LOS ANGELES (February 11, 2011) – The Cause within You: Finding the One Great Thing You Were Created to Do in This World,  by Matthew Barnett, founder of the Los Angeles Dream Center and pastor of one of the fastest-growing churches in America, debuts at #15 on the New York Times Extended Advice Best Sellers List and the Amazon Bestsellers list.

One hundred percent of Barnett’s book royalties will be given back to the charitable work of the L.A. Dream Center, including the new human-trafficking rescue efforts that Barnett has recently started through the center, in addition to the more than 200 daily outreaches.

With coauthor George Barna, Barnett outlines key principles for finding one’s cause. The book offers heartfelt examples and insights on how Barnett came to discover his own cause: founding the Dream Center, where more than 30,000 people are fed each week, the homeless are housed, addicts are rehabilitated, and financially unstable families, troubled teens, and numerous others are helped. The book captures some of these inspirational and shocking stories as well.

Barnett is currently on a speaking tour, sharing his message with thousands of people nationwide. Barnett states, “A transforming cause is never about you—promoting yourself, achieving greater fame or fortune, experiencing more pleasure or comfort, amassing greater power. It is always about using the resources God has given you—skills, relationships, experiences, money, time, intelligence, and all the rest—to make a positive impact in the lives of others.”

This passion for service has spread throughout the nation. Currently, there are more than 100 Dream Centers in the United States, all originating from Matthew Barnett’s cause. Each location offers a variety of outreach programs—free of charge—for those seeking help, including more than 200 outreach programs at the Los Angeles Dream Center alone.

The Los Angeles Dream Center is a nine-acre, fourteen-story campus located near Echo Park and only a few miles from Skid Row, one of America’s most poverty-stricken neighborhoods. The outreach serves as a round-the-clock sanctuary for homeless families, addicts, abused women and children, victims of human trafficking, teen runaways, and many others. The first four years after the Dream Center opened, the surrounding neighborhood experienced a dramatic revival, as prostitution and gang violence dropped by 73%, homicide dropped by 28%, and rape dropped by 53%. Both the mayor of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles City Council have publicly acknowledged the impact of the Los Angeles Dream Center and have praised its efforts.

For press materials and more information on the book and the Dream Center, please visit mediacenter.tyndale.com or www.dreamcenter.org.

ABOUT MATTHEW BARNETT
Matthew Barnett is cofounder (with his father, pastor Tommy Barnett) of the Los Angeles Dream Center and senior pastor of the historic Angelus Temple. The Dream Center’s ministries reach more than 50,000 people each week through its multiple church services, in addition to its 200 need-centered ministries. Matthew is the author of The Church that Never Sleeps and has been seen across the world through the church’s broadcast on TBN. He and his wife, Caroline, have two children. They reside in Los Angeles. Visit www.matthewbarnett.com.

ABOUT GEORGE BARNA
Founder of The Barna Group, the nation’s leading market research firm focused on the intersection of faith and culture, George Barna is the author of more than 40 books, including bestsellers such as The Frog in the Kettle, The Power of Vision, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, and Revolution. His books have won a variety of awards and have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and his Internet reports and blogs have been read by several million people. The founder of Metaformation and also a senior partner in the Strategenius Group, George lives with his wife and three daughters in Ventura, California. Visit www.georgebarna.com.

To set up an interview with Matthew Barnett, please contact Andrea Martin at andreamartin@tyndale.com or 630.784.5318.

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