Contact: Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660

DALLAS, Oct. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- "Though imperfect, the church is alive and well," according to a revolutionary, new book by Josh and Sean McDowell. The Unshakable Truth: How You Can Experience The 12 Essentials of a Relevant Faith (Harvest House) -- a discipleship tool designed to help students, parents, youth leaders and pastors know why they believe what they believe -- directs readers to the very foundations of Christianity established by 300 Church Fathers in Nicaea in AD 325.

In October, the McDowells will travel to Dallas, TX, and Chicago, IL to launch The Unshakable Truth book campaign. The tour comes in the wake of a new Pew Forum & Public Life study (Sept. 2010) which finds that "atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths." (AP Religion)

For example, just 19% of Protestants know the basic tenet that salvation is through faith alone, not actions as well, and that only 45% could name all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

In the book, the McDowells also counter the hype that paints the church and Christianity as obsolete and innocuous. You've heard the clichés: "Faith in the U.S. is a mile wide and an inch deep. Sunday mornings are the most segregated time of the week, and church became big business when it crossed the Atlantic," among others.

The authors admit, "It's true that church organizations disappoint, and many may have lost their way as God's visible expression of himself. But if you look, you can find a group of people in your area that are truly Jesus' church."

Not to be confused with the hundreds of thousands of buildings situated like bookends on city blocks across the U.S. and the world, "the church is a community of believers where Christ, the head is over us all and in us all and living through us all," they explain.

The Unshakable Truth provides a check list to help readers discern the active expression of the church as described by Scripture:

• The church embodies what a community of redeemed people looks like (John 13:35)
   
• The church is a compassionate and healing presence to those in need (Acts 2:45)
   
• The church is God's reconciling agent and ambassador to the spread the gospel -- the kingdom message (Acts 1:8)
   
• The church is an equipping agent to make disciples who make disciples (Matthew 28:19)

The McDowells hope-filled conclusion: "Jesus' church exists today as it did in the first century. Lives are transformed by Christ's saving power; those lives form a community of hope, love, and care. By nature, they become Jesus' ambassadors to proclaim his kingdom message of love and redemption to the world around them."

The Unshakable Truth is a practical, user-friendly handbook consisting of more than 500 pages, 51 chapters and three appendices. Each of the 12 foundational truths are divided into 12 sections. Other basic truths covered include the truth that God exists; the truth about God's word; the truth about the trinity; the truth about God becoming human; and the truth about original sin, among others. Each section has four poignant chapters supporting that truth: 1) What is the "truth?" 2) Why should I believe it? 3) So what? How is it relevant to my life? 4) How can I live it?

More about the authors
Since 1961, Josh has delivered his ministry messages to more than 10 million young people and adults in 113 countries, and has written or co-written 115 other books, including classics More Than A Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

In his own right, Sean is an author, conference speaker and educator who heads the Bible Department at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools. Sean graduated Summa Cum Laude from Talbot Theological Seminary, his father's alma mater. Sean is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in apologetics and worldview studies from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Since 2006, Sean has authored or co-authored several Christian books, including Ethix: Being Bold in a Whatever World, Understanding Intelligent Design along with William A. Dembski, Evidence for the Resurrection, the revision to More Than A Carpenter with Josh McDowell, and was the general editor of Apologetics for a New Generation.

Josh and Sean McDowell live with their families in Southern California.

For more information and free sermon, article and brochure downloads on The Unshakable Truth, please visit www.josh.org/truth.