The declaration of the gospel and the ministry of discipleship are personal, relational, and interactive. When you partner with the Holy Spirit to reach those within your circle of influence, even your home can become an epicenter for salvations, healings, miracles, deliverance, spiritual growth, and meaningful connections with other believers. In Gospel Houses, Art Thomas will expand your perspective of church community and accelerate true disciple making right under your own roof.

Daniel Kolenda

President, Christ for All Nations

At Iris Ministries, we have huge respect for the house-church model. It’s the primary way our friends and neighbors in Mozambique receive pastoral care. In Southeast Asia, where we also lived and worked for years, house churches remain some of the most beautiful and committed gatherings we have ever seen. In the west, we saw home gatherings beginning to thrive in a special way during the pandemic. If you are seeking to work for the kingdom in this way, Art Thomas has written a book of strong practical advice. Gospel Houses is well worth reading for anyone who feels called to the ministry of making disciples, whether as a leader or simply as a faithful follower of Christ.

Heidi Baker, Ph.D.

Co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Board, Iris Global

The Church is the primary agency that God is using to expand his kingdom here on earth. In his book Gospel Houses, Art shares a model of Great Commission church planting through house-church networks. He writes from the perspective of a healthy practitioner, not just a theorist. Art has a deep passion to see the church of Jesus grow and expand through disciple making in the home.

Doug Clay

General Superintendent, Assemblies of God

I am always inspired by individuals who focus on making disciples through keeping it simple. In Gospel Houses, Art Thomas does just that. Without dismantling the church through criticism of what she is not doing, Art chooses to lift up our eyes to see the harvest is ripe and ready, and we need all hands on deck.

I have known Art for years and have admired his passion to equip the body of Christ to become fruitful and fulfill the Great Commission. From firsthand experience of planting churches in Africa and America, Art longs to see the everyday Christian discover they, too, can make disciples. And after gleaning from his insights in Gospel Houses, I find myself inspired to be more effective in making disciples who will, in turn, make disciples.

If you have bitterness in your heart toward the church and are looking for a book that will justify your bitterness, well, this is not that book. But if your heart is tender and soft to the rest of the body of Christ and you’re seeking how you, too, can be part of the house-church movement, this book will encourage you. Gospel Houses offers keys that will help you take steps toward being a fruitful disciple maker.

Chris Overstreet

Founder, Compassion to Action

With the wisdom of a pastor, the heart of an evangelist, the fire of a revivalist, the clarity of a prophet, and the theological accuracy of a Bible scholar, Art Thomas, with his years of experience in leading a house-church network, brings us back to a pure and simple devotion to Christ. Gospel Houses is more than a handbook on how to form a house church; it’s a timeless and anointed mentor in a movement that God’s Spirit is exploding around the globe. We can either embrace or reject God’s move upon the hearts of believers to make disciples as expressed in house churches. I embrace it.

Jamie Morgan, D.Min.

Director, Trailblazer Mentoring Network

Art Thomas has a way of challenging, if not upending, the church’s status quo without pride or prejudice. Littered with historical documentation and fruit-filled anecdotal evidence, this book challenges us to reexamine the merits of traditional meeting models. With intelligence, wit, and wisdom, Art inspires every saint to be equipped and empowered to carry Christ’s gospel torch.

Josh Adkins

Director of School of Ministry, Kingdom Church—St. Louis, MO

Founder, Loft Church—Herrin, IL

It’s not often that you find a book that can both challenge us to rethink our current understanding of church and provide the practical steps to moving toward the vibrant life God designed for his people. Art has done that here in Gospel Houses—a resource that is just as valuable to the brand-new believer as it is to the seasoned church planter. By getting into the DNA of the church, Art shows us what it is that makes a community of faith thrive. This will certainly be a book I go back to time and time again for wisdom and encouragement to move forward.

Justin Knoop

Unshakable Kingdom

Jesus’s standing instruction in the Great Commission is to go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey. Every believer is called to make disciples of the people around them. Gospel Houses will challenge and equip you to do just that. Through his years of diverse ministry experience and deep biblical understanding, Art Thomas provides a framework for fruitful ministry that is accessible to all believers. It is evident throughout the book that Art deeply loves the body of Christ and desires to empower believers to live out their God-given purpose to reach the lost and advance the kingdom of God on earth. You can become a disciple maker, and your house can be a gospel house.

Jesse Comrie

President, Global Renewal Inc.