Use puppets to tell the story and suddenly every eye is on the stage. Your audience stays with you all the way through and weeks later you're still be hearing about the memorable things the puppets said and did--just like kids act when they're talking about their favorite videos or TV shows. Everything you need to start a new puppet ministry or breath new life into an existing one is in this book. The author, Susan Parsons, relates many firsthand experiences she has had during her substantial career as a playwright and puppeteer. Learn about creative ways of making puppets from all sorts of unconventional things. Find out how to build a nifty, professional-looking stage out of PVC pipe--lightweight, easy to work with and affordable. Get pointers on writing and presenting skits, on staging and lighting them, on recruiting people to help you! Also, the book contains puppet patterns and ready-to-present skits which you can use for practice or incorporate right into your ministry! After reading this book you won't just surviveas a puppeteer--you'll thrive! Product Update It has come to our attention that page 59 of The Official Puppet Ministry Survival Guide contains an error in the instructions for constructing the PVC stage. This error will be corrected when the book is next reprinted. Our apologies for the mistake. The correct numbers and dimensions of pieces appear below. 2.5 ft (8 pieces) 2 ft. 9 in. (8 pieces) 3.5 ft. (2 pieces) 4.5 ft. (6 pieces) 6 ft. (2 pieces) Also, page 60 incorrectly lists a 7 ft., 3 in. piece of pipe.

This wonderful and easy read helps new and future youth workers set patterns in life and ministry that will keep them whole and healthy, and away from burnout.

It’s more common in youth ministry than we want to admit—burnout and failure. Exhaustion, frustration, disappointment, and conflict bring many youth workers to a point where they either choose a new church, a new career, or someone makes that choice for them. After thirty years of youth ministry experience, Len Kageler wants to help youth workers avoid the pitfalls that are common to their calling, and give them the tools to not only survive, but also to thrive in youth ministry. Along with his own wisdom, Len offers insights gained from his 2006 survey of more than 300 burned out or fired youth workers who come from a variety of ministry contexts and denominations. If you’re new to youth ministry, or you’ve been at it for a while and feel like you may be on the verge of burnout, The Youth Ministry Survival Guide will help you: • deal with conflict and compromise • determine the causes of burnout (and how to avoid them!) • discover how your personality, and the personality of those you work with, affects the dynamics of your ministry experience • develop the best plan for working with senior pastors, church leadership, parents, and students, so you can… • do youth ministry in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond! Don’t let burnout force you out! Inside this book you’ll find steps you can take to help build fences against failure, and you’ll learn what it takes to survive and thrive in youth ministry.

Ever wonder why the average career in youth ministry is so short-lived? Its not because the youth minister grows up into real ministry. Too often, it is becausewithout adequate boundariesthe youth minister is swept away, burned out, or chewed up. From someone that has been there, author Joel Lund brings the ultimate guide for a healthier ministry and a healthier you.

Too often, children's ministry volunteers say yes to helping out and then are confused about what to do. How do I use curriculum? What if the kids get rowdy? How do I build relationships? This valuable, easy-to-use resource will give every children's volunteer a solid foundation as they begin working in ministry. From basic ideas for getting started, practical tips on classroom management techniques, to help with understanding different age levels, everything a volunteer needs is outlined in these pages. There are also ideas for working with children with special needs, understanding the current tech-savvy generation, keeping kids safe at church, the role of a volunteer in the child's spiritual development, and ideas for self-evaluation. Every church will want a copy of this terrific guide to ensure their children's ministry volunteers get off to the right start, have a successful year, and finish their term of service with passion and enthusiasm.

"“If you have little tolerance for ecclesiastical blowhards; if you’ve ever fantasized about implementing a clergy rating system (CRS); if you’ve ever sought tips on surviving diocesan convention; if you’ve ever tried to weasel your way out of pledging; then this book is for you,” says author Tim Schenck. “My take on church life isn’t for everyone—clergy who take themselves too seriously will hate it. But know that it all comes out of a place of deep love for God and the Church. There are inevitably things that drive us nuts about such an imperfect (i.e., human) institution. Yet if we can’t observe and comment on our own foibles we’re left without much hope. And anyway if God doesn’t have a sense of humor, I’m hosed.”"

The Ultimate Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Dorm Dorm life offers you a great chance to meet new people and try new things. But leaving the comforts of home for the first time to enter the roommate-having, small-room-sharing, possibly-coed-bathroom-using world of the dorms can be overwhelming and intimidating. The College Dorm Survival Guide offers expert advice and the inside scoop on: • Choosing the right residence hall for you • Getting along with your roommate (and handling conflict) • Bathroom, laundry, and dining hall survival • Dealing with stress, depression, and safety issues From avoiding the dreaded Freshman 15 to decorating your space, this informative and funny guide gives experts' advice on everything you need to know to enjoy dorm living to the fullest.

Families and friends learn how to better understand the dilemma faced by military couples and how to help them cope. Explore the interconnectivity of critical issues many military families are confronted with. Consider practical solutions to one of the most crucial threats facing relationships in the military and potentially the world. Learn how to protect your relationship from extramarital affairs while maintaining commitment to your spouse. Learn how to successfully survive the devastation associated with family separation. Learn how to use a necessary tool for any couple to strengthen their relationship during short- and long-term times of separation. Explore the painful journey of many families. Help yourself understand the extreme difficulties of family separation; assist others with simple practical principles in coping and successfully surviving the experience. Learn how to help others avoid pitfalls that can ruin their relationship.