Koinonia House Golden Anniversary

For five decades, Koinonia House, or K-House as we are affectionately called, has been producing and distributing materials that are meant to encourage and facilitate the serious study of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. Founded in 1974 as a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization, Chuck Missler called this new ministry venture Koinonia House. Koinonia (koy-nohn-ee’-ah) is a New Testament Greek word that is most often translated to English as “communication,” “fellowship,” or “communion.”

Sowing the Good Seed

Beginning with his own home Bible studies, Chuck would record and then distribute cassette tapes of his teachings. His friendship with the New York Times bestselling author Hal Lindsey and his personal relationship with Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, California, helped open many more opportunities for his public teaching. Chuck’s unique integration of his technical prowess and his Biblical insights meant that his presentations were always exciting and challenging.

By the late-1970s, the Firefighters for Christ free tape library was distributing thousands of Chuck’s cassette tapes to locations all over the United States. The 1980s saw Chuck Missler’s 6640 radio program born out of this rapidly growing anthology of his teachings.

As a member of the Sowing Circle in 1996, Chuck helped launch the Blue Letter Bible (BLB). Originally this new internet-based platform was accommodated under the Koinonia House web domain. Like the Firefighters for Christ tape library, Chuck’s teachings were offered for free within the BLB website and app. Today this website and app provides tools for in-depth Bible study to thousands of people each day.

In 1998, Koinonia House pioneered the new concept of a shared website called www.audiocentral.com. Its headline banner was “The Gathering Place for Christian Broadcasting.” Once again Chuck Missler was using his understanding of the emerging opportunities associated with worldwide communication developments to further the distribution of the Gospel. Today that creation of Missler is continuing as OnePlace.com.

Putting Down Roots

In 1992, Koinonia House leased a small industrial building in Post Falls, Idaho, which allowed the ministry’s material distribution effort to flourish. The next thirty-one years would see an amazing amount of growth. From its inception, Koinonia House declared its Mission Statement as “To create, develop, and distribute materials to stimulate, encourage, and facilitate the serious study of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God.” At its foundation lay the principle that this ministry would be built on the objective spelled out in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 11 to 15.

“11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ-- 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Under the banner of “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,” K-House implemented a three-pronged approach to achieving this mission: Enable, Educate, and Engage.

Enable

Cassette tapes were the first mode of distribution employed by K-House to make Chuck’s teachings readily available to his ever-widening audience. Uniquely bundled into a two-tape briefing package, these ministry morsels also came with notes to assist the listener with a written form of the essential information. These briefing packages addressed a wide range of topics that seemed to strike a chord with many who were seeking a deeper understanding of some complex issues.

Chuck’s analytical approach created an intellectual pairing of engineering and expository exploration into Biblical conundrums. From Aliens and Antichrist to the Architecture of Man, Chuck dove into some very tricky and even controversial subjects. To add to his growing supply of exciting topical studies, Chuck then included verse-by-verse studies of all the books of the Bible. Encouraged by the example of Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Missler could see that all topical studies need to be nested within the context of the whole counsel of God. Over time, K-House would publish other teachers who would follow this example of relevant scripture-rich content.

As media types changed over the decades, the objectives remained the same, encourage people to study the Bible through whatever means available. Cassette tapes gave way to audio CDs, which were later replaced with MP3 files. Videotapes were superseded by DVDs, which were, in turn, upgraded to digital (MP4) copies on the internet. These advancements allowed the use of mass-media streaming outlets like YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Vimeo. All of these platforms helped to spread the materials of Koinonia House to the four corners of the whole earth. Currently, our YouTube channel has over 230,000 subscribers that can view more than 1,000 videos, which has resulted in over 5.6 million views per year (2.2 million hours of videos watched each year). All of this is freely available without any monetization or advertisements. In April of 2022, K-House launched an app-based tool called KHouse TV. Available on most of the smart devices (Apple IOS, Apple TV, Android, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV). These apps allow easy access to all our online streaming content.

January 1991 saw the beginning of the “Personal Update” news journal. With each monthly edition, articles were offered that gave strategic insights into a vast array of issues. During the early 2000s, printed copies of “Personal Update” went out to over 80,000 subscribers worldwide. In April 2020, we moved from a printed copy to a digital format, which is now available through the KHouse website, direct email, and Issue.com.

Educate

Chuck Missler unveiled the Koinonia Institute in 2005. The Institute was established to accomplish these goals through a program of lifelong learning—exploiting the Internet—and the creation and development of an intelligence network among its members. This endeavor is built around two educational models:

1. Independent study of Bible commentaries and Topical Studies, or
2. A guided program of specific classes that focuses on three areas of personal development is divided into three tracks.

The programs at the Koinonia Institute are organized around three “tracks”—avenues of study—which are concurrent paths of achievement:

The Berean Track (is based on Acts 17:11). This is the primary backbone of the Institute, motivated by the diligence of the Bereans. The program begins with a strategic overview of the entire Bible, with an emphasis on its integrity of design, its extraterrestrial origin, and its inerrancy in the original autographs. The Silver and Gold courses concentrate on specific books of the Bible, with the ultimate goal of studying all 66 books of the Bible verse-by-verse, with in-depth expositional commentaries based on a commitment to the inerrancy of the Word of God.

The Issachar Track (is based on 1 Chronicles 12:32). The Issachar Track is motivated by the diligence of the Sons of Issachar: “And of the Sons of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do;” The study of the prophetic Scriptures often suffers from its enthusiasts as much as from its detractors, and the Institute’s course of study is aimed at encouraging an in-depth understanding of God’s plan of redemption and an awareness of the times—and challenges—we currently face.

The Koinonos Track (is based on Exodus 20:7). It is derived from the Greek Word for a partner or participant; it also implies a fiduciary—one who puts his partner’s interests ahead of his own. The Koinonos Track is intended to emphasize being a doer of the Word, not a hearer only. The Koinonos Track focuses on discipleship, servanthood, and ambassadorship. It also strongly encourages participation in a small study group as one of the most effective means of personal growth. The Koinonos Track includes a broad spectrum of electives that encompass a wide range of callings as the Holy Spirit may direct.

When the overall Koinonia Institute program was launched, it was offered on a paid tuition basis. But by 2018, we decided to open its door to everyone as a free service. Since doing that our student subscriber numbers have grown to over 30,000 members with more than 3,500 currently enrolled in ongoing classes.

Engage

Conferences: Chuck Missler enjoyed many opportunities to travel the world as a guest speaker. During these open meetings, he could see that gatherings of believers that encouraged fellowship had a key role to play in the lives of the attendees. Chuck participated in the establishment of The Stealing of the Mind Conferences in 1995. By 2006, Koinonia House launched its own annual conference series called Strategic Perspectives, which offered many internationally known speakers over the next thirteen years.

Tours

Dating back to 1992, “boots on the ground” was a long-term objective to Chuck as he led dozens of tours to Israel. With often three trips a year, these popular adventures gave the tourists a unique view of the Land of the Bible through the lens of Missler’s perspective. Superb guides and access to historic site experts gave the Koinonia House Tours a distinctive edge over the normal Israel package tours. From 2015 onward, these tours have been led by Ron Matsen and Bob Cornuke. 
For information about upcoming tours, contact us at tours@khouse.org, or visit 
www.khouse.org/events.

Small Meetings

After the conclusion of the large-format conferences, Koinonia House launched Koinonia Connection gatherings to facilitate small-format conferences. These are formatted to encourage personal interaction and close contact with presenters and attendees. For information about these types of meetings, contact us through 
events@khouse.org.

A New Horizon

After 31 years, based in Post Falls, Idaho, Koinonia House has moved to its new headquarters in Cocoa, Florida. For the first time in our history, we were able to purchase a modest property that uniquely suits our needs for stabilization and expansion. In the end, our ministry supports the universal church without borders, so our new location was chosen because of its easy access to these ministry opportunities.