Product 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 international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38254 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Review
"...for Christians who are asking deep questions."  (Church Times, Friday 21st December 2007)

Review
"...for Christians who are asking deep questions."  (Church Times, Friday 21st December 2007)

From the Inside Flap
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 international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and 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, this model of church—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.

Customer Reviews

Style and Substance
I'll be honest - a few pages into this book I wasn't enjoying it. Having got used to the often understated approach of emerging church type books I found Neil Cole's gung-ho writing style quite annoying. However, as the book's proposition sounded interesting I perservered and I'm extremely glad I did. There is some superb material in this book, for instance the Simple Church model it proposes, an obvious incarnational DNA, the voice of real experience, and lots of very quoteable one-liners such as "We need to lower the bar on how church is done and raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple." This book is manna from heaven for anyone braving the desert sands that lie beyond church-as-we-know-it in hope of eventually entering a more fruitful future.

Neil Cole's Organic Church
If you are involved with organic, simple, reproducible church then I suggest you read this book, NOW! Neil and his team are among the few who are currently seeing organic churches multiplying here in the West, so they know what they are talking about. What is great is that this is not the predicatble '10 steps to get your churches multiplying' type book, it is essentially a paradigm-shifting tool. Neil takes us through some of the fundamental re-thinking about the church and what it is that is vital if we are going to see what so many long for - our cities and nations reached and discipled. Be prepared to have your existing paradigm severely shaken; be willing to see things in a completely new light. If you are brave enough to do this I guarantee things will never be the same.