Dustin Willis - Life in Community: Joining Together to Display the Gospel

A practical, engaging book on the indispensable role a healthy local church plays in reaching its community. Willis shows us why the local church is Gods plan A, the table, Willis says, He sets with grace for all who are hungry. Williss style makes for easy reading, all the while hammering you with great gospel insights. Youll be entertained and motivated through this short, compelling book!

J. D. GREEAR, pastor of The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, author, Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send

I am grateful for this book, for it provides us this picture of the church that we desperately need to see in our day. Taken straight from Scripture, then buttressed with poignant illustrations and practical application, these pages drip with the depth of community that Christ has designed for His church.

DAVID PLATT, president of the International Mission Board, author of Radical, Follow Me, and Counter Culture

Life in Community is just the sort of call every Western Christian needs in this age of individualism, consumerism, and compartmentalization. Dustin Williss treatment of communitys role in the Christian life is balanced, biblical, and well-timed.

MATT CARTER, pastor of preaching, Austin Stone Community Church, coauthor, The Real Win

The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a community of repenting sinners bonded together in a blood covenant in Jesus Christ. We are called to live, not in isolation but with one another. As a family community, we share certain values and commitments under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Life In Community fleshes this out in a manner that is biblically faithful, theologically rich, and practically helpful. This is a book that will serve well any church that wants to be an authentic biblical community.

DANIEL L. AKIN, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, author of A Theology for the Church

Dustins conviction to see local churches reach their full potential pours off the pages. He lives what he sees Scripture prescribe. Life in Community will calibrate the hearts of Gods people to His mission for our daily lives.

D. A. HORTON; author of G.O.S.P.E.L. and national coordinator of Urban Student Missions at the North American Mission Board

God created us to be in community. He also created the churchthe community we desire. Through Jesus, he made us part of that community. The community is strong, our membership secure. Even so, we struggle to actively participate in that community. With the heart of a pastor, Dustin encourages us and shows us how to engage in Jesus communitythe community we need and desirefor our good and Gods glory.

ELLIOT GRUDEM, lead pastor for church planting and leadership development, Vintage Church

We live in an increasingly isolated world. In Life in Community Dustin Willis gets to the core of what it takes to build a community that brings the power of the gospel to the heart of that isolation. If applied, Dustins message wont just lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships within the church but to a thoroughly biblical manner of pursuing Gods mission in North America and beyond.

KEVIN EZELL, president of the North American Mission Board, SBC

Dustin has captured the heartbeat of what people look for in the local church: a safe place to walk with God in the context of biblical family. Life in Community gives us a picture of what the local church should look like when its known by its love.

DHATI LEWIS, lead pastor of Blueprint Church, Atlanta, Georgia

In Life in Community Dustin challenges us to see that biblical community and missional effectiveness cannot be separated. He provides a helpful and much-needed reminder that engaging in Gods mission of redemption is in a fact a communal activity.

BRAD BRISCO, author of Missional Essentials and The Missional Quest

Only the gospel forms Christian community, people formed together because Christ has rescued them. And community that is really Christian always results in missionin people advancing the gospel together. I am grateful for Dustins work and helpful challenge.

ERIC GEIGER, vice president, Life Way Christian Resources, coauthor of Simple Church

Life in Community encourages us to realize our basic need and the incredible blessings that occur when we live in community. Dustin clearly motivates us to pursue authentic community with the understanding that is terribly messy and wonderfully beautiful at the same time. More importantly, Life in Community helps us realize that the quest for community will often magnetically draw others toward God.

MARY FRANCES BOWLEY, founder, chief strategic officer of Well Spring Living, author of The White Umbrella

So many in the church, even in church leadership, draw a tacit distinction between community and evangelismone is inside the church and the other is outside. But what if thats a false distinction and actually undermines the mission of the church? Dustin Willis does a wonderful job of helping believers see how to do the mission of church in community, in homes, in friendship, in relationship. Life in Community is a resource that can help any church.

BARNABAS PIPER, blogger, podcaster, and author of The Pastors Kid and Help My Unbelief

Our culture is more connected but more lonely than ever before. Wow!!! If Dustins insights could ripple through the church, our lives and future generations would be better for it!

CLAY SCROGGINS, lead pastor of North Point Community Church

Genuine gospel community is sadly missing in the church today. This is why Dustin Willis calls us to return to the biblical model of experiencing relationships that are truly engaging and openly authentic. Life in Community will help you leave the dangerous waters of personal isolationism and transition into the tranquil waters of gospel community that results in life change and overflowing hope.

RONNIE FLOYD, president, Southern Baptist Convention and senior pastor, Cross Church

Community for many peopleboth inside and outside the churchis a dream that often goes unrealized. We strive to be known, and long for authentic relationships, but often it feels like life in community is nearly impossible. In Life in Community, Dustin Willis paints a practical picture of community with excellence, while marrying a biblical and gospel-centered foundation for life together as Christians. Im particularly grateful for his attention to the inseparability of community and mission. This is an excellent book!

TODD ENGSTROM, executive pastor of Ministries, Austin Stone Community Church

I am struck often by Jesus prayer for us to be unified together as believers. His intention is for our community to both nourish us and to invite outsiders to know His nourishing love for them. Heart-level community is a foundational ingredient in the gospel transforming insiders and outsiders, which is why Im thrilled Dustin Willis has written this book. He gives us key ingredients for building lasting and impactful community.

CHRISTINE HOOVER, author of The Church Planting Wife and From Good to Grace

I absolutely loved Life in Community. I highly recommend this for every small group if they want to grow in how they relate to one another. Its clear, simple, and extremely practical.