Brad House - Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support

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Community will inspire your small group leaders to grow and maintain healthy, Christ-centered, and mission-minded groups. It will be a vital tool for your pastors, church leaders, and small group leaders.

Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor, LifeChurch.tv; author, WEIRD: Because Normal Isnt Working

Christianity is not for lone rangers. We are saved by Jesus to be a vital part of a team called the churchthe body of Christ. Community is an excellent book that clearly, theologically, and practically helps us to see what it means to be a biblically functioning community on mission for Jesus. It answers the question Why have community groups? and it provides a reproducible pattern as to how to implement them. Read it, then go and put its insights into practice.

Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

In the twentieth century, multitudes of churches grew through attractional evangelism and Sunday school classes on their property. In the twenty-first century, newer and growing churches focus missionally on community groupsnot in educational buildings but in the homes of believersscattered in the neighborhoods all around a churchs region. This is a good thing. Pastor Brad House has written a fantastic book to help conventional, transitional, and emerging churches to live out the gospel in community. Read your Bible, then read this, and then go reach your neighbors.

Alvin L. Reid, Professor of Evangelism and Student Ministry, Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

I sincerely believe this book has the power to redefine small group ministry. With brilliance Brad unearths the theology behind micro-Christian communities, clarifies the role and realities of the gospel, and vividly describes the system, infrastructure, and strategy that Mars Hill has (through trial and error) found to be most effective. If your goal is to create gospel-centered small groups that make Jesus known on the streets, cul-de-sacs, and neighborhoods where God placed you to do ministry, read this book, reflect on what it says, and then make it your guide for doing groups.

Rick Howerton, author, Destination Community: Small-GroupMinistry Manual

In a rare combination, Brad House bridges the biblical and theological underpinnings of small groups and presents practical how-tos. He explains why smaller communities are imperative to the health of the individual and to the church, and then goes on to explain from bottom to top how to make it work in your church. Free of clichs and stereotypes, Brad takes a fresh look at an ancient concept!

Bill Search, author, Simple Small Groups; Small Groups Pastor, Southeast Christian Church

When people think of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, they probably imagine a big church thats big on preaching. In this helpful book, Brad House shows that Mars Hill is far more than that. But this book isnt merely a description of how Mars Hill does small groups. This is a thoughtful and thorough treatment of the what, why, and even how of gospel-centered, community-focused, mission-shaped small groups. Ive been doing church this way for years, and there is a great deal in here to help me as I learn how to do life-on-life together on mission with the people of God.

Steve Timmis, director, Acts 29 Western Europe; coauthor Total Church

Brad provides a compelling vision and clear strategy for incarnational, missional group life in churches. It is shaped by Scripture, forged in the crucible of trial and error, supported by a common-sense structure, and transferable to any church willing to do the gutsy work of community building in a world that desperately needs it.

Bill Donahue, founder, The Communitas Network; best-selling author, Leading Life-Changing Small Groups

Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support

Copyright 2011 by Brad House

Published by Crossway

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy,recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as providedfor by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Patrick Mahoney of The Mahoney Design Team

Cover image: Patrick Mahoney

First printing 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked NIV are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2010 by Biblica, Inc. Used bypermission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All emphases in Scripture have been added by the author.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4335-2306-9

ISBN-10: 1-4335-2306-X

PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-2315-1

Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-2316-8

EPub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2317-5