Home-Grown Churches Researcher George Barna says millions of Americans are breaking from traditional church and choosing a home church. They want to “be” the church, not just attend church. He estimates more than 20 million Americans have begun exploring alternative forms of worship since ’00. Though many still participate in their old churches while trying a new one, Barna predicts traditional churches will lose half their “market share” to alternative start-ups over the next two decades. Dawn Ministries places the number of U.S. home churches in the tens of thousands, based partly on the size of online directories and home-church conference attendance. Home churches are usually nondenominational and consist of a dozen or so friends or family members who meet without an ordained pastor. Critics of the home-church movement warn that, by meeting only in small groups with lay leaders, Christians can become disconnected and stray from biblical orthodoxy. (PWB 6/15/06)