Leader Resources

OverviewEncountering Jesus in My Everyday Life With the ALL-NEW Jesus-Centered Planner 2025, you’ll focus your life around Jesus as you invite him to shape, guide, and inspire your plans. You’ll live each day more powerfully as your routines, goals, and...

OverviewBy Thom and Joani Schultz and Group's Amazing Team of Creators Now you can do more than just teach—you can reach. Like the book of Proverbs is jampacked with short nuggets of wisdom, this practical little book shares a wealth of knowledge on how...

OverviewHelp kids learn the books of the Bible! The Hands-On Bible: Books of the Bible Poster Set makes a great addition to every Sunday school room. These bright, full-color posters will help kids navigate their Bibles with ease. The Hands-On Bible...

OverviewScience experiments are a surefire way to get kids' attention. Even better? When they get to help! Supplement your Bible lessons with Sciency-Fun WOWS: 54 Surprising Bible Object Lessons. These Bible-related object lessons from the popular Dig In...

OverviewScience experiments are a surefire way to get kids' attention. Even better? When they get to help! Supplement your Bible lessons with Sciency-Fun WOWS!: 54 Surprising Bible Object Lessons. These Bible-related object lessons from the popular Dig...

IntroductionIs there anything more valuable in children's ministry than a great idea? You might have the perfect facility, the most up-to-date check-in system, and an army of volunteers. (Okay, maybe that's a dream.) But what you really need are ideas...

IntroductionCongratulations! You now have at your fingertips 52 fun, easy-to-use Bible skits. Use them to spice up a lesson, fill an extra few minutes at the end of class, or as a weekly lesson launcher—for an entire year! These skits don't require...

IntroductionWelcome to the show! Want to see a child's eyes light up? Introduce the child to a puppet. Puppet shows are a surefire Sunday school activity snag a child's attention. And that makes puppet shows a compelling way to introduce children to...

Introduction"How is a rainbow formed?" "Why are my fingerprints different from anyone else's?" "What makes popcorn pop?" Kids are fascinated by the way the world works, and they love to learn about the science behind everyday phenomena. Kids...

OverviewBy Group Publishing We’ve taken 110 of the best devotion ideas from Children’s Ministry Magazine and put them all into one easy-to-use book. These creative devotions are more than just fun and easy to lead; they also teach kids important Bible...

OverviewBy Group Publishing Humongous Book of Preschool Ideas 2 is the incredible preschool pick-and-choose idea book! Select a Bible story Flip to that story Customize a preschool Bible lesson With these Bible stories for prescoholers, you can create...

IntroductionIn the beginning of class, John created his world. Oh, it didn't turn out looking like the magnificent perfect world that God originally created. But it was John's world just the same, cut from various colors of craft foam and glued together...

OverviewNearly 4,000 churches close every year. Why—and can it be stopped? Director Thom Schultz set out on a journey to uncover why churches—once the heart and soul of their communities—are now shrinking in both size and influence. What he discovered in...

OverviewBy Josh Packard, Ph.D. and Ashleigh Hope They're called The Dones. After devoting a lifetime to their churches, they're walking away. Why? Sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope's church development book reveals the results of a...

OverviewBy Thom and Joani Schultz The church leadership book that will forever change the way you think about church. The statistics are clear: The American church is in decline. People are leaving in astounding numbers, with no sign of a turnaround. And...

OverviewYou want to help—a church member faces a terminal illness, good friends of yours just lost their child, a member of your group is struggling with an addiction, the death of a child, divorce, addiction, terminal illness—but you feel unsure how to...

OverviewBy Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson If Your Church Vanished, Would Your Community Weep? Would Anyone Notice? Would Anyone Care? The Externally Focused Church is a book for ministry leaders who want to transform their community by serving the people...

OverviewLots of kids love crafts—and everyone loves toys and games! Makerific WOWS!: 54 Surprising Bible crafts is a great ministry resource if you're looking for something to supplement your Bible lessons. This Sunday school resource is filled with...

OverviewLots of kids love crafts—and everyone loves toys and games! Makerific WOWS!: 54 Surprising Bible Crafts is a great ministry resource if you're looking for something to supplement your Bible lessons. This Sunday school resource is filled with...

OverviewPat Verbal, General Editor Open your heart to the most amazing ministry a church can have! Theres perhaps no better way to share and receive God's love than through a special needs ministry to children. Do you know what it takes to make these...

OverviewThe Quick Guide to Discipline for Children's Ministry contains the most effective discipline tips for every issue you'll face—so you can focus on teaching kids and enjoying your class! You-ll love this at-your-fingertips handbook for discipline...

OverviewLimited Edition Hard Cover Version By Thom and Joani Schultz The church leadership book that will forever change the way you think about church. The statistics are clear: The American church is in decline. People are leaving in astounding...

Introduction"If you want to increase the quantity and quality of your spiritual conversations, or don't feel competent or confident enough to even begin a spiritual conversation, read on. In this church leadership resource, you'll find practical stories...

OverviewBy Group Publishing Teens face difficult, painful stuff in life—and they shouldn't struggle alone. But what do you say? How do you help? What if you make things worse? This rapid-response youth leadership training book gives you and your youth...

OverviewBy Jake and Melissa Kircher Ministry is such a rewarding experience, but why does it create so much strain on marriages? Jake and Melissa Kircher have learned some valuable lessons (often the hard way!) about building a healthy marriage amid the...

OverviewBy Brian Berry Is criticism inevitable in life? Maybe you've asked that question because you're tired of the relentless, nagging voice in your head saying you should quit, or you're inadequate, or your shortcomings are what people will remember...

OverviewBy Toby Rowe You're excited about the chance to work alongside teenagers on a mission trip. You're energized to see how God challenges and changes these young people through the experience. Your leaders have equipped you for your role. Yet...

OverviewBy Doug Franklin Every time you walk out of your senior pastor's office, you leave with a sense of bewilderment and confusion. "Did I just waste the last hour? Did he really hear what's going on with our students? Is youth ministry really a...

OverviewBy Mark DeVries and Jeff Dunn-Rankin Today's youth ministry volunteers are clamoring for training, yet many of them won't show up for tons of meeting. So how can youth workers equip their teams? Youth Leader Training on the Go is an easy, proven...

OverviewBy Tony Myles with Doug Franklin Take a look around at the brokenness in this world and its spiritual poverty. Jesus wants to change all of that, and he's looking for teenagers who want that change to start in them. Youth worker, that's where you...

OverviewBy Mark Oestreicher with Kami Gilmour Parents are the biggest influence on the lives of teenagers—a fact that research has proved again and again. Yet interactions with parents can be one of the trickiest areas for a youth worker to navigate well...

OverviewBy Rick Lawrence Volunteers have the power to shape a ministry, so youth ministry leadership development and training are extremely important. Through the use of youth leadership training books, you can strengthen your volunteer team, and in...

OverviewBy Shawn Harrison When it comes to ministering to gays and lesbians, far too many churches have chosen silence over service, or a reactive stance over proactive involvement. But congregations must abandon their comfort zone and minister to a...

OverviewThis stuff works. That's because the ideas in this book--hundreds of them—come from people like you: people in the thick of youth ministry. These are best-ever ideas from the pages of Group Magazine's Try This One section. These youth group...

OverviewFew teenagers think of slavery as a modern-day issue. It's something they read about in history books-a painful, troubling chapter from the past. Unfortunately, slavery remains a 21st century reality in the form of sex trafficking. Around our...

OverviewBy Austin Maxheimer and Zach Below What if small group ministries had been invented in 2014... by your local churches? Would anything be different? Would any "sacred cows" disappear—or at least be prodded toward fresh vision and action? Answering...