Category: Spotlight
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How to Start a Home Church: The Art of Risk
Have we lost the art of risk when it comes to our faith? Are we settling for play-it-safe, cookie-cutter religion that has no life, teeth, focus, or power to it? I know risk and faith can be used by irresponsible people to do irresponsible things. Quitting a job, for example, because “God told me to.” …
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Church at Home: Who’s In Your House Church?
J.D. Payne has done a study of house churches, specifically those that he calls “missional house churches.” Many interesting tidbits are found in this study. For example… Payne identifies four types of people who are typically involved in house churches. I think looking at these categories of people can be very informative and provoke some…
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Church at Home Resources: Spirit-Led Gatherings
Notes to some friends on Spirit-led gatherings for their church at home: “If we will learn to hear and follow His promptings, we will never have a boring meeting (Felicity Dale).” I believe we all want to see our gatherings fueled by the Holy Spirit’s leading and empowerment. It is good to remind ourselves some…
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Home Church Movement and The Participatory Gathering
I recently received an email that led to a discussion of how to "re-train" Christians to experience participatory, Spirit-led gatherings in home churches and home church movements. Of course, it is always easier to avoid the re-training process altogether by gathering with brand new believers who are able to naturally enter into a participatory environment. …
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House Church: Every Person Participates
Some comments on a recent post inspired me to think about house church and participatory gatherings… how difficult they are, yet how essential they are. These comments brought up the issue of spiritual gifts. John writes: "It's tragic that so many shun spiritual gifts or simply fail to embrace them…." St. Valdez comments: "the people…
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House Church and Mission
I have just ordered a new book recommended to me by John White called "House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity" by Roger Gehring. Robert Banks wrote this review of the book: "This is far and away the most comprehensive survey of the role of the house – and household…
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How to Do Church at Home: Be Real With Each Other
We are made for relationship… with God… and with others. The reality is… we need each other and we need to be real with each other. As Christians, I’m not sure we know what this means. Alcoholics, on the other hand, know exactly what this means. Their literature states: “. . . no society of…
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How to Do Church at Home: Worship
How to Do Church at Home: Worship Regarding worship I want to encourage our own house churches to broaden and to bring. To broaden refers to broadening our worship expressions. We take time, normally, to let everyone participate in speaking or singing expressions of our gratitude, praise, and love towards God. However, whether by training…
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House Church Planting
My son-in-law attended a church planting workshop put on by New Church Specialties. Although it was focusing on traditional churches, some of the initial preperatory steps are relevant for house church planting: 1. Ask “Why are you doing this?” It’s important to look for verification that God is at work and for confirmation that you…
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What Is a Home Church?
This is the vision statement for Robert Fitts and Outreach Fellowship International. I thought it helped to more clearly define what “what is a home church.” What Is a Home Church? What We Affirm We affirm the church in all of its historical expressions, but we believe that a redefinition of church is necessary for…