Our collection of creation care resources is for churches at any stage on the journey of integrating creation care into congregational life. Explore small group studies, books, curriculum and more from the A Rocha network.
Table of Contents
Small Group Studies
All of Life | 4-part video series
From A Rocha International. Rev. Dave Bookless, Director of Theology, walks through the big picture gospel story from creation to Jesus’ return, enlivening our imaginations by exploring how concepts like home, shalom, and vocation include all of life. Filmed at the New Wine Netherlands Conference in 2020. Access the videos.
Creation Care Study Guide | 13-part video series
From Lausanne Global Classroom. Interviews with practitioners from A Rocha and other groups introduce creation care as integral to Christian discipleship. Episodes consist of short videos and guides with prompts for discussion, and prayer. Suitable for teens and adults. Get the Guide.
Elements of Hope | 5-part video series
From A Rocha International. From discovering beauty in small things, to planting roots in places long-term, “Elements of Hope” offers the Christian perspective on today’s conservation challenges. Discussion guides in Vimeo notes. 1: I am a conservationist. 2: Am I too small to make a difference? 3: Take Root. 4: Bounce Back. 5: Blue.
Liturgies of Restoration | 5-week study for personal or small group use
From the Au Sable Institute. How can Christians respond faithfully in a world of noise, distraction, and news of ecological destruction? What practices can sustain our partnership with God to restore his good creation? Explore these questions with weekly short readings, reflections, practices, and prayers.
Plastic in God’s Oceans | 4-part Bible Study
From A Rocha International’s Plastic Toolbox. Scripture readings and discussion questions move through four topics: God’s purpose for the ocean, our relationship to the ocean, the suffering of the ocean, and the source of hope for the ocean. Get the Guide and the Prayer for the Oceans.
Kids Curriculum
Wild Wonder | VBS-style Kids Camp Curriculum, 4 year cycle
Invite children (aged 5-10) to delight in God as creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all things by immersing them in the wonders of the created world through daily devotions, nature study, and play. Year 1 also available in Spanish. Learn More.
Building and Facility Stewardship
Energy for Purpose | Energy audits for churches
Sometimes all it takes are simple changes to how we use a church facility to lower emissions and reduce costs. Energy for Purpose specializes in providing thorough audits of facility use and recommendations for next steps to churches across the country. Their passion is to free up funds for missions while practicing good stewardship of the earth’s resources. Rebates available, depending on location. Contact Colby May for more information.
360°carbon | Carbon footprint calculator
360°carbon is a free to use, collaborative, web-based tool which enables churches to measure their carbon footprint from different activities like travel, food, waste, water and energy use. Sign up for an account.
Books - A Rocha Authors
A Place at the Table: Faith, Hope, and Hospitality | Jo Swinney and Miranda Harris
Structured around the stages of a meal, this book is written in part by Miranda Harris (co-founder of A Rocha), whose tragic death in 2019 was a shock to many around the world who found her approach to hospitality and community a life-long inspiration. Miranda’s daughter, Jo Swinney, writes alongside her to explore the transformative way in which sharing food is at the heart of a shared life.
Doing Good Without Giving Up: Sustaining Social Action in a World that’s Hard to Change | Ben Lowe
Ben Lowe, Executive Director of A Rocha USA, explores the Christian’s call to follow Christ and do good in the world, even when success does not seem achievable. Not solely creation care focused. Includes study questions.
Under the Bright Wings | Peter Harris
Under the Bright Wings tells the story of how Peter and Miranda Harris founded A Rocha in the Algarve, Portugal in 1983. “In the developing ministry of A Rocha an exciting, contemporary form of Christian mission has come alive.” – The Rev Dr John Stott
Planted: A Story of Creation, Calling, and Community | Leah Kostamo
Planted is not a “how to” book, but a “how so” book in which the reader is invited to travel with Leah Kostamo, A Rocha Canada co-founder, on the wild ride of salmon saving, stranger welcoming, and God worshiping as she and her husband helped establish the first Christian environmental center in Canada.
Planetwise: Dare to Care for God’s World | Dave Bookless
- Dave Bookless (A Rocha International Director of Theology) writes about green issues, but not through the lens of guilt. There is hope. God can take your small and insignificant efforts and multiply them in his great plan. Besides honoring him, living simply can be an exciting adventure.
Books - Theological Perspectives
Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters | Sandra Richter
An expert in ancient Israelite society and economy as well as biblical theology, Richter walks readers through passages familiar and not-so-familiar, showing how significant environmental theology is to the Bible’s witness. She then calls Christians to apply that message to today’s environmental concerns.
The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation | Richard Bauckham
Bauckham discovers a tradition of a “community of creation” in which human beings are fellow members with God’s other creatures and true reconciliation to God involves the entire creation. Short, reliable, and engaging, The Bible and Ecology is essential reading for anyone looking for a biblically grounded approach to ecology.
For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care | Steven Bouma-Prediger
This award-winning book provides the most thorough evangelical treatment available on a theology of creation care. “Authentic Christian faith requires ecological obedience,” writes Steven Bouma-Prediger. He urges Christians to acknowledge their responsibility and privilege as stewards of the earth.
Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible | Ellen Davis
Nine interrelated essays explore the biblical writers’ pervasive concern for the care of arable land against the background of the geography, social structures, and religious thought of ancient Israel. Davis creates a conversation between ancient texts and contemporary agrarian writers, providing a fresh perspective from which to view the destructive practices and assumptions that now dominate the global food economy.
Creation Care, A Biblical Theology of the Natural World | Douglas Moo and Jonathan Moo.
The Bible reveals a God whose creative power and loving care embrace all that exists. Yet the significance of the Bible’s extensive teaching about the natural world is easily overlooked by Christians accustomed to focusing on what the Bible says about God’s interaction with human beings. Father and son team Douglas and Jonathan Moo cast a joyful vision of the world as God’s creation, inviting readers to rediscover who they truly are as creatures called to love and serve the Creator, and delight in all God has made.
Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth | Debra Rienstra
Christian spirituality and practice must adapt to prepare for life on a climate-altered planet. Rienstra applies the concept of refugia – a place of shelter – to human culture and faith, asking, in this era of ecological devastation, how can Christians become people of refugia, not only in the biomes of the earth, but in our human cultural systems and in our spiritual lives?
Shalom and the Community of Creation | Randy S. Woodley
Materialism. Greed. Loneliness. A manic pace. Abuse of the natural world. Inequality. Injustice. War. The endemic problems facing America today are staggering. We need change and restoration. But where to begin? Randy Woodley offers an answer: learn more about the Native American ‘Harmony Way,’ a concept that closely parallels biblical shalom.
For additional learning resources like podcasts and articles, go to News & Stories.
A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA, Inc.
PO Box 223
Wheaton, IL 60187
Email: [email protected]
© 2024 A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA, Inc.
PO Box 223
Wheaton, IL 60187
Email: [email protected]
© 2024 A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA
A Rocha USA
