As you can see by this site, things are looking a little different for the RELEVANT Network. Over the last year, we’ve listened to your feedback and have been working to completely reinvent the Network and make it an indispensable tool for you to use as you impact our generation.

While we’ll still bring you the best hand-selected books, CDs and DVDs we can find for your ministry, we’re adding features to the Network that will shift the focus away from being just a collection of good products. We want the Network to arm you in completely new ways, which is why our editors have been working to develop a variety of new and exclusive tools for you to use, adapt, copy and distribute. Here are just a few of the changes you’ll see:

THEMES
One of the biggest things you told us was that the random variety of the resources we included in each box was somewhat overwhelming. So, moving forward we’ll be theming each RELEVANT Network box and issue of the Leader around a central topic that’s integrally important to ministering to this generation. This edition is community. In the works we have spiritual disciplines, authenticity, justice and others. We feel like giving clear focus and simplifying the kits and magazine will allow us to go deeper with key issues and provide much more effective tools for your ministry.

SMALL GROUP STUDY GUIDES
In each edition of the kit you’ll now find two original six-week small group study guides. We’ll be selecting two books specifically for the spiritual growth of your congregation, and for those books the RELEVANT editorial team is creating exclusive group study tools. Feel free to download, adapt and reproduce the studies as needed.

LEADER DISCUSSION NOTES
In every box we also include books that look at where church is going and what God is doing in this generation. For those, we’ll be including “key thought” sheets for you as you go through the books. They’re also great to use as discussion guides for your leader meetings, or just for your personal study. We want to continually arm you with a big-picture perspective of what God is doing today, and these resources will help keep you connected.

DISCOUNTED (CHEAP!) RESOURCES
We believe in the products we’re providing in each kit, and now if some jump out and you want to use them in small group application, or just want more copies, we’re making it easy to do that. All of our partners are offering Relevant Network subscribers exclusive buy-back discounts, so it’s now more affordable than ever to implement these tools. Check out the road map that came with your Network kit for specific discounts and ordering information.

REDESIGNED LEADER MAGAZINE
After listening to your feedback, we’ve made quite a few changes to the magazine. Not only will each issue now go deeper into a key theme, but we’ve also trimmed the fat in some areas and added new sections—ThePulse, for example, will keep you up to speed on what’s happening around the world and in our generation. But the thing we’re most excited about is the new interactive elements of the magazine. Before the issue goes out, we email some Network subscribers to chime in and offer their perspectives on articles or topics. We’re working to intentionally make the Leader and Network more of a platform for your voice to be heard.

NEW RELEVANTNETWORK.COM
We recently relaunched RELEVANTnetwork.com and added some content areas you might want to check out. The main one is an editor’s blog that will keep an eye on ministry news and issues that matter to you. There are also new message boards for you to connect with other like-minded ministers, and we’ve overhauled our RELEVANT Network email newsletter. Online, daily interactivity for Network subscribers is something we’re working hard on, and we have even more online content plans in the works.

At RELEVANT our focus is impacting this generation for Christ, and if you’re reading this you’re probably focused on the same thing in your ministry. As we move forward with these new plans, please let us know how we’re doing. Effective ministry is always changing and progressing, and we want this resource to be right there with you, arming you with what you need to equip, connect and lead this generation. We appreciate your partnership, and know that 2008 is going to be a year of significant spiritual impact!