Family-Integrated Church [Paperback]

J. Mark Fox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2006

The story of a church that is surviving and thriving without age-segregated programs. You will laugh, be encouraged, and be inspired. A workable blueprint for change in the local church!

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Salem Communications (June 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600343147
• ISBN-13: 978-1600343148
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly "Church" and a little bit of "Family-Integrated", December 11, 2007

By 

Dan (Colorado) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Family-Integrated Church (Paperback)

I was excited to get this book because I have been wanting a detailed explanation of how and why the family-integrated model (where families are kept together rather than divided into age-oriented ministries) might be a good way to do church. However, the title was a little bit deceptive. This is a book about the lessons J. Mark Fox has learned from pastoring a church for many years, and that church happens to be one that is family-integrated. This is a good book with valuable lessons for church leadership, but there is very little material in it that actually deals with family integration. If you are looking for a book about general church ministry written by a man who has been in the trenches for the long haul you should read this book. But if you are looking for an in-depth treatment of the family-integrated church model, I suggest you look elsewhere.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, July 19, 2006

By 

D. Baisley (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family-Integrated Church (Paperback)

Pastor Fox has written a book that is not only interesting to read, but will challenge some of your most basic and long held beliefs about church on Sunday mornings. Pastor Fox is calling Christians back to a BIBLICAL model of training and discipling children and he desires to see families knit together on Sunday mornings instead of torn apart.

I attend a family integrated church and so I am already familiar with this paradigm. For many years, however, our family attended a more traditional style of service with Sunday School and Youth Group. I sure do wish we had found a family integrated church earlier!

Here's some food for thought: when we go out to eat at a restaurant, we don't walk in the door and hand our children over to the "professional" meal administrators to teach our children how and what to eat while we go and eat in another room. Why do we hand our kids over to others for their spiritual nourishment? Think about it ...

This is an excellent book. Read it and see for yourself!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Family-Integrated Church is explained in this easy to read book, June 23, 2006

By 

John Mark (Elon, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family-Integrated Church (Paperback)

What is a church like that does not divide families when they come through the front door? What is worship like when children and even infants are present? Can a church survive without "age-segregated programming?" What about a "youth group?" Church leadership? Outreach and missions?

There is a movement that is growing in this country, a movement back to the way things used to be as far as church is concerned. It is called by various names, the most common being the "family-integrated church."

This book is the story of how one church has been working to bring families back together. You will laugh, be encouraged, and your heart will be drawn back to what the Lord says about His church as you read this book. It will also serve some readers as a blueprint for change.

J. Mark Fox is Pastor of Antioch Community Church, where he and his wife Cindy have served since the church began in 1987. Mark is also an adjunct instructor in the School of Communications at Elon University, and writes a weekly religion column for the Daily Times-News in Burlington, NC. His columns have won two Amy Awards, in 2004 and 2005, for excellence in communicating biblical truth to a secular audience. He teaches Writing and Public Speaking classes to homeschoolers and is a frequent presenter at the North Carolina homeschool convention. Mark and Cindy live in Burlington with their seven children, two dogs and a cat.