A Call to Collaborative Ministry (Media)
Produced by Carroll Juliano, SHCJ and Loughlan Sofield, ST. Distributed by National Association for Lay Ministry. Duration: 60 minutes.

This video helps congregational leaders to understand collaborative ministry and develop collaborative skills. It discusses approaches to discerning gifts, myths surrounding collaboration, obstacles and challenges to collaboration, and processes for developing collaborative ministries. Four diverse parishes present stories about their collaborative work and share the insights of parish staffs and pastoral leaders. Narrated by subject experts Sr. Carroll Juliano, SHCJ, and Br. Loughlan Sofield, ST, this film—along with the complete facilitator's guide and participant's workbook—will be of particular value to Roman Catholic parishes interested in pursuing collaborative ministry.
 

The Equipping Church, Serving Together to Transform Lives (Book)
Sue Mallory, Author. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001.

Beginning with the injunction that pastors are to "equip the saints for the work of the ministry," The Equipping Church passionately relays the process that lay minister Sue Mallory and her team followed in developing a culture and system in the church for supporting lay ministry. Not a "quick fix" program, this book identifies processes that must be tailored to each church’s culture and vision. Mallory's discussion of difficult issues, and her identification of resources, make this book highly practical. Congregational, educational, and denominational leaders seeking to implement a vision for a vibrant church—with members equipped to fulfill their callings—will benefit from implementing its ideas.
 

The Equipping Church Guidebook (Book)
Sue Mallory, Brad Smith, Authors. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2001.

This guidebook accompanies Sue Mallory’s book, The Equipping Church, and provides extensive detail on both developing a church culture and implementing a system for lay ministry in the local church and community. Part 1 describes how to develop a church vision and culture ripe for implementing lay ministry. Part 2 provides the steps for building an equipping ministry system—preparing, connecting, and equipping people for service. Within the text are lists of ideas, tables, and charts for teaching tools, as well as forms and job descriptions to adapt. This book would be useful for church staff, lay leaders, seminarians, and teachers of lay ministry.
 

The Equipping Pastor: A Systems Approach to Congregational Leadership (Book)
R. Paul Stevens, Phil Collins, Authors. Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute, 1993.

Drawing on systems theory, covenant relationships, and Biblical references, the authors present a model through which clergy can move congregations from focusing on self-preservation to fulfilling their ministry as Christian ambassadors. Shifting the focus from equipping individuals to equipping the whole church, they affirm the importance of interdependence among church members and explore various dysfunctional relationships that work against interdependence. Visionary servant leaders must recognize that their authority ultimately rests in God and that they can only effectively fulfill their calling through a life of prayer. Leaders must also affirm that ministry is not what we do with “extra time,” but what we do with all of life.
 

In It for the Long Haul: Building Effective Long-term Pastorates (Book)
Glenn Ludwig, Author. Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute, 2002.

Although the book as a whole is aimed at the challenges and opportunities of ministers engaged in long-term pastorates, chapter 7 ("Where Two or Three Gather: Supervising and Nurturing Church Staffs and Volunteers") focuses on how leaders can encourage volunteers to develop their gifts while making sure that important congregational tasks are completed.
 

Letting Go: Transforming Congregations for Ministry (Book)
Roy D. Phillips, Author. Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute, 1999.

This guide offers a process for moving congregations from a maintenance mindset and likely obsolescence to an attitude of embracing and guiding change. Four major shifts in pastoral and congregational outlook are involved: from membership to ministry; from entitlement to mission; from education to spiritual development; and from toleration to engagement. Drawing on process theology and current writing on organizational change, Unitarian pastor Roy Phillips outlines the implications of "letting go." Each major chapter addresses one of the four shifts. In between are sections for personal meditation and assessment. Questions in the margins invite further writer-reader interaction, a practical feature for individuals and groups.
 

Sharing the Ministry: A Practical Guide for Transforming Volunteers into Ministers (Book)
Jean M. Trumbauer, Author. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1999.

Jean Trumbauer presents a new paradigm of volunteer ministry based on the assumptions that each person is uniquely gifted for ministry, that church ministry is shared, and that staff and lay leaders are to help identify, develop, use, and support the gifts of all members. After explaining the shared ministry systems model, Trumbauer explores the model’s processes: planning, discovering gifts, designing, recruiting, interviewing, matching, training, supervising, supporting, evaluating, and managing data. With reflection exercises, sample models, and further resources listed in each chapter, the manual can be used in learning designs for a variety of workshops, sessions, and meetings. Readers may also purchase "personal reflection guides" that facilitate gifts discernment.