Organic Church
Subtitle: Growing Faith Where Life Happens
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Published: September 8, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780787981297
Subjects: Christian mission & evangelism; Religion; Church renewal; Religion - Church Life & Growth; Institutions & Organizations; Christian Church - Growth; Religion / Christian Life; Christianity and culture; Christian Life - General; Evangelistic work; Christianity - Christian Life - General
First sentence: When I took biology in high school, we had to dissect a frog.
Description: Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members—revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren't being reached, who don't want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God's presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God's Word.

According to Neil Cole, if we want to connect with those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed— restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms, and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.

While it may seem revolutionary, these simple, organic churches—bringing God's message where people are rather than expecting them to show up at church—is in keeping with the message of Jesus, who lived among the people of his time. Organic Church shows how we can return to those ancient roots by letting the church be alive, organic, growing, spreading in the most likely and unlikely places.