Outreach Resources of the Year: Counseling and Relationships

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.” 

In this section you will discover valuable tools that belong on your bookshelf. You will reach for them time and again as they enhance your effectiveness in ministry through the years. 

COUNSELING AND RELATIONSHIPS

Evaluated by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, founders of the marriage assessment SYMBIS.com and authors of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

RESOURCES OF THE YEAR

9780310366478The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope by Curt Thompson (Zondervan)

According to Gallup, more than a third of the U.S. population reports suffering significant emotional distress at any given time. And it’s these beleaguered and sometimes shell-shocked folks that make their way to your church for help. Written by a physician, The Deepest Place reverberates with heartfelt compassion, clinical understanding and studied, biblical wisdom that will benefit pastors and other ministry leaders involved in counseling. 

Hope Is the First Dose: A Treatment Plan for Recovering From Trauma, Tragedy and Other Massive Things by W. Lee Warren (WaterBrook)

Suffering. Trauma. Tragedy. These are the excruciating and unrelenting life-experiences that counselors and clergy wrestle routinely. Hope Is the First Dose will help you to help others transform their suffering and grief into hope and healing. It doesn’t promise to help anyone suffer less, only to suffer differently. And that makes all the difference.

Lora Schrock
Lora Schrock

Lora Schrock is co-editor of Outreach magazine. She has 30 years of publishing experience and is the author of numerous articles and books.

Summer Synergy

You don’t need a massive budget or a construction crew to make a big impact.

Ohio Church Makeover

This move would not only give them room to grow, but also would enable them to do a lot more to fulfill their mission of being a church focused on “building the kingdom, one life at a time.”

How Much Tech Do You Actually Need?

Because you cannot do this alone, you are going to have to trust the right individuals who know more about tech than you do. Your calling is to shepherd. Do that.