Each year, Outreach magazine asks experts in a variety of categories to evaluate resources submitted for consideration in their areas of expertise and to choose the best. These are the panelists who gave their time and expertise to choose the 2011 Outreach Resources of the Year:
APOLOGETICS
Craig Hazen, founder and director of the Master of Arts program in Christian apologetics and professor of comparative religions and Christian apologetics at Biola University; and author of The Village Enlightenment in America (University of Illinois) and Five Sacred Crossings (Harvest House).
CHILDREN’S OUTREACH
Amy Dolan, founder and leader of Lemon Lime Kids, a children’s ministry consulting company in Chicago, and former executive director of children’s ministries for the Willow Creek Association.
CHURCH MULTIPLICATION
Eric Geiger, executive pastor of Christ Fellowship in Miami; co-author of Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples (B&H); and author of Identity: Who You Are in Christ (B&H).
COMPASSION
Mark Hanlon, senior vice president of Compassion International, leading the organization’s work in the United States and serving on its executive leadership team. Under his leadership, the number of children sponsored by U.S.-based donors has risen 249 percent to 616,000. Compassion International serves 1.2 million children worldwide.
CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY
Alvin Bibbs Sr., principal at Obsidian Consulting Group, which provides cross-cultural training, leadership development consultations and more for local churches; former executive director of multicultural church relations for the Willow Creek Association; plenary speaker at the 2010 Multi-Ethnic Church Conference; and author of Crazy Enough to Care: Changing Your World Through Compassion, Justice and Racial Reconciliation (IVP Connect).
CULTURE
D. Michael Lindsay, assistant professor of sociology and director of the Program for the Study of Leadership at Rice University; a Rice Scholar at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy; author of Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite (Oxford University); and co-author of Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in Religious Beliefs (Morehouse Group).
EVANGELISM
Scot McKnight, the Karl A. Olsson professor in religious studies at North Park University in Chicago; member of the creative team for the Origins Project, an evangelistic network; and author of 30 books, including The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (Paraclete) and A Community Called Atonement (Abingdon).
JUSTICE
R. York Moore, national evangelist for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA; author of Growing Your Faith by Giving It Away (InterVarsity); a national speaker primarily as a “justice evangelist”; and a modern-day abolitionist who has conducted “justice invitationals” in conjunction with International Justice Mission, the Not for Sale campaign and other anti-slavery nonprofit organizations.
LEADERSHIP
Brad Smith, president and professor of leadership studies at Bakke Graduate University; co-founder of the Center for Christian Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary; and former president of Leadership Network.
MISSIONAL LIVING
Hugh Halter, pastor of Adullam in Denver; director of Missio, an apprenticing network serving the missional church movement; and co-author of The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community, TK Primer, AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church, and Sacrilege, slated for release this October.
PASS-ALONG RESOURCES
John Bishop, senior pastor, Living Hope Church, Vancouver, Wash; a speaker at numerous conferences and churches, including Catalyst West, Church Solutions and the National Outreach Convention; and author of Dangerous Church: Risking Everything to Reach Everyone (Zondervan).
SMALL-GROUP CURRICULA
Garry Poole, with input from a collection of friends and colleagues. Poole has been a key evangelism leader for more than 18 years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.; an innovator and worldwide consultant on seeker small groups and outreach strategies; author of Seeker Small Groups: Engaging Spiritual Seekers in Life-Changing Discussions (Zondervan); and co-author of numerous study guides, including The Tough Questions series (Zondervan) and Experiencing the Passion of Jesus (Zondervan).
Read the news release about the Outreach Resources of the Year process »
View the list of Outreach Resources of the Year books and media »
Order the Resources of the Year issue from Amazon.com »
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