FEATURE : ADVICE FOR CHURCH LEADERS
The Return o Neighborho by Thom Rainer
I have been in many types of churches . The first church I served as pastor was a rural congregation of seven people . The nearest store of any kind was fifteen miles away . At the other end of the spectrum , I have been part of large , regional churches with congregants coming from many miles away . As a child , I grew up in a small-town , county seat church .
Each of these churches made a major contribution to my spiritual growth . Each congregation became an integral part of my family life and health . I am grateful to
God for the churches that have meant so much to me . To this day , my adult sons and I recall with gratitude the shaping influence of the churches in their lives when they were children .
One particular type of church that is experiencing a comeback in areas around the world is the neighborhood church . Though there are various definitions of this category , most have key similarities .
The most common characteristic of a neighborhood church is its geographical
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