People are leaving the church J.D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that’s exactly how he wants it to be.

When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn’t how many people you can gather. It’s about training up disciples and then sending them out. The true measure of success for a church should be its sending capacity, not its seating capacity.

But there is a cost to this. To see ministry multiply, we must release the seeds God has placed in our hands. And to do that, we must ask ourselves whether we are concerned more with building our kingdom or God’s.

In Gaining By Losing, J.D. Greear unpacks ten plumb lines that you can use to reorient your church’s priorities around God’s mission to reach a lost world. The good news is that you don’t need to choose between gathering or sending. Effective churches can, and must, do both.

Encounter the dynamic presence of God as you learn from pastor and author J. D. Greear how to more fully experience the Holy Spirit within you.

Jesus gave his disciples the audacious promise that the Spirit he would send to live inside them would be even better than if he himself remained beside them. Yet how many of us consider our connection to the Holy Spirit so strong that we would call his presence in us better than Jesus himself walking by our side?

J. D. Greear was the pastor of a rapidly growing church who still felt like he didn’t know how to relate to God personally. Though he knew a lot about God, he wasn’t as sure about how to walk with God. Furthermore, he felt overwhelmed by the size of the mission Jesus had left for his church. In a world of so much need, what difference could he possibly make? Learning how God dwells in us and empowers us in the Holy Spirit redefined his life and ministry. Ministry became less about working for God and more about letting God work through him. Drudgery was replaced by delight; helplessness was replaced by empowerment.

In Jesus, Continued… Greear explores–in clear and practical language–questions such as:

• What does it mean to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit?
• How can we tell when the Spirit is speaking to us?
• What do you do when God feels absent?

If you are longing to know God in a vibrant way, Jesus, Continued… has¬†good news for you: That’s exactly what God wants for you too. His Spirit stands ready to guide you, empower you, and use you.

Your God is too small.

We like God small. We prefer a God who is safe, domesticated, who thinks like we think, likes what we like, and whom we can manage, predict, and control. A small God is convenient. Practical. Manageable.

The truth: God is big. Bigger than big. Bigger than all the words we use to say big.

Ironically, many today seem turned off by the concept of an awesome, terrifyingly great God. We assume that a God you would need to fear is guilty of some kind of fault. For us, thinking of God as so infinitely greater and wiser than we are and who would cause us to tremble in his presence is a leftover relic from an oppressive, archaic view of religion.

But what if this small version of God we’ve created is holding us back from the greatest experience of our lives–from genuine, confident, world-transforming faith?

In Not God Enough, J. D. reveals how to discover a God who

is big enough to handle your questions, doubts, and fears;is not silent;is worthy of worship;wants to take you from boring to bold in your faith;has a purpose and mission for you on earth; andis pursuing you right now.

God is not just a slightly better, slightly smarter version of you. God is infinite and glorious, and an encounter with him won’t just change the way you think about your faith. It’ll change your entire life.