Links
A quick Google search can reveal the abundance of Christian resources on the web, and it can be overwhelming. Here are a number of links I have found helpful and that I have often given to church members for their use. This is not an endorsement of any site on this page but merely an indication I have found them helpful.
Church Leadership Resources
- Barna Faith & Church Research
- Church Assessment Providers
- Holy Cow Consulting
- Mission Insight by ACS Technologies
- Coming Alive in Christ Ruling Elder and Deacon Training materials
- Employment Guidance for PC(USA) Sessions and Session Personnel Committees
- A Guide to Parliamentary Procedure in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
- Legal Resource Manual for Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Councils and Churches
- Light Our Way: A Guide to Spiritual Care in Times of Disaster
- PC(USA) Ruling Elder Resources
- PC(USA) News & Communications
- Pew Research Center Religion
- Prepare/Enrich Pre-marital and Marital Assessment Tool
- Prepare to Care: Basic Disaster Ministry for Your Congregation
- Presbyterian Foundation Stewardship Resources
- Sample bylaws and Manual of Administrative Operation for a congregation
- Sample Bylaws for Presbyterian Women in the Congregation
- Shepherd’s Watch/Group Publishing Background Checks
Christian Education/Discipleship Publishers/Providers
- Alpha Course
- Augsburg Fortress
- The Bible Project (short videos and more)
- BioLogos (faith and science)
- Christian Book Distributors
- Cokesbury
- Faith Alive
- Finishing Well Ministries (for those around retirement age and beyond)
- GenOn/Logos Ministries
- Group Publishing
- Harper Christian Resources
- Historical Church Texts
- Early Church Fathers (writings of) or from Pearse
- John Calvin’s writings or see Resource List for more recent translations of the Institutes
- Martin Luther’s writings (selected)
- InterVarsity Press
- InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
- Lifeway
- Logos Online Courses or Certificate Programs
- The Navigators and NavPress
- Perspectives Course
- PC(USA) Store
- SEAN Theological Education by Extension
- Simply the Story Bible storytelling
- SparkHouse
- The Thoughtful Christian
- Tommy Nelson for children and youth
- Tyndale
- Westminster John Knox
- Zondervan Academic Online Courses
Clergy Apparel and Church Supplies
- ChristianBook.com
- Cokesbury
- Colonial Candle of Cape Cod
- Concordia Supply
- CM Almy
- J Wippell & Co.
- LifeWay
- Murphy Robes
- Newville Celebration Candles: Canada or USA
Congregational Care Ministries/Aids
- Alter Program for those with dementia and those who care for them
- Light Our Way: A Guide to Spiritual Care in Times of Disaster
- Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Network
- Prepare to Care: Basic Disaster Ministry for Your Congregation
- Scripture Index for Every Moment in Life
- Stephen Ministries
- Trauma Healing (from American Bible Society and Wycliffe)
Devotional Readings
- (see also the Technology section)
- Daily Prayer App – PC(USA) for iPhone/iPad, Android, Amazon Kindle Fire
- Daily Readings – PC(USA)
- Sunday/Festival Readings – Revised Common Lectionary
Image Resources
- Canva to create graphics quickly and with church templates
- Cathopic
- Christian Photoshops (commercial)
- Dreamstime
- Dreamstime Christian Iconography
- Flaticon icons and stickers
- Google Image Search
- Faithlife Media (subscription)
- Humaaans (flexible people figures)
- ISO Republic
- Life of Pix
- Lummi
- Pexels
- PixaBay
- Public Domain Pictures
- Sanctified Art
- Shopify Burst
- Translation Insights and Perspectives by United Bible Societies for global artwork
- Unsplash
- Wikimedia Commons
Media Resources (General)
- Christian Video Licensing International (for licensing movies to show in congregations)
- Faithlife Connect and TV
- Rightnow Media
Mission Organizations & Resources
- 1001 New Worshiping Communities Initiative from PC(USA)
- The Antioch Partners (mission sending agency related to Frontier Fellowship and The Outreach Foundation)
- Catalyst Services Postings (support mission workers)
- Church World Service
- Compassion International
- Day House/Catholic Worker Movement (housing, work, other)
- Engineering Ministries International
- Family Promise (shelter for families)
- Frontier Fellowship (frontier mission agency historically related to PC(USA))
- Frontier Ventures
- Habitat for Humanity
- Haitian American Friendship Foundation
- InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
- International Justice Mission
- Matthew 25 Initiative resources from PC(USA)
- Mission Catalyst Newsletter (missions news from across the world)
- MomentumYes
- New Wilmington Mission Conference (Pennsylvania)
- Operation Christmas Child by Samaritan’s Purse
- The Outreach Foundation (mission agency historically related to PC(USA))
- Overseas Security Advisory Council, U.S. Government newsletter on world safety concerns
- PC(USA) World Mission
- Perspectives Course
- Presbyterian Disaster Assistance from PC(USA)
- Presbyterian Special Offerings from PC(USA)
- Reformed Church in America Global Mission
- Research needs in your community
- Theological Education by Extension in Zambia
- World Relief
- World Vision
Music for Worship
- Calvin Institute for Christian Worship
- Hymnary.org (for indices to hymnals, sheet music, recorded and MIDI music, etc…)
- Browse hymns for date by lectionary
- Licensing
- Oremus Hymnal Recommended Hymns by Lectionary Sunday: [Year A] [Year B] [Year. C]
- Small Church Music (recorded music for many common hymnals)
- The United Methodist Church Worship Planning (Hymn recommendations by Lectionary Sunday)
- Word to Worship Contemporary Christian Music Index
- Worship Current (for contemporary music recommendations by church season and more)
Pastor Nominating Committee Resources
- “Advice for Pastor Search Committees” by Mark D. Roberts (article)
- Church Leadership Connection search/match database
- Median Effective Salary from Board of Pensions
- Ministry Information Form
- On Calling a Pastor Manual by PC(USA)
- Personal Information Form
Presbyterian Church (USA) Constitution
Sermon and Bulletin Preparation Resources
- Liturgy and Prayers on this site: [Year A] [Year B] [Year C]
- Calvin Institute for Christian Worship
- Call to Worship (liturgy, hymn/anthem/handbell/postlude/prelude recommendations, more through lectionary year)
- Children’s Bulletins
- Children’s Sermons
- ChurchArt.com (includes children’s bulletins and various church art)
- The Desperate Preacher/SermonBuilder
- Every Voice — Database of Works by Ethnic Minority and Majority World Scholars
- Lectionary Commentary from the Center for Excellence in Preaching
- Lisa Frenz’s Liturgies
- LiturgyLink
- Ministry Matters Worship Elements
- Preaching and Worship Resources
- Revised Common Lectionary Index (by Sunday; includes links for prayer and art for Sunday)
- Revised Common Lectionary Reverse Index (by scripture)
- Sermon Illustration Sites (others in full section contain also)
- Presbyterian Outlook Worship Elements
- Sundays and Seasons for Worship Planning and Resources (including bulletin covers)
- The Text This Week
- Translation Insights and Perspectives from United Bible Societies for global perspectives
- The United Methodist Church Worship Planning
- Working Preacher
- Zeteo for preaching and worship ideas
Social Support & Service Organizations (national)
- Child Welfare Information Gateway (U.S. Government, state statute search)
- Community Health Centers (U.S. Government)
- Day House/Catholic Worker Movement (housing, work, other)
- Domestic Abuse Shelters
- Food Banks
- Free Medical and Dental Clinics & Pharmacies
- Healthcare (Insurance) Marketplace (U.S. Government)
- Legal Services Corporation (U.S. Government site to find lawyers for those with limited income)
- National Center on Elder Abuse (U.S. Government)
- National Hotlines (many purposes)
- Pro Bono Legal Services Providers (U.S. Department of Justice)
- Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (recommended by Brotherhood Mutual for searching state laws regarding mandatory reporting requirements; many other resources)
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (emergency shelter, health clinics (including mental health), clothing, food pantry index)
- U.S. Government Benefits
- U.S. Government Food Assistance
- U.S. Social Security Office Locator and MUCH more (Enter your zip code for local SSA office. On results page, click “other agencies” at bottom for various government and non-profits providing services in your area)
- Veterans Transportation Program
Spiritual Gift Inventories and Courses
- Barna Gifted for More
- Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Assessment Tool
- Ministry Matters Spiritual Gift Inventory
- Stephen Ministries Discovering God’s Vision for Your Life
Technology
- Bible Study and Devotional Software
- Accordance Bible Software
- Bible Project App
- Daily Prayer by Church House Publishing (Church of England)
- or as Podcast
- Daily Prayer by PC(USA); note that this app recently hasn’t received important updates
- Discover App (Bible readings with questions for group study)
- Logos Bible Software (I strongly recommend this one.)
- same company provides Faithlife Study Bible for free
- Olive Tree Bible Software
- Pray Today by Voice of the Martyrs
- Time to Pray by Church House Publishing (Church of England)
- or as Podcast
- Unreached of the Day by Joshua Project (learn about and pray for unreached peoples)
- YouVersion (many, MANY translations and languages for free)
- YouVersion for Kids (free)
- Brown Paper Tickets (sell tickets to an event)
- Church Management Systems
- Discounted Software (and some hardware) for non-profits including Microsoft, Adobe, and many more
- Doodle (facilitates organize meetings among a group of people)
- Instant Church Directory (online church photo directory; also printable)
- MealTrain (organizing meals for families, individuals)
- OBS Studio (open source/free video switching, recording, live streaming software for Mac/Windows/Linux)
- SignUp Genius (organize sign-ups for volunteers, mission projects, etc…)
- Worship Presentation Software