About

The following came about through an email discussion with a friend about our house church. It’s been edited - but only a little. There’s more we could say about our house church and what we desire for it. It could be said much better. Consider the following a beginning of a discussion of who we want to be as a house church.

The Well

We desire to be a people who:

1. Want to experience church in a more real/relevant way and believe one way to do that is to be in a small enough setting that the “church” experience is less sitting and receiving from the front of a sanctuary, and more active participation, wrestling, giving, and receiving. For many in our group - our current church experiences haven’t cut it. We know both in our spirits and from what we see in scripture that there is more. We want to experience that more. We come to learn about, know, and experience for ourselves “the life that is truly life” (1 Tim. 6:19). We desire abundant life - in our own lives, in our church.

2. Welcome folks who’ve never been to church (or not in a long time). We desire to facilitate a first-time visitor’s (Christian or not) experience in such a way that they can enter in and check out church in a non-traditional way. The house church model is both intriguing and terrifying at the same time…

Intriguing because 1) it doesn’t feel institutional, 2) it seems more “rubber meets the road” real, 3) it seems intuitively to be more relational and most people desire and need deeper intimate, relationships, and 4) seems different enough to almost be funky.

Terrifying in that it is 1) different enough to lend to suspicion, 2) small enough to require some level (even if only small) of participation (it’s a lot harder to come as a passive person to a house church). We desire to be welcoming.

3. Go beyond welcoming those who come, to actively praying about those we can invite to participate in this life “that is truly life”. This invitation happens through love, service, prayer, and active invitation both to following Jesus and to checking out if this house church can be their “home”. We extend this invitation to experience the Kingdom, this life, in acts of service, mercy, and justice. We are God’s Kingdom agents, His ambassadors, and as such we have a responsibility to bring the values of the Kingdom to bear on the needs in our church, in our community, and in our world. This is God’s purpose and mission for each one of us and for his Church. We acknowledge that God is at work in His world. There are no God forsaken places, only church forsaken. We desire to be missional.

4. Accept people where they are - following the way of Jesus. Jesus always accepted people where they were, He just didn’t always let them stay there. We desire to lovingly encourage forward momentum in each others lives, while extending grace and acceptance to where people are and learning to understand where they have come from. We do not encourage people to act a certain way just because they are here. Change, if and when it occurs, should be authentic and motivated by love. We value acceptance and authenticity.

5. Want to be a people who grow in Christ. Statistics show that house churches help followers of Jesus learn how to apply faith in various areas of their lives significantly better than traditional church settings.

That comes through the traditional means of teaching, prayer, worship, service, but also through applying the word of God to real life situations we’re all encountering. As I struggle, someone gets the group to pray for me (modeling both our faith in God to answer and how to pray), another speaks a relevant scripture to the situation (whether for conviction, encouragement, or merely help for what to do - this models the use of scripture), another says they will follow up with me (this models fellowship - the “sharing” of this burden and encouragement), another offers to help directly (this models serving). In this setting, although there may be primary leaders/teachers, we’re all responsible for each others growth. We all contribute and learn from each other. We seek growth in ourselves and each other.

6. Grow in their spiritual gifts. In a setting where all are encouraged (but not forced to participate), gifts are acknowledged and encouraged. We help each other to grow in them. We affirm each others’ gifts. We desire not to rate gifts, just as we desire not to rate sin. Some may take more visible prominence (like teaching), and others may be done more in secret (like giving perhaps). Nonetheless, we desire to hold all as valuable for the sake of the Kingdom. The apostle Paul instructs us not to be ignorant of spiritual gifts and tells us that the different gifts are all from the same Spirit. We are part of one body - and, “each of [us] are a part of it”. We want to learn how to serve each other and others based on who God made us.

7. Experience and enjoy God’s creation. God called the world good after creating it, and even called humanity, very good. We believe that despite the Fall, there is still inherent goodness in the created world. As people created in God’s image, we believe God has given to us the ability to be creative (sub-create). We desire to incorporate creative expressions in our times together. This facilitates learning and reflects God’s nature. We desire to reflect God’s creative nature.

8. Expect to meet Jesus when we are together. For each of us, that may look different. Some value musical worship. Others value discussion. Others prayer. And, even others service. We serve the same God, but are wired differently in how we encounter Him and grow. In the midst of this diversity, structure provides a sense of safety. Structure by itself can be restrictive. We also expect a level of spontaneity to which the group can have the freedom to respond to a new idea or the leading of the Holy Spirit. We value expectation, safety and freedom.

9. Want to be a part of each other’s lives beyond the “meeting”. We know that life is a journey and we desire and even believe that we were meant to do this journey with others. We need each other’s help to be honest with God and even ourselves. We value confession and forgiveness. We are aware that we need encouragement and challenge. We value community.

10. Acknowledge our need for God. For hope, purpose, love, life. We can’t make it on our own individually or corporately. We believe God is alive and at work today as He has been since the beginning of creation, and He will be until the end of time. We believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the “same, yesterday, today, and forever” and as such we long to see God move in our midst and through us. We acknowledge our utter and complete need for God.

Acts 2:42-47
⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.