We are only weeks away from two House Church Conferences sponsored by house2house–one in Saint Louis (Aug 25-27) and the other in Denver (Sept 1-4). I am very, very encouraged by the number of workshops that are being offered this year–which should make these conferences even more stimulating than ever.
You can find general conference information here.
My friend, Ken Eastburn, in a recent house2house newsletter shared his experiences with the house church conferences he has attended while transitioning from a traditional church into a house church network. I thought it was worth posting:
In the summer of 2004 I was encouraged to go to the National House Church conference in Denver by a house church planter. I was new to the idea of house church and at the time I was the pastor of a small "institutional" church in Southern California. The house church concept was intriguing but seemed a little out there.
I decided to take the risk. I brought my wife and three of my church leaders to the conference. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it was an event that literally changed the course of my entire life. We left the conference wondering if the Holy Spirit would lead our little church into the house church movement. And that’s exactly what he did.
I returned in 2005. This time I did not bring my wife to the conference (a move I regret) but returned with five of my leaders. By now they were all house church leaders. In a years time we had transitioned our church into a network of five house churches. Again the event was filled with stimulating speakers, intense conversations and connections with people from around the world.
This year we will return to Denver for the House Church conference. I am bringing my wife this time and my three sons. We are also bringing nine additional leaders to the conference. Our network now consists of eleven simple churches. We are beginning to see the house church conference as a staple of our network. Once you come and are a part of what God is doing, it seals the deal. Even those who are still wondering how they ended up in the movement go away blessed and excited. The conference is an investment in the Kingdom for our house church community.
So, why go to the conference? What will happen this year in Denver? What will the Holy Spirit do when he shows up? We won’t know until we get there and experience it together. Like any simple church meeting anywhere in the world, that’s what makes it so exciting.
Ken works with a house church network in Orange County called The Well. Ken will be doing a workshop on transitioning churches.
You can see some of the workshops that will be offered here.
In many ways, what I look forward to more than anything is getting to visit with those of you who are able to come. Looking forward!