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Care: Loving Your Church by Walking through Life Together
How all church members can be like Jesus by caring for each other.Jesus commands his disciples to love one another and promises that “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:35). But what does genuine care for those in our church family look like?
This warm, practical book by Dwayne Bond goes beyond specific pastoral-care roles and responsibilities, and explores how all church members can love and care for one another in the rhythms of ordinary life.
In response to Jesus’ great love for us and the example he set, readers will explore how to honor one another, serve one another, and bear each other’s burdens, as they seek to walk together as a family in the midst of a divided culture. They will see that following Jesus' command to love one another deeply and practically will bring great joy as well as commending the gospel to those around them, as people see lives changed from the inside out.
This wonderful resource is not only a useful tool for church care teams but for every church member as each is encouraged to play his or her part in making people feel cared for and connected to the church family.
There are discussion questions with action steps at the end of every chapter, making this book ideal to read as a small group or even as a whole church. Bulk deals and free downloadable worksheets are available.
This is one of the books in the new Love Your Church series, which is being written by a collection of Bible teachers from Acts29. It is designed to inspire every church member to love their church in practical ways by casting a biblical vision of what it means to be a local community of God’s family. The series will explore what it means to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, and to honor one another, and to witness and send people out to spread the gospel. Choose the resources that cover the areas most helpful to your particular church-family needs.
This warm, practical book by Dwayne Bond goes beyond specific pastoral-care roles and responsibilities, and explores how all church members can love and care for one another in the rhythms of ordinary life.
In response to Jesus’ great love for us and the example he set, readers will explore how to honor one another, serve one another, and bear each other’s burdens, as they seek to walk together as a family in the midst of a divided culture. They will see that following Jesus' command to love one another deeply and practically will bring great joy as well as commending the gospel to those around them, as people see lives changed from the inside out.
This wonderful resource is not only a useful tool for church care teams but for every church member as each is encouraged to play his or her part in making people feel cared for and connected to the church family.
There are discussion questions with action steps at the end of every chapter, making this book ideal to read as a small group or even as a whole church. Bulk deals and free downloadable worksheets are available.
This is one of the books in the new Love Your Church series, which is being written by a collection of Bible teachers from Acts29. It is designed to inspire every church member to love their church in practical ways by casting a biblical vision of what it means to be a local community of God’s family. The series will explore what it means to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, and to honor one another, and to witness and send people out to spread the gospel. Choose the resources that cover the areas most helpful to your particular church-family needs.
144 pages
Published April 1, 2025
7 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 30, 2025
[Thank you to @thegoodbookcompanyusa for my gifted copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.]
Favorite Quotes:
“The way we care for one another in the local church should be of utmost importance to us because it’s of utmost importance to Jesus.”
“We are called to be conduits of blessing rather than cul-de-sacs of benefit. We are called to love our neighbors, not looking for something from them but looking to extend something to them–namely, the good news of Jesus.”
Analysis:
I am thankful for the “Love Your Church” series, and “Care” by Dwayne R. Bond is an excellent addition. The goal of this title is to help readers understand God’s love for them and how they can share that love with others, especially their brothers and sister in Christ in their local church, through living life together, building deep community, and serving each other in love.
This book is both theologically rich and practical. I appreciated the way the author explains what the Church is and the believers' role in it, while also providing practical guidance on how to grow in fostering true community.
I personally believe that we are often guilty of calling community what would actually be better defined as tribalism. I love that this book emphasizes how the community in the church is a gospel community, full of people who are very different from each other, maybe entirely different in the world’s eyes, but yet united in the same faith in Christ Jesus. I appreciated the practical applications for ensuring that church members and ministry staff do not just seek out the people who are most like them in the church, but that congregants form deep relationships with people from different backgrounds and invite other people from different backgrounds to be a part of the local church and to live life together–as a real community. Every tribe, tongue, and nation will be found in Heaven. Our local churches should reflect this diversity, too!
Highly recommend!
Favorite Quotes:
“The way we care for one another in the local church should be of utmost importance to us because it’s of utmost importance to Jesus.”
“We are called to be conduits of blessing rather than cul-de-sacs of benefit. We are called to love our neighbors, not looking for something from them but looking to extend something to them–namely, the good news of Jesus.”
Analysis:
I am thankful for the “Love Your Church” series, and “Care” by Dwayne R. Bond is an excellent addition. The goal of this title is to help readers understand God’s love for them and how they can share that love with others, especially their brothers and sister in Christ in their local church, through living life together, building deep community, and serving each other in love.
This book is both theologically rich and practical. I appreciated the way the author explains what the Church is and the believers' role in it, while also providing practical guidance on how to grow in fostering true community.
I personally believe that we are often guilty of calling community what would actually be better defined as tribalism. I love that this book emphasizes how the community in the church is a gospel community, full of people who are very different from each other, maybe entirely different in the world’s eyes, but yet united in the same faith in Christ Jesus. I appreciated the practical applications for ensuring that church members and ministry staff do not just seek out the people who are most like them in the church, but that congregants form deep relationships with people from different backgrounds and invite other people from different backgrounds to be a part of the local church and to live life together–as a real community. Every tribe, tongue, and nation will be found in Heaven. Our local churches should reflect this diversity, too!
Highly recommend!
April 25, 2025
In Care, Dwayne R. Bond shares a heartfelt and convicting call to Love Your Church by Walking Through Life Together. He begins with a fundamental truth: we cannot love God and idols. When idols capture our hearts, our ability to love others is deeply compromised.
Bond calls out common cultural idols—racism, politics, and especially social media. Regarding social media, he writes, “Our longing to be the most significant person in the room robs the people in the room around us of our love.” That line really hit home.
Christ’s Love Displayed in Community
God’s love is relentless and steadfast. Christ’s love enables us to serve, honor, and build one another up. This is not just a private spiritual reality—it’s meant to be put on display in the local church, through real-life relationships.
Bond outlines five dynamics of unconditional love in a divided culture. Two that stood out most to me were: commit to forgiving others as I have been forgiven in Christ and count the cost of unconditional love. True love is costly—it means absorbing the offense and laying it on Christ’s shoulders.
Cross-Cultural Love in the Church
In Chapter 6, Bond focuses on the multiethnic church. He challenges us to love each other by learning from each other. This means intentionally building meaningful connections with believers from different cultural backgrounds—a vital step in unity and growth.
Bond’s message is a much-needed call to live out our faith not in isolation, but together, in grace and truth. Above all, this book reminds us that love truly is the more excellent way.
I received a media copy of Care and this is my honest review.
Bond calls out common cultural idols—racism, politics, and especially social media. Regarding social media, he writes, “Our longing to be the most significant person in the room robs the people in the room around us of our love.” That line really hit home.
Christ’s Love Displayed in Community
God’s love is relentless and steadfast. Christ’s love enables us to serve, honor, and build one another up. This is not just a private spiritual reality—it’s meant to be put on display in the local church, through real-life relationships.
Bond outlines five dynamics of unconditional love in a divided culture. Two that stood out most to me were: commit to forgiving others as I have been forgiven in Christ and count the cost of unconditional love. True love is costly—it means absorbing the offense and laying it on Christ’s shoulders.
Cross-Cultural Love in the Church
In Chapter 6, Bond focuses on the multiethnic church. He challenges us to love each other by learning from each other. This means intentionally building meaningful connections with believers from different cultural backgrounds—a vital step in unity and growth.
Bond’s message is a much-needed call to live out our faith not in isolation, but together, in grace and truth. Above all, this book reminds us that love truly is the more excellent way.
I received a media copy of Care and this is my honest review.
May 12, 2025
A concise and powerful resource on how to care for those in your church. A perfect mix of practical advice in the present and an encouragement of the future glory we have in Christ. It was rooted in scripture and also had real-life examples that I enjoyed reading about. This book is timely as it encouraged us to stay where we are for the long-term and also press into relationships that might be hard. I was encouraged by this book!
Thank you to the Good Book Company for the gifted copy!
Thank you to the Good Book Company for the gifted copy!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews