---
title: "What If Jesus Was Serious About the Church?"
canonical: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/books/what-if-jesus-was-serious-about-the-church"
markdown: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/books/what-if-jesus-was-serious-about-the-church.md"
type: "books"
typeTitle: "Books"
authors:
  - "Skye Jethani"
date: "2022-05-09"
updated: "2026-02-18"
topics:
  - "Church Issues"
  - "Church Life"
perspective: "Learn"
bookAuthor: "Skye Jethani"
buyAtMoody: "https://www.moodypublishers.com/what-if-jesus-was-serious-about-the-church/?utm_source=Bible+to+Life&utm_medium=Button&utm_campaign=Bible+To+Life+Generic"
buyAtAmazon: "https://amzn.to/46FJ6gB"
buyAtChristianBook: "https://www.christianbook.com/serious-church-visual-becoming-community-intended/9780802424273/pd/424275"
---

# What If Jesus Was Serious About the Church?

> Distrust of institutions, youth leaving faith, and widespread loneliness share a common thread—people seeking what the church was meant to provide. This book examines what the Bible says about the church's true purpose beyond buildings and events.

**Type:** Books  
**Published:** May 9, 2022  
**Authors:** [Skye Jethani](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/authors/skye-jethani)  
**Topics:** [Church Issues](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/topics/church-issues), [Church Life](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/topics/church-life)  
**Perspective:** Learn

[Buy at Moody Publishers](https://www.moodypublishers.com/what-if-jesus-was-serious-about-the-church/?utm_source=Bible+to+Life&utm_medium=Button&utm_campaign=Bible+To+Life+Generic) · [Buy at Amazon](https://amzn.to/46FJ6gB) · [Buy at Christianbook](https://www.christianbook.com/serious-church-visual-becoming-community-intended/9780802424273/pd/424275)

Researchers have uncovered the following three trends: First, distrust of institutions, including the church, is at an all-time high. Second, young people raised in the church are leaving at alarming rates and not returning. Third, loneliness and social isolation are at pandemic levels. What's the connection? It appears that an entire generation is starving for the very thing the church is called to provide but has chosen to look for it elsewhere. Why is this happening? Following the model set by What If Jesus Was Serious?—short readings and engaging illustrations—What If Jesus Was Serious about the Church? looks at what the Bible really says about the church, its purpose, and the impact of its modern captivity to consumer values. Rather than an event, a building, or an institution, the New Testament calls the church to be a community living in communion with God and one another for the sake of the world.