what we can learn from the global house church movement with dr. randy wollf
TRANSCRIPT
Worldwide
It is estimated that worldwide there are approximately:
450 million Christians within conventional churches10 million in cell-based churches450 million in simple, organic structures such as house churches, or meeting outdoors
Source – Dale (2005)
Case study - China
China went from having approximately five million believers (1949) to 80-130 million todayTens of millions of believers are part of house churches
Sources – Brother Yun et al (2003), Zdero (2004)
Case study - India
100,000 house churches started in India from 2001-2006.
“These little house churches in India are like the starfish, the more
you divide them the more they replicate.” (Choudhrie, 2007, p.
308)
Case study - EthiopiaIn 1982, the Ethiopian government outlawed the Meserete Kristos Church. It was comprised of 14 congregations with 5,000 members.What happened to this church that the government forced underground?
Source – Case Study (Ethiopia) in Nexus (2007).
Note: You can hear more about the story of the Meserete Church in the film “Against Great Odds” distributed by www.visionvideo.com.
Case study – Muslim world
In an Asian Muslim country, more than 150,000 Muslims embrace Jesus and gather in more than 3,000 locally led Isa Jamaats or Jesus Groups (Garrison, 2004).
Case study – United States
It is estimated that there are 5 million+ people in the U.S. who are involved in house churches (Dale and Dale, 2007).Neil Cole started his first organic church in a coffee shop. This was the start of Church Multiplication Associates (CMA – www.cmaresources)
– Cole (2007) and Cole (2005)
Case study – United States
NBS Report on House Churches in the United States
2000 2025
Conventional church
70% 30-35%
Alternative faith-based community(e.g. house churches, cyber-churches, marketplace churches)
5% 30-35%
Family 5% 5%
Media, arts, culture
20% 30-35%
Churchgoers Putting Feet to Their Longings in the U.S.
Source - Barna (2005)
2000 2025
Conventional church
70% 30-35%
Alternative faith-based community(e.g. house churches, cyber-churches, marketplace churches)
5% 30-35%
Family 5% 5%
Media, arts, culture
20% 30-35%
Churchgoers Putting Feet to Their Longings in the U.S.
Source - Barna (2005)
Case study – Canada
Chilliwack – Chilliwack House Churches (http://www.chilliwackhousechurches.com) Calgary – East Edge (part of Centre Street) (http://www.eastedge.ca/) Winnipeg – The Journey (www.journeypath.com) Ontario – The Meeting House (http://www.themeetinghouse.ca/)Canada-wide - Pathfinders Fellowships (www.pathfindersfellowships.com).
Connecting with the Longings of North American Christians:
CustomizationParticipationIncarnational communityRelationships
From Zahn, D. (2005). What are driving today’s innovations. Leadership Journal, 26(1), 11.
A Key Characteristic in Some Global Church Planting Movements
Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources, 2004.
A Key Characteristic in Some Global Church Planting Movements
1. Extraordinary prayer2. Abundant Gospel
sowing3. Intentional church
planting4. Scriptural authority5. Local leadership
6. Lay leadership7. House
churches/cell churches
8. Multiplying churches
9. Rapid reproduction10.Healthy churches
Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources, 2004.
Characteristics of Healthy House Churches…they are
SimpleMinimal programsMinimal organizational requirementsMinimal expenses
Painting entitled “Simplicity”
Characteristics of Healthy House Churches…they are
RelationalCharacteristics of healthy house church communities:
ContinuousAuthenticIntimateIntergenerational
Characteristics of Healthy House Churches…they are
MissionalTalking outreachSharing JesusInviting the curiousStarting discussion groupsLaunching a movement
Characteristics of Healthy House Churches…they are
FlexibleIn coming alongside new friendsIn changing to address needs/opportunities within the group
Characteristics of Healthy House Churches…they are
ParticipatoryEveryone can use their gifts and abilitiesInteractive learning encourages personal discovery and application of biblical truths They can provide a context for extraordinary prayer
Recommended BooksCole, N. (2005). Organic church: Growing faith where life happens. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Dale, F. (2005). Getting started: A practical guide to planting simple churches. Manchaca, TX: Karis Publishing – E-version available on MinistryLift websiteFrazee, R. (2013). Connecting church 2.0. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.Garrison, D. (2004). Church planting movements: How God is redeeming a lost world. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.Simson, W. (1999). Houses that change the world: The return of the house churches. Emmelsbull, Germany: C&P Publishing.Zdero, R. (Ed.) (2007). Nexus: The world house church movement reader. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.