Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World

What behaviors do highly vital congregations have in common? How can all congregations move toward greater vitality? In Vital, Jorge Acevedo passionately and effectively reveals how Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida, has developed behaviors that result in vital and fruitful ministry. Focusing on spiritual pastoral leadership, lay leadership development, worship, small groups, and service and mission, Acevedo both inspires and coaches. He helps leaders of congregations act in their own contexts to develop behaviors essential to vitality, as identified by the recent study of 32,000 United Methodist congregations. The book includes brief summaries of learnings from the research written by Amy Valdez Barker, project manager for the Vital Congregations Initiative, as well as stories from other congregations illustrating vital behaviors in different settings.

• A Failure of Nerve, Revised Edition: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix
• Scattering Seeds: Cultivating Church Vitality
• Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church
• Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory
• Stride: Creating a Discipleship Pathway for Your Church
• Get Their Name: Grow Your Church by Building New Relationships
• The Externally Focused Church
• Preaching at the Crossroads: How the World-and Our Preaching-Is Changing
• The Better Pastor
• Shift 2.0: Helping congregations back into the game of effective ministry