'Outreach Magazine' honors the best Christian evangelism resources from the past year

Books by Crossway, Zondervan, Harvest House Publishers, Bethany House Publishers, InterVarsity Press (IVP), Regal Books and David C. Cook were among those recognized by Outreach Magazine's 7th Annual Outreach Resource of the Year Awards, honoring the best Christian evangelism products.

Like last year, Outreach did not award one overall Outreach Resource of the Year because of the variety of the nominated resources and the subjects they covered.

Announced in the magazine's March/April issue, the winner in the Evangelism category was Learning Evangelism From Jesus by Jerram Barrs (Crossway), while Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World by David A. Livermore (Baker Academic/Baker Publishing Group) was recognized in the Cross-Cultural Ministry category.

In the Apologetics category, the winners were Apologetics for a New Generation: A Biblical and Culturally Relevant Approach to Talking About God, edited by Sean McDowell (Harvest House) and Heaven and the Afterlife by James L. Garlow with Keith Wall (Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group).

In the Justice category, the winners were: Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World by Mae Elise Cannon (BridgeLeader Books/IVP); The Justice Project, edited by Brian McLaren, Elisa Padilla and Ashley Bunting Seeber (Baker Books/Baker Publishing Group); and Follow Me to Freedom: Leading and Following as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne and John M. Perkins (Regal Books).

The winners in the Compassion category were When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor … and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert (Moody Publishers) and The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning (David C. Cook).

In the Leadership category, the winners were Ignite: How to Spark Immediate Growth in Your Church by Nelson Searcy with Jennifer Dykes Henson (Baker Books/Baker Publishing Group) and Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion by Wayne Cordeiro (Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group).

The winners in the Culture category were: SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World by Douglas Estes (Zondervan); Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community by Andrew Marin (IVP); and The Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected are Redefining Community by Jesse Rice (David C. Cook). Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving Event Kit (Big Idea) won the Children's Outreach category.

In the Youth Outreach category, the winners were: Think Orange: Imagine the Impact When Church and Family Collide … by Reggie Joiner (David C. Cook); nuChristian: Finding Faith in a New Generation by Russell E.D. Rathbun (Judson Press); Fire Starter: Fuel Your Passion by Greg Stier with Jane Dratz (Dare2Share); and The Question of Homosexuality: A Conversation for Youth about Same-Sex Attraction DVD by Scott Davis (Harvest House).

The winners in the Pass-Along Resources category were: The Karma of Jesus: Do We Really Reap What We Sow? by Mark Herringshaw (Bethany House) and The God Question: An Invitation to a Life of Meaning by J.P. Moreland (Harvest House). The Sycamore Approach DVD and Workbook (Leafwood) won the Small-Group Curricula category.

In the State of the Church category, the winners were Whole Church: Leading from Fragmentation to Engagement by Mel Lawrenz and Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church by Reggie McNeal (both Jossey-Bass and Leadership Network).

Publishers and organizations that produced outreach-related resources submitted nearly 160 resources published between Nov. 1, 2008 and Oct. 31, 2009.

The magazine's editorial staff pared the nominees to 110 resources, which were placed into 12 categories. An expert panelists—which included authors Craig Detweiler, Samuel Chand, Gary McIntosh and Mark DeYmaz—then identified a total of 25 Outreach Resources of the Year.

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