By Rad Zdero
© Kheng Guan Toh | Fotolia.com
God has often shaped the last 2000 years of history through church planting movements (CPMs), mainly through simple, grassroots, small groups and house churches. A CPM is a rapid multiplication of churches planting churches over a sustained period of time.
A CPM is not just another man-made tactic or trend. It is, in fact, God’s work. And its purpose is to see people come to a saving encounter with Jesus Christ, grow in spiritual maturity, and then become change agents for God.
The past is filled with stories of CPMs as people let go (to one degree or another) of the trappings of religious institutions to grab hold of a living breathing Christianity. Some of these movements include the Monastics, Lollards, Waldenses, Franciscans, Anabaptists, Quakers, Methodists, and Brethren. They saw many thousands of people changed and reconciled back to God in their generation.
Today, CPMs are everywhere. In China, the church has grown from 1 to 2 million believers in 1949 to almost 100 million believers today in underground house churches. In India, over 100,000 house churches have been started between 2001 and 2006. In the USA, Church Multiplication Associates recently planted 1000 simple churches in 7 short years at home and abroad. In Latin America, the Basic Christian Communities started in the 1960s among the marginalized and have grown to 1 million groups by 2007.
Past and present CPMs have been analyzed with modern research tools to discover key elements for high-quality rapid church growth. CPMs have been well documented in E.H. Broadbent’s The Pilgrim Church (1931), John Driver’s Radical Faith: An Alternative history of the Christian Church (1999), Peter Bunton’s Cell Groups and house Churches: What history Teaches us (2001), David Garrison’s Church Planting Movements (2004), and my own book Nexus: The World house Church Movement Reader (2007).
I want to briefly remind us about some vital elements often mentioned by students of CPMs. But, I also wish to point out other factors that are almost never discussed in this regard.
Everything in the world has a shape, a geometry, an anatomy—and so do CPMs. I believe we must seriously consider and prayerfully implement the following 10 factors to see God’s grand purposes accomplished in our generation through our simple, organic, house churches.
1. THE bIg PICTuRE
Some house churches wander about aimlessly. They have no direction and make no real impact. Some realize this is a problem, while others wrongly take pride in this and even mistake it for being “Spirit-led.” But, there is a better way! House churches that wish to thrive, grow, multiply, and make a difference must be captivated by a bigger vision beyond themselves.
The Bible tells us that “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov 29:18 KJV) and “except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Ps 127:1 KJV). Certainly, the early church was often directed supernaturally in the moment before taking action (Acts 8:26-40, 10:1-48, 13:1-4). But, it was the
Great Commission “mission statement” of Jesus that gave the apostles a clear mandate for all they did in those early years (Mt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15-16; Lk 24:46-49; Jn 20:21-23; Acts 1:8).
As house churches today, therefore, we must get hold of what God is saying to us before we launch out. We must get the “big picture” of God’s main purpose for us locally, regionally, and globally. Let us pray, fast, receive God’s supernatural power, watch the circumstances, discern our contexts, talk together, set measurable goals, and even craft mission statements.
2. THE RIgHT d.N.A.
Some house churches are unbalanced. They are strong in some things and weak in others. Instead of seeking to grow in their areas of weakness, they continue to operate only in their strengths. But, there is a better way! House churches that wish to be vibrant must have the right D.N.A., as noted by Neil Cole of Church Multiplication Associates.
“D” refers to Divine Truth and should include Bible study and allow for prophetic words, dreams, visions, miracles, and godly counsel. “N” stands for Nurturing Relationships and should involve honesty, affection, and practically doing life together. “A” means Apostolic Mission and should include reaching out in word and deed to family, friends, neighbors, workmates, and strangers. The early church had a good measure of the “D”, the “N”, and the “A”
(Acts 2:41-47).
As house churches today, therefore, we must be brutally honest with ourselves and take stock of whether we have the right D.N.A. for God to work through us. The D.N.A. should not be unraveled, but should be fully present within each individual believer, each house church, and each network of house churches.
3. AN ARmy oF LEAdERS
Some house churches reject the whole issue of leadership because they feel that Christ alone is the ultimate leader of their group or because they have been hurt by institutional leaders in the past. But, there is a better way! House churches must look to the Scriptures and the Spirit to allow for the emergence of God-given leaders in their midst.
The early apostles certainly encouraged all believers to use their abilities (1 Pet 2:5-9; 1 Cor 12:1-31 and 14:1-40). But, they also implemented two main types of leaders, namely, local “elders” (Acts 14:23, 1 Tim 3:1-7; Tit 1:5-9; 1 Pet 5:1-5) and trans-local “apostles” (Act 13:1-4, 15:6; Eph 4:11) to equip the church and reach the world. As house churches today, therefore, we must encourage the emergence of healthy leaders. Micro leaders (or “elders”) are unpaid spiritual moms and dads who nurture, train, and empower believers in their house church. Macro leaders (or “apostles”) are pioneers and strategists who start new house churches, adopt existing ones, link them together into networks, and then move on to repeat the process.
4. NETWoRKS
Some house churches are utterly isolated due to circumstances. They soon become ingrown and irrelevant and eventually implode. Isolated groups simply do not work. Others create formal organizations that “brand” their house churches just like denominations with their various branch churches. And they will not work closely with others because they are of a different “brand”. Even worse, some house churches refuse to work with other house churches in the same town because of competition, limited vision, or petty differences. But, there is a better way! House churches that want to be fruitful must link arms with others nearby, relationally but cohesively.
The early house churches partnered together as citywide networks in Jerusalem (Acts 2:41-47), Rome (Rom 16:3-15), and Ephesus (Acts 20:17,20), and as a regional network in Asia Minor (2 and 3 Jn; Rev 2 and 3). They were linked through leaders meetings (Acts 15:6, 20:17), large group events (Acts 2:44, 5:12, 20:20), apostolic visits (Acts 14:23, 15:36; 3 Jn 1:5-8), and apostolic letters (Acts 15:22-23).
As house churches today, therefore, we must form relational, but cohesive, networks with others close-by in our cities and regions. Face-to-face cross- pollination allows us to pool resources, share experiences, permit accountability, engage in training, meet our own social needs, and impact an entire city or region. We can accomplish far more together than we can apart.
Rad Zdero’s web site is www.housechurch.ca
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