More Church Than Church

After 35 years of working with gang members and prison inmates, Glen Fitzjerrell has written the definitive guide to reaching anybody, anywhere.

From the author: I’m in a downstate prison, sitting with two members of the Insane Unknowns gang. Weeks ago, one of these men asked me to help him start living a life of faith and connection to God. After leading him in a simple prayer, he helped the man sitting next to him pray the same prayer.

Then they led all the other men in their prison unit in the same prayer.

Now they’re explaining that I needed to wrap things up a little early because: “Every night we get in a circle, we all hold hands, and we work out any conflicts we might have, and then we pray before lights-out”. When I asked where they got an idea like that, they said, “We read the Bible, and it says: ‘In your anger do not sin, Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.’ So we just figured this is how Christians do it.”

In that moment, far from any form of church culture, towering cathedrals, or doctrinal traditions, I had helped set in motion something that was more church than any church I had ever known.

If you’re running a church or trying to start a small group and you want more passion, more honesty, and more transformation, or if you’ve left a church because you were looking for more, this is your guide to finding…more”

All proceeds from this book will go towards supporting our weekly Chicago Bridge service for people returning from jail, overcoming addiction and leaving the street lifestyle; for more information see missionusa.com.