People have lost faith in all collective institutions: government, corporations, the media, and the church. We are in the midst of a spiritual disaster, a flood of biblical proportions, and house churches provide lifeboats for people who are seeking a more authentic, life-giving form of Christian community. Many people remember that the early church started in homes, but they don’t understand that house churches are still a legitimate and viable model today. House churches can create the intimacy so many people are hungry for. They can nurture life-changing discipleship for individuals and create justice-centered communities. Networked house churches can become truly diverse, multi-ethnic communities that spread the Gospel by emphasizing practices over programs. These communities de-center the preacher, opting instead for grassroots organizing, but they are not leaderless — they are leader-full. This book provides an alternative model for denominations and established churches to consider. It will help pastors reconnect with the traditions of community organizing, itinerant preaching, and discipleship training that sparked Methodism and other church movements in the United States. Church Comes Home offers alternative ways to look at some of the problems facing our church and our culture.

In our modern dislocated society many are searching for a church experience that offers true Christian sharing, nurturing, and discipleship, in addition to teaching and worship. For many such people the answer is found in the home church: a small, committed group of often diverse people who meet together in homes to pray, eat, sing, study, and share their lives. The Church Comes Home is a handbook for those interested in home churches. It is both visionary and practical. It describes how home churches can be formed, how they should grow, and how networks of home churches can develop. It examines issues--for example, how to make decisions; how to determine doctrine; how to include children, singles, elders; and how to reach out to the community at large--and offers practical suggestions for their resolution.

There's a new way of doing church and it's taking North America by storm! Here a recognized authority on the house church movement and a popular speaker and pastor share their expertise in starting and maintaining a healthy house church. Together they look at current and future trends in the house church movement and provide best practice models for planting and leading house churches. Also, they explore how house churches are not always the same as simple cell-groups or small groups, especially in the areas of leadership and money. Readers will discover all the information they need to begin a house church in their community.

In our modern dislocated society many are searching for a church experience that offers true Christian sharing, nurturing, and discipleship, in addition to teaching and worship. For many such people the answer is found in the home church: a small, committed group of often diverse people who meet together in homes to pray, eat, sing, study, and share their lives. Rob and Julia Banks have been involved with home churches for over twenty-five years, and they are wonderful guides to the world of the home church. Together they have led seminars and assisted congregations in developing this style of gathering in many parts of the world. Robert is also Professor of the Ministry of the Laity and Executive Director of the De Pree Leadership Center at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of many books, including "Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting." Julia coordinates the community house in which she and Rob live with a group of students. She is also active as a church planter and in building networks among house churches.

In this "blueprint for survival," Christian sociologist George Barna evaluates the moral and spiritual decline of society and the corresponding stagnation within the Church. Using hard data, Barna unveils the status quo and argues convincingly that the Church must re-invent itself or face virtual oblivion by the mid-21st century.

Most don't make it to the deep waters of community. They settle for the shallow end of virtual-screen living. But what if there is a way forward, a way through to the deepest, most satisfying, missional community we have ever experienced? What if life together has less to do with scheduled potlucks and more do to with serendipitous moments with God's people? In Coming Home, Jon Quitt offers a practical way forward for those who desire a gospel community, rich in love, woven together by pastoral theology that still works on Mondays.

Through rhyme and engaging illustrations this book shows parents and children what God's plans are for worshipping him in their home.