In southern California, it's not unusual to have former gang members fill the halls of your church, particularly not at Francis Chan's church in Simi Valley. Francis tells the story of one such attender who came to Cornerstone, was baptized, but several months later stopped attending. When asked why, the ex-gang member confessed that he must have had the wrong impression of what church was going to be like. He said, "I thought it was going to be like joining a gang. In the gangs we weren't just nice to each other once a week - we were family."

Do gangs paint a better picture of community than your church does?