When Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church was first published, it described one of the fastest growing and most innovative segments of contemporary Christianity.

In Church 3.0, Cole makes the argument that Christianity needs more than new programs, buildings, or worship formats. It needs a complete upgrade to a new operating system. The early church shifted to a more institutional form in 300 AD and has been stuck in the 2.0 operating system ever since. We are overdue for the next upgrade. Church 3.0 discusses issues such as how to deal with heresy, how to handle finances, what to do with children, and what to do with worship, rituals, and ordinances. Even the most enthusiastic proponents and practitioners of organic churches often wonder how to handle such matters in a faithful way.

Organic churches demand a shift from a program-driven and clergy-led institutionalized approach to one that is relational, simple, intimate, and viral in the way it spreads. Instead of seeing church as something that serves its people, church becomes people who serve God, one another, and a hurting world. Church is no longer an event to be at, but a family to be part of. Church is not a program to reach out to the world, but a people that bring God with them to the world.

Based on Cole's extensive experience in starting, nurturing, and mentoring thousands of churches, Church 3.0 offers insight and information about how to make this shift to a more organic form of church. Church 3.0 is an insider's look at the important considerations necessary to release spontaneous church multiplication movements in a Western context.

Neil Cole was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. While studying art as a freshman at California State University, Long Beach, he encountered the good news of Jesus Christ and turned his life over to Him, never looking back.

Neil's journey in God's Kingdom brought him to serve in a megachurch of over 3,500 people, a local community church of 120, and now as a catalyst to help start thousands of small, rapidly multiplying, organic churches that meet in homes, campuses, prisons, dormitories, and places of business across the globe.

Neil has authored fourteen books and traveled to over forty-eight nations of the world, sowing the seeds of God's Kingdom, catalyzing the development of organic church networks, and coaching thousands of leaders and churches.

Neil has been married for thirty-five years to Dana and has three adult children-Heather, Erin, and Zach-and three grandsons.

Neil Cole regularly contributes to the following websites:

www.StarlingInitiatives.com
www.neilcole.blog
www.CMAResources.org
www.100movements.org
www.cole-slaw.blogspot.com

About Leadership Network ix

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction What About This Book? Shifting from Church 2.0 to 3.0 1

Part One Global Changes Demand a Better Church 13

1 What About the World We Live In? From a Village Church to a Global Village 15

2 What About Our Changing Culture? From Ministry in a Modern World to Postmodern 23

Part Two Structural Issues 43

3 What About the Church's Mission? From Coming to Going 45

4 What About Church Growth? From Incremental to Exponential 66

5 What About Church Models? Part One: From Congregations to Networks 92

6 What About Church Models? Part Two: From Centralized to Decentralized 116

7 What About Larger Gatherings? From One-Size-Fits-All to Tailored Groups for Effective Function 137

Part Three Pragmatic Concerns 163

8 What About Evangelism? From Drawing Converts to Catalyzing Movements 165

9 What About Baptism and Communion? From Sacerdotal Rituals to Apostolic Genius 189

10 What About Kids? From a Scholastic Model to a Spiritual Family 209

11 What About Heresy? From Better-Trained Pastors to Better-Trained People 222

12 What About Finances? From Ten Percent to the Whole Enchilada 241

Conclusion What About My Church? From Being Educated to Being Empowered 253

Notes 257

The Author 265

Index 267