Category: Spotlight

Wolfgang Simson keeps us up-to-date with the house church movement globally. Here is his latest summary: "In total there are currently (mid 2021) at least 22.6 million house churches worldwide with a total of around 300 million members. They are, considering all internal and contextual factors, by far the most viral, adaptable and multipliable segment of Christ‐followers…

Many years ago, as we began inviting people to consider 'church at home,' I wrote the following description. It may still be relevant for stirring up our imagination for what God can do in and through His people. Imagine Being Excited Again About Living For God! House Church Life is not a new kind of…

When westerners seek to facilitate home church movements, the focus is often on what methods and tools to use. Westerners love methods and tools. I see it in our churches where we plan programs and services that look much the same from one place to the next. I see it in our house churches where…

Several years ago, at a Verge conference, Alan Hirsch said: "Every believer is a church planter; and every church is a church planting church." Now, let me say, that this makes absolutely no sense whatsoever… unless you have a Biblical understanding of the organic nature of church. As long as we think of church as…

Starting a home church begins the same way anywhere in the world. The exceptionally fruitful leaders in Africa that we work with often remind us of the significance of praying for and obediently seeking out the person of peace. The person of peace (Luke 10, Matthew 10) is one who opens the door of the…

You will not find a verse in Scripture that says "how to start a house church." In fact, you won't find this command: “Go into all the world and start a house church!” You also won't find this one: “Go into all the world and plant house churches!” You can find mission statements like “make…

When you gather as a church at home, bring the fire with you. In other words, don't "come to church" in order to experience God and rely on whatever takes place during the time of the gathering to create the fire.  Recognize that when we gather, it's the bringing together of embers that are already…

Church at Home: Explained in 2 Minutes on a Napkin

(Note: this is a continuation of chapter 1 of the Irreligious Followers book I am working on.  The first part of this chapter is here, then here, then here and then here.) The church has found new ways to express itself, down through the generations, through out-of-the box followers who listened to Jesus and did…

Church—as a true expression of the life of Jesus—must always be a decentralized and constantly emerging house church movement.  This is the way living things manifest!  They are simple, they spread, they grow, and they reproduce themselves. Religion is a breeding ground for death as it seeks to monitor, control, and keep everything within the…