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.
Motivated by a deep hunger for more of God, millions of Christians are leaving the traditional church to look for more freedom and fulfillment than the routine of five songs, announcements, a plea for money and a forty five minute sermon allow. They are looking for open ended, deep worship that flows with the Holy Spirit, relatable Bible study and discussion in which they may participate, and strong bonds of fellowship outside the four walls of organized church. Instead of leaving the church to fall away from God, they are leaving the church to find God. Leaving the Church to Find God offers scriptural, safe, and balanced answers tempered by real life experiences, on how to move from a traditional church structure into meetings that allow the Lord to set the agenda and where needs are met. John Fenn - I was a Christian who felt disconnected from church though I'd been actively involved nearly all my life. I was looking for answers to my desire and hunger for God to move freely, and came to realize I wasn't alone. From all walks of life and across the church spectrum people are searching for something deeper, but they don't quite know what. This is the story of how I found God moving outside the church structure that I had known, loved, and been a part of my whole Christian life. John and his wife Barbara were born in Kokomo, Indiana and began dating as teenagers when they met the Lord, and began ministering to their teenage friends. They've been in the ministry now for over thirty years, serving in various capacities including Campus Pastor, Associate Pastor, Senior Pastor, and advisor to churches and Bible schools all over the world. John also worked with Peter Wagner teaching at the Wagner Leadership Institute, serving as Canadian National Director and Education Advisor. He remains an adjunct instructor of Wagner Leadership Institute of Colorado Springs. In early 2002 John and his wife Barb, founded The Church Without Walls International of Tulsa, a house church network, emphasizing Relationship Based Christianity. He travels and teaches in all different streams of Christianity, helping churches and individuals find significance and fulfillment through Godly relationships and the discipleship process.
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.
Tim Kimmel gives a comprehensive strategy to churches for family ministry as well as a plan for parents seeking to pass their faith to the next generation. He shares valuable tools for the church to use to build a strong family ministry.A child who has seen grace lived out in front of him at church and at home is much more inclined toward staying committed to a relationship with God into adulthood. So Kimmel shares what a grace-based family ministry looks like in the local church. He also teaches parents how to translate every part of ministry they are exposed to at church to translate into spiritual training at home. The Family Ministry Map, created by Kimmel, is explained in detail, and examples of the program put into practice are given. This book gives a vital message to church ministry leaders and parents equally, making this a must-read for all involved in sharing faith with the next generation.
In "When God comes to church," Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. explores what the Bible teaches about revival. He explains what God can do to revive his people and what we must do to prepare ourselves for revival. Ortlund's conclusions provide solid guidance for church leaders and lay people who long for renewal and revival from God.
Lasting, lifelong faith is rarely taught in church programs but is rather ''caught'' from a lifestyle of faith lived out at home ... but how can your church equip the home to be the primary place where faith is nurtured rather than being a ''drop-off center'' for Bible education? By becoming a Faith@Home church. Based on Mark Holmen's foundational book Building Faith at Home, this new revised and expanded edition includes everything you need to weave a Faith@Home focus into the DNA of your church community! Church + Home builds on the ministry concepts Mark has refined through the rapid international growth of the Faith@Home movement. You will learn how to reestablish your church members' homes as the primary incubator for faith by implementing vibrant, effective Faith@Home ministry in your church, no matter its size. You'll also find practical tools for building bridges between your church's programs and member's homes, and hear from pastors, student ministers and lay leaders whose faith communities are making an eternal difference in families' lives. Your church can put faith back where it belongs ... Church + Home shows you how. Find out how your faith community can become a Faith@Home church to grow the next generation of the Body of Christ.
In Rufus and Ryan Go to Church! Ryan explains to his stuffed monkey, Rufus, what is happening as they attend church on Sunday morning. He lets Rufus know when it's time to sing and to pray and to be quiet. About the series: Rufus and Ryan is a new series of board books for preschoolers, featuring Ryan, an energetic little boy, and his stuffed monkey Rufus. The series focuses on religious and church concepts, as well as character traits and development. The text is presented in young Ryan's voice as he teaches Rufus about the things he is learning himself. In about 150 age-appropriate words, author Kathleen Bostrom brings a delightfully light touch to the text as she provides an introduction to practices and experiences that many children are exposed to long before they understand why. And children everywhere will relate to the idea of explaining their surroundings to a favorite companion as they go about their daily activities.
