It’s almost summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and at Building Faith we want to share with you some new resources to help you rest, reflect, and recharge during these months and beyond.
We searched through the 2025 and 2026 releases from some of the most popular publishers in the field of Christian ministry and theological education, and found 13 books that seem especially helpful for training leaders and church ministers. They cover a wide range of topics, contexts and perspectives, and some may be useful to share and discuss with colleagues, ministry teams or small groups. To be clear, while we haven’t read all of these books in their entirety, we’re excited about the portions we’ve read of the books already available and the publishers’ pitches for those yet to be released.
We invite you to check out the books that speak to you and return to this list later when looking for resources. If you have read or are reading any of these books, we would love to hear about your experience in the comments below!
Books on healing practices and healing
“No One Is Left Alone: A Story About How Community Helps Us Heal“
by Liz Walker (Broadleaf, 2025); print, ebook, audiobook
This book grew out of the author’s ministry as a Presbyterian minister in a Boston-area community that had endured and carried the trauma of violence and racial oppression. It highlights the program Walker developed at his church, “Can We Talk…Community Sharing of Trauma and Healing,” after the murder of one of the community’s residents, a black man and father named Cory Johnson. The program provides “soft spaces,” as Walker puts it, for community members to express their pain, grief and trauma and find healing together. The book may be particularly useful to communities and leaders who wish to learn from its program and apply similar practices to their own context.
“First Aid Spiritual Care: An All-Level Approach for Church and Community“
by Cody J. Sanders (Fortress, 2025); print, ebook
This is a promising resource for training leaders who have never received pastoral training and who want to learn how to meet people in need, in difficulty and in crisis. As Sanders says in the introduction: “Spiritual care, first aid aims to help you develop the basic caring skills needed to become a helpful and healing presence in the lives of those who need it” (xvi-xvii). While the book is not intended to replace professional pastoral, medical, or mental health care, it is designed to equip Church members with communication and relationship tools to show up for and care for one another in healthy ways.
Book on Scripture Interpretation
“Serving the Scriptures: How to Interpret the Bible for Yourself and Others“
by Jennifer Garcia Bashaw and Aaron Higashi (Broadleaf, 2026); print, ebook, audiobook
This book is designed to provide lay readers with information and tools to find “freedom” and “empowerment,” as Garcia Bashaw and Higashi say in the introduction, by interpreting Scripture (6). The authors compare the reading and interpretation of the Bible to the practice and process of cooking, which helps illuminate how contexts, cultures, traditions, techniques, relationships, tastes, and more play a role in how people seek and find meaning in Scripture. The hope expressed by the authors is that the book can enable more people “to interpret Scripture in a way that is wholesome for yourself and others” (6). This book may prove useful not only for training leaders who wish to better understand ways to approach these ancient texts, but also for adult Bible study groups.
Books to listen to and learn from younger generations
“The Church of tomorrow? : What the “nones” and the “followers” teach us about the future of the faith“
by Stephanie Spellers (Church Publishing, 2025); print, ebook
In this book, Spellers aims to open a serious dialogue about the current heavy reality of church decline across the United States. The book shares data on the decline as well as the stories and insights of the millennial and Gen Z adults Spellers interviewed to invite worshipers to learn about the spirituality of people outside their buildings. This book can be beneficial to any Christian leader, church member, or community interested in addressing difficult questions and conversations about the present and future of churches in the United States and discerning how to live faithfully with God and neighbors at this time.
“Faithful Futures: sacred tools to engage younger generations“
by Josh Packard (Baker Academic, 2025); cover art is by Paula Gibson; print, ebook, audiobook
In this book, Packard combines his expertise as a sociologist and researcher with practical tools to engage Generation Z and Generation Alpha in meaningful religious conversations. The book seeks to equip today’s youth leaders to more effectively minister to young people by reshaping youth training so that it connects to the experiences and needs of these particular generations of adolescents through “sacred listening.” Within its chapters, the book also includes specific practices to help readers apply their ideas to their ministry. This book may be particularly useful and informative for adults who work with young people from Generation Z and Generation Alpha.
“Hunger for hope: Letters from young adults to the Church“
edited by Jeremy Myers and Kristina Frugé (Eerdmans, 2025); print, ebook
This book elevates the voices, desires, and hopes of adults in their 20s and 30s who want more from and for today’s churches. The chapters are the collaborative work of young adults and church leaders from different faith backgrounds, and address pressing issues for many young adults, including the climate crisis, mental health, abuse of power, systems of marginalization, sex and intimacy, and community. This book can be enlightening and fruitful for training leaders, Church ministers, and congregations seeking to support young adults in their communities within and beyond the Church. It can also be a useful resource for young adult church members who want to hear and engage other young adults on these topics.
Books to nourish your spirituality
“It’s All a Story: Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives“
by Kaitlin B. Curtice (Brazos, 2025); cover art is by Paula Gibson; print, ebook, audiobook
This book is a beautiful engagement with the meaning and formation of stories. Curtice brings her Indigenous experience and perspective to think about the kinds of stories that are part of living in this world with human and non-human creatures – not just the fictional and non-fictional stories that are told, written or shared, but also the stories that people experience and encounter everywhere. The book combines poetry, personal stories, and meditations on stories and storytelling, and Curtice includes practices for connecting to stories. This book can be useful for exploring stories and narratives in training contexts as well as for personal and community reflection and discernment.
“Everything Counts: Finding God Everywhere You’re Told Not to Look“
by Natalia Terfa (Broadleaf, coming July 2026); print, ebook, audiobook
This book aims to offer readers a theological word of affirmation about what faithful living can look like. In the book, Lutheran pastor Natalia Terfa highlights the importance and possibilities of love, not only as a way to counter shameful messages about God and faith, but also to help readers embrace a more liberating life with God as fully human. We can’t wait to learn more about this book when it releases in July. It promises to be an uplifting resource for formation leaders, ministers of the Church, and adults who seek to live the faith in a life-giving and empowering way.
“A Quiet Body: Finding God’s Peace in Breath, Movement, and Awareness“
by Joshua Maria Garcia (Church Publishing, coming July 2026); print, ebook
If what you need this summer is a chance to slow down and recharge, this devotional might be the most helpful book for you on this list. It offers body-centered meditations and practices that affirm the goodness and sacredness of the human body. The book is designed to allow readers to connect with their bodies and with God through their bodies. Be on the lookout in July.
Books for social justice work
“Blessed Minds: breaking the silence on neurodiversity“
by Sarah Griffith Lund (Chalice, 2025); print, ebook
This book provides an informative and affirming discussion of neurodiversity and neurodivergence in Christian contexts. In the book, Lund discusses the harmful ways churches have treated neurodivergence and advocates understanding neurodivergent “body-minds,” as she puts it, as “sacred” and “gifts from God” (2). She also provides recommendations for making Christian communities and spaces welcoming and inclusive for neurodivergent members. This book can be a helpful starting point for training leaders and communities interested in learning more about neurodiversity, developing an inclusive and affirming theological understanding of neurodiversity, and shaping church practices in ways that “honor” neurodivergent members (2).
“Christ in the rubble: faith, the Bible and the genocide in Gaza“
by Munther Isaac (Eerdmans, 2025); print, ebook
This book theologically addresses the genocide in Gaza from the perspective of a Palestinian Christian pastor who witnessed firsthand the injustice and suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza. It illuminates the history of oppression behind the current violence against the people of Gaza and offers a theological critique of Western churches’ collusion with imperialist, racist and Zionist policies. For communities, small groups, and training leaders seeking to better understand what is happening in Gaza and how churches can respond, this is an important resource.
“How Western Christianity Got It Wrong: Replacing the God of Fear with Healing Spirituality“
by Randy Woodley (Broadleaf, coming July 2026); print, ebook
This book offers a theological critique of the history of Western Christianity ntal and its imperialist operations on Turtle Island and its indigenous peoples. From the perspective of his white and Indigenous heritage, Woodley discusses the harmful impact of the colonizing theology of Western Christianity and offers an alternative, constructive theological understanding of Jesus and his ministry, informed by Indigenous cultures. This book will be available in July and will be a helpful resource for ministry leaders, small groups, and communities interested in better understanding and considering the role of the Church in the history of colonization of Indigenous peoples’ lands.
“God of Migrants: A Christian Vision for Immigrant Justice“
by Isaac Samuel Villegas (Eerdmans, 2025); print, ebook
This book tells the stories of people involved in the fight for justice with and for immigrants, their families, and their communities in the United States and on the Texas-Mexico border. The aim of the book, according to Villegas, is to provide “a fragmentary view of a people transformed by their dedication to the work of collective integrity” (introduction). This vision revolves around the “solidarity” that people put into practice by showing up for each other and continuing to fight for justice together (introduction). This book can be a fruitful resource for communities involved in justice efforts with and for immigrants as well as for communities who wish to engage and respond as people of faith to the situations that many immigrants currently face in the United States and beyond.
Many thanks to the publishers of these books who allowed us to use the cover images in this article: Baker Academic, Brazos, Broadlea f, Chalice, Church Publishing, Eerdmans and Fortress.
Editor’s note: A minor edit was made to this article shortly after publication on May 26, 2026 to improve clarity.
The image shown is of Ishaq Robin on Unsplash
