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Vine workers' book list
A set of basic titles to have on hand for ministry, arranged alphabetically by author within each of the four basic gospel growth process categories:
- Outreach: books to give to non-Christians
- Follow up: Books to teach new Christians the basics
- Growth: Books to help Christians grow to maturity in conviction and character
- Training: Books to train and equip Christians to serve others
| Author | Title | Publisher | How to use in vine work |
|---|---|---|---|
| OUTREACH | |||
| Martin Ayers | Naked God | Matthias Media | For someone who doesn't think that the 'God' question really matters; or who has read 'The God Delusion'. |
| Paul Barnett | Is the New Testament history? | Aquila Press | For those who have questions about the reliability of the New Testament. |
| John Chapman | A Fresh Start | Matthias Media | Explains what a Christian is and how to become one; for someone who has shown some interest and wants to find out more. |
| John Chapman | Making the most of the rest of your life | Matthias Media | A large print title for older readers (55+); all about how to participate in God's eternity. |
| Barry Cooper and Rico Tice | Christianity Explored: the book | Good Book Company | Follows the gospel logic of Christianity Explored; a simple, clear evangelistic book. |
| John Dickson | Simply Christianity: Beyond Religion | Matthias Media | Explains the gospel through a retelling of the key ideas of Luke's Gospel; also contains a fresh translation of Luke. |
| John Dickson | A Sneaking Suspicion | Matthias Media | A classic evangelistic book for youth (aged 14+). |
| Tony Payne et al | The Essential Jesus | Matthias Media | The framework of Two ways to live combined with a fresh translation of Luke's Gospel. |
| Dominic Steele | Introducing God: the book | Introducing God | Utilises the framework of Two ways to live to explain the gospel in book form. |
| John Stott | Basic Christianity | IVP | A classic presentation of what Christianity really is; especially good for those who may have had some church background. |
| FOLLOW-UP | |||
| John Chapman | A Sinner’s Guide to Holiness | Matthias Media | What holiness is and how God plans to get us there. |
| John Dickson | Hanging in There | Matthias Media | An introduction to basic discipleship topics for young people (14+) |
| Paul Grimmond | Right Side Up | Matthias Media | Written especially for new Christians; an introduction to the 'adventure' of the Christian life. |
| Vaughan Roberts | God's Big Picture | IVP | A simple introduction to the story of the whole Bible. |
| Bryson Smith | Faith | Matthias Media | Demystifies 'faith', and explains what it means to trust God. |
| GROWTH | |||
| Jerry Bridges | The Discipline of Grace | NavPress | Explains how the Christian life is built on God's grace, and yet also involves a fervent pursuit of holiness. |
| DA Carson | A Call to Spiritual Reformation | Baker Books | Calls Christians to prayer by looking at the prayers of Paul. |
| DA Carson | How long, O Lord? | Baker Books | Lays out the Bible's teaching on suffering and the sovereignty of God. |
| John Chapman | A foot in two worlds | Matthias Media | Explains the basic tension of the Christian life, the 'now' and the 'not yet'. |
| Ray Galea | God is enough | Matthias Media | A book for the flagging 'middle-aged' Christian to re-ignite their faith. |
| JI Packer | Knowing God | Hodder and Stoughton | A readable but stretching exposition of the character of God. |
| Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne | Guidance and the Voice of God | Matthias Media | A book about the sufficiency of Scripture for finding God's will. |
| Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne | Prayer and the Voice of God | Matthias Media | A clear, biblical explanation of what prayer is and its place in the Christian life. |
| DB Knox | The Everlasting God | Matthias Media | A profound introduction to the doctrine of God; to stretch and shape the Christian mind. |
| JC Ryle | Holiness | Evangelical Press | A classic work on the Christian life. |
| John Stott | The Cross of Christ | IVP | A non-basic but non-technical exposition of the cross. The benchmark book on this topic. |
| TRAINING | |||
| John Chapman | Know and Tell the Gospel | Matthias Media | Still the classic book on the why and how of personal evangelism. |
| Gordon Cheng | Encouragement | Matthias Media | An explanation of the ministry that all Christians have: to encourage each other. | Colin Marshall and Tony Payne | The Trellis and the Vine | Matthias Media | Sets out a mind-shift for Christian ministry: to focus on people rather than programs. |
Naturally, this is a necessarily brief list. There are bound to be other books. Whilst trying to keep the list to a 'basic' book list, please feel free to suggest other books that you would add to our list. We'll certainly consider adding them.
The background to why we produced this list can be found in the article here: http://matthiasmedia.com/download/26_vine_workers.pdf (PDF file 2.2mb).