The Outreach Resources of the Year honors the past year’s best books that emphasize outreach-oriented ideas.
Last fall we invited publishers and authors to submit resources that released between Nov. 1, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2023. The Outreach magazine editorial team then placed the qualifying titles into 13 key categories for review by expert panelists in each field. After thoughtful consideration, they selected one or more entries as an Outreach Resource of the Year and spotlighted some titles as “Also Recommended.”
Here are the top Discipleship resources of the year.
DISCIPLESHIP
Evaluated by Bobby Harrington, point leader of Discipleship.org and Renew.org.
RESOURCES OF THE YEAR
Don’t Hold Back: Leaving Behind the American Gospel to Follow Jesus Fully by David Platt (Multnomah)
I loved this book because it focuses on what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus. Platt’s exposition makes it really clear that surrendering to the kingship of Jesus means truly and authentically following him by following Scripture. He shows how the teachings of Jesus are independent of American political debates—on some things Jesus’ teachings align more with the concerns of one side, and on other things, Jesus’ teachings align more with the other.
Intentional: Living Out the Eight Principles of Disciple Making by Brandon Guindon (Zondervan Reflective)
Intentional is the most practical book published in 2023 on what it takes to make disciples. Guindon is a highly experienced church leader who has served at all levels of church leadership, so he understands that intentionality is the key mindset in making disciples as Jesus teaches.