Results of Christianity Today's 2015 Book Awards are in, and InterVarsity Press is pleased to announce that Teach Us to Want by Jen Pollock Michel was named the 2015 Book of the Year, as well as the top Christian Living title.

"I'm thrilled—and of course surprised," Michel said. "The process of writing Teach Us to Want formed me spiritually, and I'm hopeful it will do the same for readers. I've begun believing the gospel is big enough for the complexity of human desire—and that God is good enough for the contradictions of the human heart. For me, that's been terrific news."

Courtney Ressig, Her.meneutics writer and a judge for the Christian Living category, wrote, "Most of us have wanted something at some point in life. Some of us live with a deep void in our souls that never seems to be filled. How do we live with such desires? How do we respond to the emotions brought on by longing and wanting? With raw honesty and a scriptural foundation, Michel shows that our desires have a place in the journey of faith."

Three additional InterVarsity Press titles received Awards of Merit: Visions of Vocation by Steven Garber in the Christian Living category, The New Parish by Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens and Dwight Friesen in the Church/Pastoral Leadership category, and Called to Be Saints by Gordon Smith in the Spirituality category.

"I am delighted with this significant recognition of these outstanding IVP books with a special shout-out to Jen Pollock Michel for receiving the Book of the Year award!" said Bob Fryling, publisher for IVP. "One of my great joys as a publisher is to be able to read and personally benefit from so many of the books we publish—and these award-winning books are no exception. In an age of superficiality these books are written by authors with deep convictions and experiences of living the Christian life with biblical and spiritual integrity. They write with insight, humility and an ability to stir up faith and good works. I celebrate their achievements in these awards and I am grateful for their partnership with IVP."

In Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, Garber offers a book for everyone everywhere—for students, for parents, for those in the arts, in the academy, in public service, in the trades and in commerce—for all who want to discover the virtue of vocation. Rachel Marie Stone, author of Eat with Joy, was a judge in the Christian Living category and wrote: "Many Christians struggle with envisioning what it is to be and to work in the world. Garber offers stories and wisdom that affirm the goodness and rightness of Christians pursuing callings in areas not traditionally considered ministry, but that may be missional nonetheless."

The New Parish: How Neighborhood Churches are Transforming Mission, Discipleship and Community is filled with stories that offer practical insights for how each person can participate in what God is doing in the place he or she lives. David Swanson, pastor of New Community Covenant Church in Chicago, was one of the judges in the Church/Pastoral Leadership category. He wrote: "The authors explore how the limitations of staying rooted in a particular place actually provide opportunities for transformation and mission. This is counterintuitive for churches that have bought into the mobile and transient values of our culture."

In Called to be Saints: An Invitation to Christian Maturity Smith unfolds how and why Christians are called to become wise people, do good work, love others and enjoy rightly ordered affections. "Smith has written a comprehensive and compelling volume on the central importance of maturing in Christian life," said Arthur Boers, a judge in the Spirituality category and the R. J. Bernardo Family Chair of Leadership at Tyndale Seminary. "He prophetically challenges anemic views of Christian conversion and Christian living, ones that do not include and involve the imperative of growing into holiness."

Winners of Christianity Today's 2015 Book Awards are titles that judges of each category have deemed "the books most likely to shape evangelical life, thought, and culture."

For more information about these titles and other award winners from IVP, visit ivpress.us/award-winners.