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Breaking the Huddle: How Your Community Can Grow Its Witness
Most Christians are stuck in the huddle. Even though we believe in outreach, most communities tend to focus on our own needs. That turns us into insular groups without many relationships with outsiders. So evangelism is occasional and conversions are rare. How do we change? In their groundbreaking book I Once Was Lost , Don Everts and Doug Schaupp identified five thresholds that individuals cross when they shift from being skeptics to followers. Now they and Val Gordon show how huddled communities can become witnessing communities and then conversion communities, where evangelistic growth becomes the new normal. The authors have studied the growth of congregations, what enhances and limits them, and have gathered best practices for transformation. Our churches and fellowships can become places where evangelism is not done by a just few people, but where the whole community itself becomes a winsome, thriving witness to those around it. Break out of the huddle. Find out how.
- GenresEvangelismChristian
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
13 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Don Everts
38 books28 followersDon Everts began writing while spending nearly two decades on college campuses in Washington and Colorado. He wrote his first book, Jesus with Dirty Feet, as a 25 year-old who had just gotten married and moved to Boulder, CO.
Since then Don has published 12 books with InterVarsity Press and is currently mulling over writing an uplifting zombie novel.
Having finally gotten off the college campus, Don is serving as a minister at a nearly 200 year-old Presbyterian Church outside of St. Louis, MO.
Since then Don has published 12 books with InterVarsity Press and is currently mulling over writing an uplifting zombie novel.
Having finally gotten off the college campus, Don is serving as a minister at a nearly 200 year-old Presbyterian Church outside of St. Louis, MO.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 22, 2024
Read for seminary.
I think I would have preferred something with less personal stories, but I understand why the authors chose to go that route for their readers. If you're looking for a theology of mission/evangelism, you won't find it here (although that's not a bad thing—the authors intentions were more practical).
This book is about how to move your community towards an integrated missional identity from wherever your community is ("huddled" or "witnessing" to "conversion communities"). A conversion community is a community that has aligned its vision, structures and people around God's mission.
I appreciated the frameworks ("the five thresholds", "discipleship cycle" and "leadership cycle") and the practical tips for how to integrate it into communities. A lot of good reflections questions at the end of the chapters too.
I think I would have preferred something with less personal stories, but I understand why the authors chose to go that route for their readers. If you're looking for a theology of mission/evangelism, you won't find it here (although that's not a bad thing—the authors intentions were more practical).
This book is about how to move your community towards an integrated missional identity from wherever your community is ("huddled" or "witnessing" to "conversion communities"). A conversion community is a community that has aligned its vision, structures and people around God's mission.
I appreciated the frameworks ("the five thresholds", "discipleship cycle" and "leadership cycle") and the practical tips for how to integrate it into communities. A lot of good reflections questions at the end of the chapters too.
April 7, 2017
Loved the balance of big picture vision and on the ground implementation! Also refreshing to read a book that highlights examples from church and parachurch, demonstrating a learning community that each can serve and learn from the other. This is a book I will be referencing and using in ministry training contexts for years to come. Thank you!
November 27, 2017
Unlike many Christian leadership books, this is great on both vision and getting practical!
August 16, 2017
Summary: Explores how Christian communities can move from being huddled groups to become witnessing, and even “conversion” communities where growth through people coming to faith becomes the norm.
One of the realities of many Christian communities, whether they are churches, or campus groups or groups in other places is that they are huddled. It is not that they don’t believe in sharing their faith with those who don’t believe, but that’s not happening very often, and even less often does someone actually come to faith. If these churches or groups grow, they usually grow from people who already believe and have joined them after leaving another group.
The writers of this book (a pastor and two collegiate ministers) believe that can change and write in the early chapters of this book of how groups can go from being huddled, to witnessing to becoming conversion communities where most of the growth is through people coming to faith. In the first three chapters, they explore the characteristics of each type of community and what communities have done to move from one type to another. They also note the reality of entropy, and how vision for evangelism quickly leaks and energy is lost.
In Part Two, they outline two “macrostrategies” to help groups transition from huddled to witnessing communities. One is to nurture discipleship momentum through incorporating the discipleship cycle in which hearing the word is followed by making an active response, which is then debriefed. This third step is often neglected meaning that people have experiences but do not reflect on their significance and to what God might next be calling one. Only this kind of transforming discipleship can sustain witness.
They then turn to the need to mobilize relational witness. Here they draw on earlier work by Everts and Schaupp (I Once Was Lost) in integrating an understanding of the “five thresholds of post-modern conversion” into a community’s life. These steps recognize that in coming to faith, many people cross thresholds from trusting a Christian to becoming curious to opening up to change to actively seeking to entering the kingdom. In this book, they extend these ideas to how communities can respond appropriately to people at different points in their journey to faith.
Part Three is perhaps the most significant part of this book as the authors talk about the dynamics of conversion communities, where people are regularly coming to faith. They explore the significance of lingering in “God moments,” lifting up their eyes, and laboring in the harvest. In these ways, God moments become God movements. The most significant insight for me was the idea of not being content with individual conversions but looking for whether God may be doing something more in which many others might also come to faith. These communities also align their vision, their structures, and their efforts to develop people around these God movements. The concluding part talks about how one leads the change and in fact incarnates the change.
This is a hopeful book, even for the many who might still feel they are in the huddle. The authors write at the beginning:
“Every athlete needs to take a knee for some time as she circles up with her teammates to figure out the next play. But then the team breaks the huddle and heads back out to the playing field. Breaking the huddle is an inherently hopeful, purposeful thing to do. May all our communities break the huddle and engage in the next play God has for us.”
The authors give not only a number of practical how-to’s but share their own journeys of discovery along the way. They lay out the work to be done, but also the hope for real change in our communities. Each chapter concludes with a prayer, and questions groups studying through this book can use together, making this ideal for church or ministry leadership teams.
Doug and Val are colleagues and friends in the collegiate ministry which is my day job. What I most appreciate about what they have done here (along with Don Everts!) is to integrate into a seamless whole different “pieces” of ministry strategy, weaving them together with a narrative of transforming communities from huddled to witnessing to conversion, and moving from isolated “God moments” to ongoing “God movements.” They tell a story rooted in God’s gracious intentions to draw people to himself, and recover for us the wonder of being communities instrumental in seeing significant numbers of those people experience new life in Christ.
One of the realities of many Christian communities, whether they are churches, or campus groups or groups in other places is that they are huddled. It is not that they don’t believe in sharing their faith with those who don’t believe, but that’s not happening very often, and even less often does someone actually come to faith. If these churches or groups grow, they usually grow from people who already believe and have joined them after leaving another group.
The writers of this book (a pastor and two collegiate ministers) believe that can change and write in the early chapters of this book of how groups can go from being huddled, to witnessing to becoming conversion communities where most of the growth is through people coming to faith. In the first three chapters, they explore the characteristics of each type of community and what communities have done to move from one type to another. They also note the reality of entropy, and how vision for evangelism quickly leaks and energy is lost.
In Part Two, they outline two “macrostrategies” to help groups transition from huddled to witnessing communities. One is to nurture discipleship momentum through incorporating the discipleship cycle in which hearing the word is followed by making an active response, which is then debriefed. This third step is often neglected meaning that people have experiences but do not reflect on their significance and to what God might next be calling one. Only this kind of transforming discipleship can sustain witness.
They then turn to the need to mobilize relational witness. Here they draw on earlier work by Everts and Schaupp (I Once Was Lost) in integrating an understanding of the “five thresholds of post-modern conversion” into a community’s life. These steps recognize that in coming to faith, many people cross thresholds from trusting a Christian to becoming curious to opening up to change to actively seeking to entering the kingdom. In this book, they extend these ideas to how communities can respond appropriately to people at different points in their journey to faith.
Part Three is perhaps the most significant part of this book as the authors talk about the dynamics of conversion communities, where people are regularly coming to faith. They explore the significance of lingering in “God moments,” lifting up their eyes, and laboring in the harvest. In these ways, God moments become God movements. The most significant insight for me was the idea of not being content with individual conversions but looking for whether God may be doing something more in which many others might also come to faith. These communities also align their vision, their structures, and their efforts to develop people around these God movements. The concluding part talks about how one leads the change and in fact incarnates the change.
This is a hopeful book, even for the many who might still feel they are in the huddle. The authors write at the beginning:
“Every athlete needs to take a knee for some time as she circles up with her teammates to figure out the next play. But then the team breaks the huddle and heads back out to the playing field. Breaking the huddle is an inherently hopeful, purposeful thing to do. May all our communities break the huddle and engage in the next play God has for us.”
The authors give not only a number of practical how-to’s but share their own journeys of discovery along the way. They lay out the work to be done, but also the hope for real change in our communities. Each chapter concludes with a prayer, and questions groups studying through this book can use together, making this ideal for church or ministry leadership teams.
Doug and Val are colleagues and friends in the collegiate ministry which is my day job. What I most appreciate about what they have done here (along with Don Everts!) is to integrate into a seamless whole different “pieces” of ministry strategy, weaving them together with a narrative of transforming communities from huddled to witnessing to conversion, and moving from isolated “God moments” to ongoing “God movements.” They tell a story rooted in God’s gracious intentions to draw people to himself, and recover for us the wonder of being communities instrumental in seeing significant numbers of those people experience new life in Christ.
February 5, 2017
Breaking the Huddle serves on several levels: it is a pretty good distillation of many of InterVarsity's best practices over the past decade in terms of evangelism and growth training--Five Thresholds, leadership cycle, discipleship cycle, prayer and network mapping, apprenticing, mentoring, witnessing communities, etc. It is also a very good evangelism strategy and discipleship book for churches and communities. But besides this there are very insightful little sections throughout concerning wise and effective leadership such as the wonderful little sections on recognizing and seizing upon "God moments" and embracing change.
July 6, 2018
Helpful, clear, inspiring, practical ways to diagnose and treat your Christian community's evangelism temperature. I loved the combination of Scriptural stories and real-life stories from different kinds of communities (campus groups, churches) and I loved the ways it made changing my own community realistic and possible. Highly recommend to anyone leading a Christian community in North America. This is the only way to the future, friends.
November 3, 2018
A good book, but I disagreed with two things. First, the narrative on page 63, wherein the book suggests it was appropriate for Wendy to tell someone "I don't care if you become a Christian".
I also thought that the story about sharing first experiences with sexually explicit material at a church retreat in order to create "bonding" was absolutely bizarre, inappropriate and creepy.
Otherwise, the read was definitely worthwhile.
I also thought that the story about sharing first experiences with sexually explicit material at a church retreat in order to create "bonding" was absolutely bizarre, inappropriate and creepy.
Otherwise, the read was definitely worthwhile.
November 1, 2018
Great boook!! Insightful and helpful in thinking through how community and those coming into grow.
April 22, 2017
What's better than a God moment? That time when someone finally says "yes" to Jesus after a long journey of exploring who He is. Some would say nothing is better than that moment, and they would be right.
But what does it look like to change a God moment into a God movement? That's what this book explores. By discussing three different types of communities (Huddled, Witnessing, and Conversion) the book explores ways to seize on the small opportunities God provides and turn them into a movement where many people are being saved and where Christians are being transformed all at the same time!
Focusing both on the big picture and the step-by-step details, this book provides vision and instruction for how to transform whatever community you find yourself in into a conversion community. Definitely worth the read!
But what does it look like to change a God moment into a God movement? That's what this book explores. By discussing three different types of communities (Huddled, Witnessing, and Conversion) the book explores ways to seize on the small opportunities God provides and turn them into a movement where many people are being saved and where Christians are being transformed all at the same time!
Focusing both on the big picture and the step-by-step details, this book provides vision and instruction for how to transform whatever community you find yourself in into a conversion community. Definitely worth the read!
May 16, 2021
If you’re trying to figure out where someone you are “witnessing” to is at on a five step scale then this book is for you. Not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews