Simple Church

Now in paperback, this multi-awarded national best seller shares a clear message from case studies of 400 North American congregations: church is done best when it's kept simple.

The simple revolution is here. From the design of Apple products to Google's uncluttered homepage, simple ideas are changing the world. Now in paperback, multi-awarded #1 national bestseller Simple Church guides Christians back to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required. With insights based on case studies of 400 American churches, Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove the disciple-making process is often too complex. Simple churches thrive by taking four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus. Simple Church examines each idea, clearly showing why it is time to simplify. This updated trade paper edition includes a new chapter with further insights the authors have gained through hundreds of conversations with church leaders since this landmark book's original release.

Multi-awarded national hit Simple Church shares a clear message from case studies of 400 North American congregations: Church is done best when it's kept simple.

“What is simple church?” This is a simple question that doesn’t have a simple answer. Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity is an attempt to shed light on the above question and provide some answers. The twenty-four contributors all hope this book will help people, both inside and outside the church, better understand what simple church life is all about. Far too often discussions about the church descend into arguments that accomplish little. We have no desire to take part in that. Rather, each person who has written a chapter for this book desires that it will lead to increased communication, understanding, and ultimately unity within the body of Christ. Twenty-four writers means twenty-four somewhat different perspectives. We certainly do not agree on everything. You will see that as you read through the book. What we do agree upon is that simple practices often lead to great opportunities for edification and service—both inside and outside the church. We want to share these ideas with other followers of Christ and explain what it is all about. If you would like to know more about simple church from a positive perspective, then this is the book for you!

"Charles Kridiotis has been serving the simple church movement in Sweden and Europe for many years in a mentoring and equipping role, forming teams that thrive. In this book Charles gives his perspective on the simple church movement as a practitioner. He describes the basics of the Kingdom that Jesus preached, how to make disciples, simple church life and leadership, and the multiplication of simple church groups and networks. The principles he shares are biblically founded and illustrated with real-life anecdotes from his own experience." Marc van der Woude Dutch innovator, trend watcher, networker, founder of Simple Church Europe and publisher of Joel News International (joelnews.org), a weekly e-zine.

In this book the authors explore some dynamic trends in society and church that are pushing believers into simpler ways of doing church. -- from back cover.

It is time to take heart and rework the scorecard. --

Why closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry. Topics include: Why stickiness is so important Why most of our discipleship models don't work very well Why small groups always make a church more honest and transparent What makes groups grow deeper and sticker over time Sticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.