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512-282 2322. Copyright 2001 Hou,e2House. The views .and qHI nf.;" ex _ ess d by..ributing authors in articles do not

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necessarily reflect the views and opinions of this magazi . F l' ioiit~n t!oni~ dVdilable online at www.house2huse.tv.

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HOt se 2 House 2 March 2001
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Editorial by Dr. Tony Dale

Why is the Holy Spirit apparently moving in such power in the parts of the world that most of us will never get to? Why is

it that what we long to see God do here seems to be out of reach? As the writer of Deuteronomy 30 commented, "It is not beyond the seas, so far away that you must ask, 'Who wil cross the sea to bring it to us so we hear and obey it?' The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your hearts so that you can obey it". (Deut. 30:13-14 from the
New Living Translation)

So what is "this message" that we are trying to articulate in this new magazine? In essence, it could be summed up by saying "the Bible works." Wherever you look and within whatever culture it finds itself, the church seems to work best
when it most closely approximates to the church we see described in the New Testament. This church is evangelical, evange-

listic, Holy Spirit-powered, community-oriented, Christ-centered and "follows the cloud" wherever it may be moving.

As the song from the 60's put it, "Allover the world the Spirit is moving, Allover the world, as the prophet said it would be." New churches are emerging with explosive force in many parts of the world. In no previous generation (with the exception of the generation described in the Book of Acts) has there been such power, such growth and such persecution of Gods people.
What needs to happen in the West, and in particular in America (where this magazine is being launched), for the church to see such growth and transformational power? The articles in this issue will attempt to set the scene and begin to

grapple with these issues.

This magazine wil not attempt to be dogmatic, but rather inclusive. Views from inside traditional churches will be

welcomed alongside the challenge that comes from the many who have been led outside of "the building." If one thing is clear, itis that none of us has a corner on truth except Him who is "the way, the truth and the life." It is the voice of His Spirit that we will seek to capture in the pages that follow in this and subsequent issues.
Your response to this first issue will be crucial in the on-going story of "House2House." Please send "letters to the Editor" at letters(house2house.tv. This will let us know what you think and whether we are in any sense accomplishing our goal
of serving you as we all seek to serve the Lord.

Also, if you have not yet subscribed, please do so now, as your involvement in this way is crucial to the survival of this
new magazine at the practicaljfinanciallevel. Thank you!

Editorial Board
Tony DaLe, M.B., B.S., Austin, TX

Table of Contents

=A anal' U Ae 4
Tony &~e 1 ty
=-

-Church planter, physician, businessman.

FeLicity DaLe, M.B., B.S., Austin, TX

aa

-Church planter, physician. Jim MeLLon, Killeen, TX

-Church planter, business owner, entrepreneur.

15 esis_
o fga g S'ms

00 Revie

David Underwood, P.E. Fort Worth, TX

-Church planter, business owner.

Worship 8 .:
Ly n Redd ck, h.D.~

an ng
a rison

Advisory Committee
Derek Brown, respected leader within the British "New Churches,"
responsible for the King's Churches across UK.

p s c She L er

Frank VioLa, church planter, author, Florida. John ReinhoLd, president of Christian Care Medi-Share, FL. Andrew Jones, Project director for the Boaz Project, NZ.

ea t a e

y 14
r ehoudhrie

John White, home church leader, Colorado. Nate Krupp, church planter, author, Oregon.
Robert Fitts, church planter, author, YWAM Hawaii~

oh Re nhold, .0

Jim Rutz, founder of Open Church Ministries,

author of "The Open Church", CO.

st Snack 16
5 eve A e so & Eric Svend e

Lynn Reddick, President of Open Church Ministries, GA. Linda Reddick, church planter and author, GA.
Jeff Lucas, author, Vice-President of the Evangelical Alliance, U.K.

Sp c'a ffer 18

u as rEI i e" 22

Tom PeLton, National Director of March for Jesus, GA.

WoLfgang Simson, DAWN Europe, author,
authority on church planting movements (not yet confirmed), SwitzerLand.

Dea ditor 20

Je as_
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Labot D Y onfer~ce 23
ouse 2 l10u e 3 -Marc 20 i

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By Tony & Felicity Dale

God is on the move! The cloud has lifted, the
trumpet is sounding, and God's people allover

Pradesh by the year 2007 (a mere 17,000 vil- most exciting churches to us is in a local, low-

lages!). What a challenge that one of their income housing project that our church has
ladies started 50 churches last year. We heard

this nation are preparing to set out on the journey of a lifetime. Something is happening that is akin to Elijah's seeing "a cloud

been praying for over a period of several months.

the size of a man's hand." Maybe like him, we

via the Southern Baptists of one of their new (Lord, deliver us from nice white middle-class converts starting 42 churches in the year fol- churches!) There we decided to follow the prinlowing his conversion. (See the article on ciples we had been teaching in India, using
"Church Planting Movements".) In American
Luke 10 as the pattern. One day, Tony and I

need to get ready to run!

Two years ago, Tony and I returned to England for the first time in several years. While we were there, God spoke to us very clearly and told us that we would have the privilege of being part of a powerful movement of His Holy Spirit for a second time. Back in the
60's and 70's, we had seen God move in ex-

terms this would translate to a church in ev- were prayer walking in the apartment complex. ery apartment complex, neighborhood, school, Tony had specifically prayed that we would find retirement home, etc! And we thought we were the "man of peace". We were caught in a downdoing well if one of our home churches "mul- pour under a balcony with two ladies who lived tiplied" once in a year! there and started sharing with them what we were doing. As a result, they invited us to go Since India, a number of things have hap- and pray with them about some of the probpened. Stories from the people who attended lems the area was experiencing. Since then, both
~ """

traordinary ways in England. Spontaneously, all over the country, churches had started in homes because people were so hungry to ex-

have given their hearts to the Lord and have

w
.,

started to involve their families in a weekly

time together with us. Isn't the simplest defi-

perience more of the Lord. Out of this the

house church movement was born. This movement now probably represents about one third

tw
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n

U
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nition of church "where two or three are gathered together in My name?"

of British evangelical Christianity. Frequently

ey m

,
L

Another couple caught us by surprise a few

what are now known as the "new" churches

find themselves to be the largest church in

weeks ago. They had visited our January

monthly celebration, where the various local
"

town. Every litte village and hamlet has one (or more). However, their influence extends far beyond their numbers.
For some years I had been praying that we

-lo l .
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home churches come together. Subsequently, we didn't see or hear from them for two weeks
while they were out of town. The next Thurs-

day night they came over for supper and to

share what the Lord was doing in their hearts. Imagine our delight when they mentioned in
passing, "We're starting our home church this
Sunday." This is church planting going out
of (our) control. Praise God!

would again be allowed to be part of such a movement of God's Holy Spirit in this country. My heart has been that this would be a

grass-roots movement of "litte" people - no

superstars, no empire building, the Holy Spirit

the conferences have both humbled and

in controL Jesus alone lifted up, and all the

glory going to Him!
Last September, we traveled to India to do a

blessed us. Within a couple of weeks of arriving home, we were getting reports of multiple The other thing that is happening is that al-

churches starting. One lady, with a team of

most on a daily basis we are getting phone

series of conferences on church planting. We

were teaching on material that we have used many times before. But God took the materi-

young people, had started four or five churches calls and e-mails from people all over the counin the surrounding villages in just two weeks. try saying that they are doing something simiAnother young man had started two churches lar! Here in Austin, groups that we had never

among his gypsy peoples in less than a month

from the seminar.

heard of are emerging from the woodwork. All

over this nation, people seem to be saying the

same things. And the interest expressed by more

als we were teaching and pushed us into a

paradigm shift in our thinking. We found

ourselves genuinely believing, rather than

just giving lip-service to the fact, that
churches could be planted rapidly. Perhaps

Having heard these and other reports, we de- traditional churches as well has been incredcided we had absolutely no excuse! So we took ible. God seems to be challenging His people the plunge and have gone out in the last two to look at what the home church represents. It

months and started several churches; some

from scratch and others where people already

feels very similar to the early 60's as the Lord

it was because we were in an environment

where we were hearing about amazing things

began moving in power in England. This needs

in existing local home churches have had a everybody, both those in traditional settings
burden to begin something new in their own and others who have already launched out into

God was doing all over the world, such as

with the Choudhrie's (whose Bible study ap-

neighborhoods. These are very fledgling ef- new paradigms of church planting.
forts at best, but at least they are there!

pears later in this magazine). Dr. Choudhrie

said to us that they now have a vision to

plant a home church in every village in Madra
Let me share a couple of examples. One of

I enjoy body surfing. I never mastered the real

the thing standing up on a board! When you are

House 2 House 4 Ma ch 2001

body surfing, you stand there waiting for "your" wave. You have to be in the right
place; it has to be the right size and break-

outside the medical profession. This booklet,

in part, tries to understand the roots of this

Spirit was doing something wonderful and exciting and we were prepared to follow where

period of revivaL. It seeks to explain why it has

produced such long term meaningful change in people's lives, leading so many of our friends and colleagues of those years to church leadership positions around the world. As I look back,

He was leading.

ing at the right moment; then you launch

yourself out in front of it and kick for all

We now sense within ourselves a similar ex-

you're worth until the momentum of the

wave carries you in to the shore. Our wave
is out there. We're in the right place

citement over things we see emerging in the

United States as well as around the world. Re-

for it and it is just breaking, and this move of the Spirit is gaining momentum. So let my husband and I share
how we found ourselves as young university students getting involved in this unfolding drama.

cent contact with friends from Britain and an increasing opportunity to see the

i
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good things that God is doing in many

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parts of the world, give us great hope

for the future of the church.

~
(The following is Part One of a booklet the Dales have written which

,
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It has been said that the one thing we can learn from history is that we never
learn anything from history. The tragedy is that often this cycle has been replayed within Christian circles. In studying re-

is currently posted on the web at

lr

www.austinfellowship.com on the
"Links" page.)
In the late sixties and early seventies,

vival, it is not unusual to find that a

group formed from a previous move of
the Holy Spirit becomes itself an impediment to any subsequent move of the Holy

when my wife and I were medical students at Barts Hospital in London,

Tony & Felicity Dale - "The Early Years"

I realize there are many principles that we

England, we were privileged to be part of

an exciting move ofthe Holy Spirit. We had

Spirit. In the United States there is currently a lot of interest in church planting. Our prayer is that as new models are explored and as the Holy Spirit is allowed to have

learned in those early days of working together

that are still applicable to church life today.

no idea then that we would look back on

this time as a period of genuine revivaL.

His way in multiplying many churches across

However, we now realize that what to us

seemed very small, has ended up touching

We were a bunch of young students. We had little idea of what we were doing or where this
was going. However, we knew that the Holy

literally thousands of lives, both inside and

1:1

the nation, those churches started in the last great church planting wave will not be a barrier to the new churches now emerging. Continued on page 21
,
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See Page 19

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House 2 House S March 2001

,"'....\-\-.... u~ __
Time to change the system
3 'lhe Third Refor'mation

- ,. ; '.. l r', r A d r' _1 t_ '" _.': p.. ~

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$ taken from Homes That Chan e The World by Wolfgang Simson)

Church is a Way of Life, not a series of religious meetings

4 ,rom Church-Houses to House-Churches

5 the church has to become small in order to grow big
6. N. church is led by ""0, k-

;~ ""
I

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..,.

'f l t

a Pastor alone

7. The right pieces - fitted together in the wrong way

8. ~- does not leave the Church in the hands of bureaucratic clergy
9. ~et!lrn fropi organized to organic forms of Christianity

10 - ~ w-os ipping our wOfsj;ip to worshipping God

11 iJ hI' ng people to church and start bringing the church to the people

Wolfgang Simson

12. il~SCO. '1g the 1/Lord's Supper" to be a real supper with real food i
13. a d non".iations t'U city-wide celebrations

14. ping a i-ersecution-proof spirit

15. liQel hurch c meS home
"
God is cianging the Churcn, and that, in turn, will change the world. Milions of Christians around the world are

aware of an imminent reformation of global proportions. They say, in effect: 1/Church as we know it is preventing Church dS God wants it." A growing number of them are surprisingly hearing God say the very same things. There is a collective new awareness of age-old revelations, a corporate spiritual echo. In the following 1/15 Theses", I wil summlri~e, a part of this, and I am convinced that it reflects a part of what the Spirit of God is saying to the Church
today. F', r :;Jme, it might be the proverbial fist-sized cloud on Elijah's sky. Others already feel the pouring rain.
I 1.

(In this issue, we wil get in depth on three of the theses. In each successive issue we will cover more.

",

1. Church ,is,

aiWay at Life, not a series of religious meetings

Before the~'were called Christians, foUowers of Christ had been called 1/The Way". One of the reasons was that they

had lite ,(.t' ',lund 1/the way to live." The nature of Church is not reflected in a constant series of religious meetings ~,
led .by ~~ic :s .0nal cler~y ~n ~oLy r.o?ms specially reser~~d to exp~r~ence Jesus; it is in th~ proph.etic way followers of

Christ liv~ L e r everyday life in spirtual extended families as a vivid answer to the question society faces, at the place
where it to n :5

most: in their homes.

2. Time t ch '-rt~ge \~e system

In aligning itslf to lne religious patterns of the day, the historic Orthodox Church after Constantine in the 4th
century Art alQpted a religious system which was in essence Old Testament, complete with priests, altar, a Christian temple (cathedrAL), frankincense and a Jewish, synagogue-style worship pattern. The Roman Catholic Church went on to canonize thElPystem. Luther did reform the content of the gospel, but left the outer forms of 1/church" remarkably untouched, the Fite-Churches freed the system from the State, the Baptists baptized it, the Quakers dry-cleaned it, the Salvation Army ;put it into a uniform, the Pentecostals anointed it and the Charismatics renewed it, but until today

nobody has ealty changed the superstructure. It is about time to do just that.
4

3. The Third ReJQrmation In rediscovering the gospel of salvation by faith and grace alone, Luther started to reform the Church through a
reformation C9f theolo,~y. In t~e 18th century through movements like the Moravins there was a recovery of a new

intimacy with God, which iled to a reformation of spirituality, the Second Reformation. Now God is touching the wineskins themselves, initiating a Third Reformation, a reformation of structure.
House 2 House 6 March 2001

Prin

US

in

anrl

lanai,

o k vi w
Houses Tha Change The World
by Wolfgang Simson
"In this book, written from a global perspective, I try to describe a radical new vision of

1- 3

$14.95 ea. $13.50 ea.

$3 per order

4-10

$5 per order
$7 per OrdlH

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25+

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"A monumental and marvelous piece of work!

It is going to be a very important contribu-

You can pay:

Church...Christianity is not a series of religious

meetings in church-

tion to the present situation faced by the

1. By sending a check made out in U~ollars to the address below.

Mke the check ouUo ~(W0lfgang Sim.?on"

houses, but a prophetic way of life, in

church." (Ralph Neighbour, Author of

house churches.

:!o

:E

These house
churches do not
only totally change
the way Christianity is seen and experi-

3: r;
on ()

~~

THAT CHANGE THE

OUSES

Where Do We Go From

"

Here)
"An excellent book,

2. Transfer the amount directly to u-~r account in the US and notify us of "t~ quan.~ tity you order 'io .

()

WORLD
f"
l~

which goes to the

heart of the structure

4
'f

o
-i :r

:i

problem in our perception of the

church. I completely
Nations Bank
agree with the analy-

enced in the streets

of the world, but

v. m v.

Bank Details

also allow the

Church to develop
the City Church, the

()

apostolic and prophetic gathering of

the Body of Christ of

a city or region,

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'"

sis and much appreciate the book and

;\l
Beltway Plaza Off.tt
6038 Greenbelt Road ~

t~
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fi

its message." (Patrick

speaki ng with one voice and acting as

one organism under

~ o ;; c-

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Johnstone, WEC, London)

Greenbelt, MD 20770, USA

"Sure to be a vital element in the explosion of the church

lll

only one head Jesus Christ. We are

,H_ ,Q0SE CHLlR,H~,:'

WOLFGANG S MSON

around the world.

Tremendous amount
of great materiaL. The
vision and scholar-

- ..
,. .

On the back of the check includ.e:

For Deposit only "

in the midst of a
global reformation

Acct if 391 5S9 4161

4 ~-

where God rearranges and prepares the church for both persecution and proliferation, revival future. This book is on the cutting edge of and suffering, both the meekness that inherits things to come. There is no question that if we are going to fill the earth with the knowlthe earth and finishing The Task." (Wolfgang edge of the glory of the Lord with millions of Simson) new congregations, we will have to return to

ship of this book is surely the wave of the

Nations Bank of MaiLaaid

3. You can send cash-bills '-ry western

currency to our secure ma,i )'ng address

below. .
" r
address or mail to "

This book has been truly long awaited - the the New Testament model presented here."
e.book-version has been read by more than

Please send your or~er tp~a) with indica-

10,000 people, but most important: countless house churches have been started in literally
every part of the world.
Some RECENT COMMENTS on the book:

(James Montgomery, Founder and President, DAWN Ministries, Colorado Springs, USA)

tion of form of payment email

\ -l

"A unique study, carefully studying New Testament examples of church-planting." (Wes Wil-

Dawn Inte nationaUN.etwork

PF 212

son, Vice President, Every Home for Christ,

Colorado Springs, USA)

"This book takes exactly the right approach to

8212 N~uhaus~ 2
"Ground-breaking! So new and fresh, that, to

the most basic problem in missions today."

(Ralph Winter)
A far more significant book than I expected. It

the average reader, it will be quite revolutionary." (Clive W. Clayton, Brussels, Belgian Evangelical Mission)

Switzerland'
Other language versi,oias that already are available: German, Wutqi, Urdu.

challenges many sacred cows, demonstrates re-

markable biblical, theological and strategic insight. The whole church needs to hear what

"Wow! This book challenges our understand-

,,

ing of church and how it's done. I strongly

" In process: Spanish, Portug,LIese, Chinese,

Wolfgang Simson has to say in this seminal work." (Prof. Kenneth B. Mulholland, Dean, Colombia Biblical Seminary)

recommend this book to every pastor and

church leader." (Eddie Smith, Coordinator, US-

Tamil, Siu'ghalese, Arabic, Norwegian,

Telegu Croatian,'italian, Afrikaans,

Prayer Track, AD2000 & Beyond Movement)

Indonesian, Swedish, Russian.

House 2 HOUie 7 March 2001

Worship and
You may think you've been transported
back to the church described in the Book
of Acts. Standing in the midst of oth-

~.

Open Church
then told to share and minister to fam-

From Burning Bush t Boardroom...and Back

ily and friends (Mark 5:1-20).
~o't~ - -"-

ers, all together tapped in to a deeper

level of joy and excitement, there is the

The origin of the word "worship" comes

from the Old English weorthscipe. The

presence of living Christ. Someone

stands to share a song, another accents
the theme with a brief scripture, a third
follows with a five minute teaching.
""Il41\'\'"\''''' '\

word is actually worth-ship. To worship

is to ascribe worth to someone or something. Ralph Martin writes: "To worship

The next few moments of silence may

be broken by weeping; a sorrowful

saint confesses a sin. Several people

God is to ascribe to Him supreme worth, for He alone is worthy" (Worship in the Early Church).

~
.q4

gather around him or her to pronounce forgiveness and offer

"

From an open church perspective,

worship-both personal and

corporate-is shaped by several factors:

encouragement. A song by a young girl, a testimony by a

mechanic, a spoken blessing by a husband over his wife.
-,'i"'" -,.~- ~.,

WaLking with God Daily: PersonaL Worship

Worship in open church often astonishes people unaccustomed to lively, spontaneous, joyous, and unrehearsed gatherings

where the Spirit of God can suddenly

break-in and dominate the meeting.

Moses was no stranger to surprises on the

backside of the desert. A bear or lion could suddenly appear to test his response. How-

._~..

",._. ~k-'_-'-r.

,
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ever, he was not accustomed to surprises

from bushes, except perhaps an occasional flurry of nesting birds. This bush

Daily living can be pictured as a walk. At least thirty-six times in the New Testament the believer's experience is called a walk. Prior to carrying the designation "Christians," they were known as "those of the way" (Acts 9:2). In other words, they were known by their walk. For the writer of Hebrews, this is a walk offaith (Halakhah). So it showed
before us. Who we are and what we do

on the walk when no one watches is

the essence of our being. We were cre-

was different-no birds, just an angel surrounded by fire that wasn't consuming the
bush. Quite a flabbergasting sight! So

Open Church: How We Meet

"What then shall we say, brother? When

ated to walk with the Triune God. Our

worship comes from the walk; it is the

walk! "Enoch walked with God; then he
was no more..." (Genesis 6:9). Consider

Moses went over to investigate, only to

be halted by a voice in the bush, "Do not

you come together, everyone has a hymn,

come any closer. Take off your sandals,

for the place where you are standing is

holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). A holy ambush indeed!

or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of
the church" (1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV).

that his position of righteousness and

blamelessness resulted from his walk

with God. Judson Cornwall says, "God's

ultimate desire is intimate relationship with His people. God wants to walk and

Fast forward some 3,500 years to a church boardroom where the only smoke present

Open churches-meeting in homes,

talk with us as He did with Adam. God

wants us to enjoy His presence as Enoch

church facilities, or anywhere-focus on

"how we meet." There is open worship,

is from friction and strife. Many times I gathered there with leaders without inviting Christ's presence or even mentioning
His name. Whoever heard of worship in a
Georgia boardroom.

did on his daily walks with God" (Let

open sharing and open ministry described above. Sharing and ministry flow

Us Abide).

from worship. One has only to recall the

(This article by Lynn Reddick, first appeared in Open Christianity, Winter 2000
edition, and 7S reprinted by permission.)

instance when Jesus encountered the

demoniac who worshiped Him. He was

House 2 House 8 March 2001

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H "i l! 01 olh '.SJr, _~tIOI?W,::;,

A Review f t~ ~ookl~t Written by David Garrison

"A simple, concise definition ora~fhurch
Planting Movement (CPM) is: 'a rapi'cmultiHe hadjust come back from meetings in China

., i. "', p '''..1-..'f'
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growth?" Wow!!

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plicative increase of indigenous churches

planting churches within a given people
group or population segment'. "

i,C~':,;! i,tl,' . o~~tO'~,\".!\ f,:'.",,:

Eate t~~\,UlW~ ~ling;f A,i~1i:ij

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with house church leaders in a particular region. One young leader shared with him in a private moment how ill-equipped he felt in comparison with more senior leaders in that movement. The churches under his care had
only grown from a handful to around 1000

In this quiet way, the booklet, "Church

Planting Movements", begins to probe into

. 0 - ~ - . - 0 -... iot~'~=~i;6~r ::
; l.i~,I' ', ,'~i15~r~;fi;'an,"

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the recently recognized phenomena of rapidly growing church planting movements around the world. And a fascinating look

home churches over the previous few years!

"Am I doing anything wrong to see such slow

11! . . ..'~l "I U.1.'fiJ';!;'tt~I~; (. i

!1".'" Ji", ,.'; .'. "',,',.il,.dh',' 'l\ r, '.ff

it is! With many case studies and clear

analysis, David Garrison, Associate Vice

The next issue of House 2 House will

look in

I~,\i' 1:'(.6 ari lo' . i':leple wh vr., ~?'(iqlj;r~i~~p~re\'r;dre;~f the !

,I 'i es~en'~\df!the first~easter by

more depth at this whole phenomena. See

also the Bible study in this issue by Dr. Vic-

President of Strategy Coordination and Mobilization of the International Mission

Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

tor Choudhrie, who with his wife, since retiring from his prestigious surgical practice

n":'I~";Uing!aslt ~/bagsJme'd wi,th

\\i\lirp~~l#/lfJiftt;iS~,lov i an~ ";(i' \~:
1':li;hlS~'a,ti,on"to;wCni9ii\ Iik~;llVary "

begins to unveil a movement of the Holy

S pi r it

in 1993 has seen over 3000 home churches

t\'wb\?; ~fftodayi ~ tiQY,J'ClQ:M9u ,s,9,J ,

that is
truly im-

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emerge
across the

a--a ,

'I- ,wi .;"ii"

"

all over " t h e~;w '.c~

You will

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State of

Madhra
Pradesh,

~ "~';~ll
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--;iJa, "j
I

India.

i 'I: lfi'htJ 'P!Jrh\w.t~isn~idon~and ,

'i r'~lWYpU :nl',lp,'tu,c~;' lIre .'

world. \" ~
i

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Copies of

i JikMary' t;Yu1U~~ ~14mri$ed

rea d of
the new

"Church
.~ Planting
Movements"
will reward

~. ft

: "riid yur'~"ar'y! "IJi'J!ibL- ii;''. , i rig.a uOig 'jr'ilrlj)".t~9"tti'5~'

(~; i/", :',;;~F ':,"! ;;t:;f~' lt)';:,,"

convert,

,'\RoPbl.L\~ i'J!r;..,~q ,',"1",' i ii,'r;rvMti,"Q'A; li",ne PHJ),. atft",.,': 'ir(,,'/ ." Matt. li j j" 1;~ J l. ,l . L', '25.;:4G., ,1/",1" t I.
I~j(' ;: " ,-'~ -'If ix ~~'i J1,
I '(1 . .. Bx ialO, ail! ,:.r: J.,p,iO, TIV'T7'8 \'/'Austm, A',''i, ,'.;1,'1510'58' r' :,

who in
his first
~i

your study
". \#

year after com-

with challenging in,

cites into

ing to

,", (512)422-81:.80,;' !!rl'i .;fl!

Christ,

Churc plant in India wi h Tony and Felicity Dale

;v'i ,i -' ;,~" !llI .~\f:i-!J\.t~.,_'"~t.i~/r J l.,

e.m~a i ' /' ,"!J~,!', J ,'Vi ,

i.' it, .. ::ii' ai" 1 ,~~ ,! ~ ("J ! K Ii )~ ,~t 1, '

planted 42 churches. You will begin to understand how in one Latin American country the Southern Baptists have grown from
129 churches in 1989 to more than 7000

'drfiizfo~th i'agl:aJ'etie,proj~ct,Clrg

," , . ~g~,I,~n,~pr9j~(l1~org
l~t1,l) '; l i ~J ,":;'Jiry~..lt 1L, .i

why church movements start and stop! How do we learn to cooperate with what God is doing? When is it time
on the web at http://www.imb.org/CPM/

to "get out of the way?" Get your free copy

churches by 1999. Similar stories are emerging from allover the world. I (Dr. Tony Dale)

default.htm

l i,

had lunch recently with a Chinese pastor

who told me the following story.

House 2 House 9 Mar h 2001

Postcard Prom The Cd 9 C...~!~ff Me A Sor

by Shelly Berr hm
Shelly Berryhil is a homeschool mom, who, along with her husband John, started a church in a
nightclub in Houston. They now live and work in
Austin, Texas.

and what the word "surrender" has come to mean. Through tears, he tells of his 20-something struggle with pornography, how he conquered itfor a while but now is in the death grip
of the addiction again. While his head hangs in

place or
two where we believe

community might
find us.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for shame and fear, the tattered and faded gather
brothers to dwell together in unity!" Psalm

'round him.... each reaching out with a touch of

133:1
The Saturday night buzz was on! Bits of several
conversations could be heard from the quiet of
the bedroom...onefull of

assurance, each bowing low in humility as they

carry their brother to the Father asking for His

Commu-

nity is
nothing
more than

.. ..
_0

healing hand. God called and all did answer. "Be-

news upon arrivalfrom

hold, how good and how pleasant for brothers to dwell to-

life together; it ..

Europe, one exhausted from a day spent putting

together her portfolio, one recovering from a less

gether in unity!" Psalm

than pleasant visit with parents, one working at that somewhat awkward initial conversation with

133:1

is also ..

nothing
less than life together. To live together, to
tread through the commonness of life with others, to encourage and champion, to walk alongside, to carry another down a bumpy road, to share values and beliefs and faith,
tirety of the

If there were one word

to sum up the en-

a newcomer and one bursting out in disbelief as

she opens the front door to see a familiar old

face. Let church begin! The bread is broken, the meal eaten. Only a few stragglers miss
dessert. The group gathers

Psalmist's

words
~
- ~~~"'

to be my brother's keeper - these are the

..
-t

in the family room

in every corner

rare treasures and weighty burdens of life

together.... community. The one who enters

and cranny, some

sittng, some lay-

~
;

i,

ing, a few choosing to stand, at

~
"F~ tk
"

t')

L ~'

into living community finds indescribable joy and enormous strength that is fueled only
by the living presence of Jesus. Dietrich

Bonhoeffer reminds us

first. A prayer is
offered, a song

_ t.1. ~,l!
~.
'l'' f

that this kind of "daily

strummed on the
guitar. We are

-~-~-f: .~- -y~ ~'". - (,.,r-- ---J:! t~

fellowship of life with

other Christians" is an

called to peace,
to quiet, to at-

IIlHllilri m 1(rf

tentiveness to
God. Worship
begins for the

if
-~-, ."ZO;

I '" (' ,t I ,1,'/

.1

u
1i

"unspeakable gift of
God"! He writes, in his

book Life Together, "It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Chris-

tian brethren is a gift of grace, a

gift of the Kingdom of God that

church of tattered t-shirts and

any day may be taken from us..."

Even as "God is the giver of all good gifts" (James 1:17), we
are the keepers, the sowers,

faded jeans.
Many exhale the
day's woes. God is
1;

~ ,.

callng... will each

,
u

those who are called to be

faithful with the gifts He's

one answer? Several songs

and a few prayers later, one shifs in

'"

bestowed. Living community,

position and begins to tell the story of his life, beginning with birth and recallng several
highlights and lowlights. He shares so openly,

in chapter 133, that word would be community. It is a commodity that most every human
seeks....a place of identity, security,

one that finds it's origin, passion and life in Jesus Christ, is a gift to be
cultivated and grown, pruned and deepened.
One verse in the 2nd chapter of Acts high-

from his heart... telling his very own story. Other

than the use of modern language, we might eas-

encouragement...a place of true belonging We

lights the how-to's that the early church embarked on. "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to

ily think this brother's story was from the Bible. He shares his first encounter with Jesus, the saints

who invested their lives into his, the first time he turned his back on God. He shares how he
learned to hear the voice of God, how much more

all want it at some level; we all search for it from time to time. Some of us search with a vigor and energy, looking most anywhere we
see something that might only vaguely resemble

true community. Some of us are so weary from

prayer" (v.42) Community is held together by devotion/commitment to God and to each

other. Community is grown and strengthened
by spending time with one another and by

detailed his prayers have become with age, the journey of events that led him to live his callng

the daily grind that we pull ourselves into a

House 2 House 10 Mar h 2001

..

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10

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il Continued from page 10

having meals together, even as our godly an-

..

.. Il
C
10

J ~a
II

II

cestors modeled. Community is deepened

through the power of narration and the cour-

..

..

age to share.

..
C
l

~ ~ ..
,

I*~

..

D II

sy~
-

EI

Devotion, commitment, time and meals together are all words we've heard and are familiar with.
What in world is meant by the "power of narra-

We will welcome articles if you first write to the editor to find out what the primary J theme of the next few issues will be. All information to contact the editor is online
at www.house2house.tv. We cannot promise

tion"? In Deuteronomy 6:7-8 it is written of

God's words, "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you

sit in your house and when you walk by the

way and when you lie down and when you rise
up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand

and they shall be as frontals on your forehead." God wanted the commandments, the judgements, the instructions and the numerous stories of His faithfulness and provisions for His

that submitted articles will be published or returned!

""

people to be told. So many times in the New

Testament, Jesus Himself chose simple stories
to teach with - parables, they were called. People

i"

who heard these stories were often changed

Stories about how you started home church, and what has happened are high priority to
us. Let us know your experience - good or

from the inside out. There is power in the lost

art of storytelling.

Living community is deepened immensely when

the brethren gather and share their stories. The

bad.

Consider buying copies of the magazine in bulk to distribute to all of the Christians
that you know so that word spreads quickly.

:I i:

II

sharing is reaL, raw, uncensored and straight from the heart. Can you imagine the connection that is made when the hand finds out it's a toe that's sitting next to it? Can you imagine
the precision of function that occurs when sev-

Ii

eral parts of the Body welcome another new part and learn of that part's strengths and weaknesses? Can you imagine the powerful prayers
that can be offered from a group of Believers

Good quality pictures of all areas of church life are greatly appreciated. Preference is
to receive them in electronic form via email

who are truly family to each other? What a gift when God adds to our number another child of His! What a tragedy to spend time together but never enter into life together! It is time for us to strip away all pride and fear; time to
do away with plans and agendas. An integral
part of building real church is sharing our very

own God stories. Stories of how He has broken

us, molded us, exposed us, loved us.

in jpeg or tiff format with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Our email address for

In closing, Bonhoeffer says of sharing our real

selves rather than our ideal selves, "Thus the
II

this is pictures house2house.tv. If you

very hour of disillusionment with my brother

don't understand what this means please

mail them to us. We will not be able to mail
i:

becomes incomparably salutary, because it so thoroughly teaches me that neither of us can

D

ever live by our own words and deeds, but only by that one Word and Deed which really binds
us together - the forgiveness of sins in Jesus

the pictures back.

.
II

Christ. When the morning mists of dreams vanish, then dawns the bright day of Christian fel-

lowship" So be it!

Subscribe!
r:

House 2 ouse 11 March 2001

CONSUMER REVIEW - IJBEARING ONE ANOTHERS (HEALTH) BURDENS"

by John Reinhold Ph.D.
What would happen if 40,000 biblical Christians decided to share each other's medical bills

on a not-for-profit basis? Is that something to think about? WelL...it has happened and it may

could invest it, pay the medical bils and make a profit. With the Medi-Share concept we add up all the monthly medical bills of our members and simply divide by the number of sharing households. We send a sharing notice to

--.
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...,

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~~

surprise you to know that the monthly share for our members runs from half to two-thirds less than what most are used to.
Ten years ago, I ran across a 40 year old asso-

the member and each "kicks-in" their share.

One would think that the monthly amount

. 'v
;:; -

I" .,
!f~A ~

,'~'

,f.

would fluctuate, but when large numbers of

ciation of churches that informally shared one another's medical bills. Basically what they did was pass a pot through the mail in the hope of
taking up enough offerings to cover the bills. Sometimes the bills were covered, but many

people are sharing it remains very steady.

I was concerned about a close series of major,

l~

catastrophic bills flooding us, possibly increasing the monthly share to a level where people
were forced to drop the program. To guard

times they were not! I wondered what might happen if that effort was formalized and extended to the Christian body at large instead
of just an association of churches. Would

against such an event a trust was formed with

"'
In planning for the Christian-Care Medi-

it be legal? Would the state insurance

commissions allow it? Would Chris-

tians, who are now used to the

"world's solutions" for paying

Share Program I was concerned about accountability. Hundreds of Christian ministries exist with no outside accountability. There was

medical bills, pry themselves away, and actually trust one another? I gambled
$225,000 that they would.
On July 4th of 1993 the

a sharing ministry I knew

about that had only insiders

Christian Care Medi-Share

Program joined forces

with the American Evan-

gelistic Association to for-

malize their program and

go to the Evangelical

Christian world with a non-

profit, direct medical sharing program of mutual care. No individuals would "own" this ministry. We sent a mailing
to tens of thousands of Christians

eal ar
Price Waterhouse-Coopers in the British Com-

on the board, handled mil-

lions and never had anyone

outside of close relatives see

the budget disclosures. I

went to the head of one of

America's largest foundations and asked what criteria they used to determine

whether they could consider

a grant proposaL. "Three

things are essential," he said. "They absolutely must have an

outside board of directors; they

asking if they would like to become a part of this method, actually used by
the first century church. About one in seven said they would, and today, almost eight years
later, we have over 40,000 Christians sharing

must have annual certified audits; and they must be verifiable born
again believers." I asked him if he would

outline a system of accountability whereby if we ever came to their foundation for funds, we would be considered. He recommended
an outside board of at least 12 overseers

their medical bills in all 50 states and 55 foreign nations.

Isn't it strange that the concept of sharing one
another's burdens has to be introduced to the

that would scrutinize certified annual as well

as quarterly audits. He recommended a work-

monwealth to which all of CCM members automatically belong. That trust contracts for "spe-

evangelical world? Can you imagine what the first century Christians would have said had
someone prophesied that one day Christian would allow non-Christian institutions to take

cific stop loss insurance" with a multibillion dollar carrier. If one of our members medical

ing board of no more than eight unrelated individuals, at least five of whom were not
on ministry salaries. We appointed 55 members of the Board of Overseers representing

bills goes over $50,000, the trust's stop loss policy covers it up to $5 million. The trust is
in the British Commonwealth because the trust does discriminate against applicants who do not follow a biblical lifestyle and does not wish

13 denominations, only three of whom are on ministry salaries. We hired Carlson and
Fredrick, CPA's to do quarterly and certified

care of their medical needs? How foreign that

would have seemed as the concept was explained that Christians would send a monthly

to come into conflict with some state statutes.

audits, all of which have been available to all members for the asking.

amount of money to non-Christians so they

House 2 House 12 Mar h 2001

, ,.,

l'

I. "
iTwo years into our Medi-Share Program,

we found out we were doing it all wrong.

Our concern was paying medical bills when

II LT
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otes

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i

it should have been preventing them from happening.' When we found out that almost 80% of all diseases are ones we choose
by what we eat and by how we choose to

! .... - j
"

Now, after 0 e a e- ceiilune~e ca , 'f( eii/ ,

change gears agam. ___,Opp_o uj y for p 'g s es n
ope '(lg the ministry to-th-e ordinlY C riStia ' t e
same manner that-our ancesto s 0 ened Bib e re " .n9 0 e

.~~

live and think, we came to our senses. We

started a proactive wellness counseling di-

-,

ordary ( _ 's ia_n. To do thiS mea s, 0 e sen~the

vision that is now made up of 17 physicians who are up to date on more natural,
less intrusive modes of cure. We've inves-

inau9uratipn of a new eformation, 'Le m a otll, 't

means,the Log'caL'Gomp etoii oft/iei ea ier Refo tOIl '

'iI
,I.
,

..
1

i -cn F

whic the imp3cions of the posjP: ,taken wer, _eit e

fu: Ly underscood no oyaLLy 0 Lowed. - ,_ . l"
-.l,

tigated and approved 9 lifestyle centers

to send our members to for reversing coronary heart disease, diabetes and several
other western kiler diseases. We actually

fly the member and spouse to the lifestyle

center for a full 19 day program and fly

1-

The hi. k ~_ w ic created t e p~ ems we) hav d!y- s

insufff:'et to so ve them-- - + ~..-

ton-" - 'I-~-1_ _I 'eb od -' ~I , I

p.i

them home, at full sharing expense, We would much rather pay $8,000 to teach a
member how to reverse coronary heart disease than $40,000-$70,000 for a bypass

g ":

.,
T

ALbert f' ste' - - .=: J

Perha ,s_the cure, in any

1 I 1__

II

.. '" CT'
:D

-- ,- ____I ) - II - - areas rn!f be smal before't

that treats only the symptoms. We have

one of the nation's largest libraries on

.. ..

can~besubstant aJ y stronger-; '_ ll ~

lifestyle medicine and a book store for members to buy books at cost. At any
given time we have over 500 health courses
on video being taken by members. Mem-

.l_~;,~~

-'~ ~

i-

E ton jrueb ood -= =- ===' I

eig bO - I' ~ --+ ,~.

~~ ~"N
T=~ea
'-J
"-

There -is a ew style of cure ife tat: \so! i~ i:",p e-

.-1

bers can call in 24 hours and talk to a

physician.
Prayer is an essential part of healing, CCM

gates the mo e c urc _as_we kl1O!' ~ but Iso i t re" 't can't e put n 0 "oLd wi esk s~ --" ~.

has a 24 hour prayer hotline. Members are

assigned a segment of time each week to
pray about members' health concerns, Mem-

-= l -= i=-

~. l-p._.

CD i I

e see nd co ,ing of the Church wl be less of a, 'nve tion

of,~, nstiank~~ an a!etur!!~o "!-!i-r,~- Chrs~'arl in's

ongmaL form"1' -~" u ~~__n_" -- L J :D
From The Secohd (OnIi~~=Qf:th;e=~-l'tlr~~'~~-1!_~ 9_1_ ltrn~L

bers call a toll free line to get the latest, most urgent requests. The time segments
are assigned so that prayer is going up

:: -=
,N

, 1 i l - i he e wa::i ~ ~t o,f a a ~re~ur.,n t~-'imp/;;iJ;okJ_ thel_

Commums.ts, as_w~have seen, to b- e dlDwiithe. ..mJ~IationaL stlctures-of t e chufchn ~ina~ 1Th~irfi~dea was-ta

around the clock for requests.

What happens if 40,000 Christians share

one anothers medical burdens? They have

--

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force oeLie'lers!into the common m d 'of th'e-Ttre ,L

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House 2 House March 2001

Why The House

A Bible Study by Dr. Victor Choudhrie
Dr. Choudhrie is an extremely well known surgeon in India, who the Lord challenge in 1993 to

Church~
tr-

lay down his professional life to establish the

church in Madra Pradesh. Starting from scratch,
the Lord has prospered the work over the past 7

years to where it now represents around 3000

churches in homes with an estimated 50,000

people involved. Next issue, Lord wiling, we will look in greater depth at how church planting movements such as this one are initiated and continued.
a. Pentecost took place in a house. (Acts 2:1-

1i"

2)
b. The Last Supper took place in a house (Luke

dinary men resulted in the conversion of

priests which in turn caused exponential

22:7-13)
c.

a spate of cathedral building took place in Europe with domination of the professional priesthood, resulting in the demise of the House Church movement. The church then went into dark ages for more

growth of the church. (Acts 6:7.)

J
The rapid growth of House Churches (Acts

Most of the miracles took place in homes.

d. The wedding at Cana took place in a house.

e. Jesus taught in many homes.
f. "Greet the church in thy house" was a com-

8:3) resulted in severe persecution of the believers and Peter ended up behind bars.
The Church gathered in the house of Mary

than a thousand years, looting and kiling ordinary believers. It is estimated

that the established church killed 25

the mother of John Mark for an all night

prayer meeting which led to the dramatic

million people calling them "heretics." The church today is truly founded on
the blood of the martyrs. No well meaning man has done more damage to Christianity than the king Constantine. But

release of Peter from jaiL. (Acts 12:5; 12).

mon greeting of Saint Paul to various House Churches started by him (1 Cor. 16:19; Col. k.

There was no formal Sunday service. The

4:15; Philemon :2, Rom. 16:5 and so on). He visited house to house and taught them everything (Acts 20:20.).
g. The House Church is the original New Tes- L. tament Church. The disciples went to the

meeting could last all day and all night.

Believers therefore came equipped with lamps

for him the world would have been evangelized a long time ago.

for such an eventuality. (Acts 20:7).

d. In the last three hundred years of active

Signs and wonders including raising the

dead Dorcus took place in homes.
Baptism of the household of Cornelius and

Protestant missionary activity in India,

we have only reached 2.5% with lukewarm Christianity. It is said that in the best churches in India there are not more
than 2 or 3% of Great Commissioners,

temple regularly and taught the people, bringing the seekers to their homes. They m.
gave them food and disci

pled them (Acts

the Philippian jailer took place in their

homes

2:42). Soon they were jailed and punished by the temple authorities and banned en-

whereas in the persecuted Chinese House

Church model there may be as many as

try into the temple but by then they had

Churches had been established. "And the
Lord added to the Church daily those who were saved." (Acts 2:46-47, 4: 1-4).
h. The intimate friendly environment of a home

HISTORY:

80%. What can God do with lukewarm

Christians except spit them out. In effect there are hardly any quality Christians in India today.

reaped a large harvest and many House a.

It is significant that other than teaching

and confrontation with the temple authorities by Jesus and the disciples, no noteworthy activity, not even worship or prayer,

took place in the temple precincts.

OPTIONS:
a. India lives in Vilages. There are six hun-

provided the ideal situation for interaction, resulting in the rapid conversion and
maturing of believers into discipl-ers. Mul-

b. In the church's first three hundred years

the entire Roman empire was Christianized.

tiplication of discipl-ers led to explosive c. growth of the church (Acts 6:1).

The informal environment of the House

The church was severely persecuted until 310 AD when King Constantine became
Christian and built the first CathedraL. Paid

dred thousand villages. Additionally most of our cities are a conglomeration of villages. As of today we need at least one million (Ten Lakh) churches. Many villages are big and have many castes living in them and therefore the real number is substantially higher. No one, not even Uncle Sam has the capacity to build that number of church buildings. Nor do

Churches gave opportunity for rapid maturing of "lay leaders" like Stephen who
was the first Christian martyr and Philip who was the first evangelist to evangelize Samaria. The net result of handing over of
the baton to the seven Greek speaking or-

clergy were employed, one of whom later

became the Pope. Constantine converted

"Daily Christians" into "Sunday Christians" by declaring Sunday a holiday. He also gave Christmas and Easter festivals to Christians. Constantine was only a nominal Christian
as he built other pagan temples as welL. Later

we have the capacity to maintain them even if someone gave them free to us.
But we don't really need them as all the

House 2 House 14 March 2001

houses we need are already available to us in villages and in the cities. Being the

e.

A House Church does not produce lukewarm Christians but quality Christians who

f.

We all know that the congregational

model has failed and the denominatlOnal

model creates division within the Body

Bride of Christ, the house churches rap-

idLy multiply so we do not need big

houses.
b. If our Lord is willing to be

quickly Learn to be fruitful (Acts 16:5.) This is because peoples of other faiths

of Christ. The empty cathedrals in Eu-

rope are silent witnesses to the

barrenness of

the church. Why con-

tinue to imitate a failed model?

born in a cowshed then

where is the problem with the

humble House Church? The

first worship of Jesus took

place in a cowshed church.
"

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.,

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~.. .:~ Ii,i' .L .~-:l
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j "

g. The seminaries equip pas-

tors for a single congregation while

c.

We also need hundreds of thousands of Pastors/Elders

for the church who cannot
be produced in seminaries
but can easily be equipped
in the House Churches.

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~"t _", i' ,,~ -~

v'
!"

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house churches follow the 222 formula (2 Tim. 2:2). They equip disciples to plant multiplying

churches by multiplying leadership.

h. The House Churches are ful-

~~

~. ,

~,

'; .~tc-& .
L,

~t ~.,~ ".

filling the mandate of our Lord and

reaching the "ends of the earth"

,
~
~'~~;A

;,\\0,', :i ,,~,
'..~ ~

Therefore, God is bLessing them.

Barrenness is a curse in the Bible.

d.

Finance is also not a prob-

Therefore, The Bride of Christ must

lem as most House Churches

run on "low" or "no" budget.

There are simpLy no mainte-

~i

reproduce, multiply and fil the

..
House church meeting at a park under the gazebo.
find it easier to go to a friendly house
than a formal Sunday church service which

earth. The House Church is by nature an immensely fertile modeL.

nance bils and salaries to be paid. So instead of frequently sermonizing on stewardship and tithing,

Let us pray to the Lord of harvest

that He will send forth His laborers into ev-

the leaders can focus on completing the task of the Great Commission of making disciples of all nations. (Matt.28:18-20.)

in any case does not cater to them. (Mark

ery village and every colony of every town

and city to establish His Church.

11:17.)

iI :i

I1

House 2 House is March 2001 I

'\
o Tb::

Thank you for the opportunity to preview House 2 House. I learned a great deal and was encouraged toward "love and good deeds."
You wonderfully display the power in house churches. I trust God
to use this project to expand His church.

Continued from page 17

ITS FREQUENCY

How often should we come to the Lord's Table?

After spending a couple of hours on the magazine and its associated links, I came up with a few cautions that might be useful:
Ii ~'- l

1 Co 11:18ff mentions "when you come together

as a church" and launches into directives concerning the Lord's Supper. This clearly indicates

E it ir
Since this is the first edition of
House 2 House,

1. Beware of authors who live in anger toward the established church. The anger of man stil can't work the righteousness of
God.

that every time the church gathered, it celebrated the Lord's Supper.

Amazingly, the only purpose ever given for a

2.

Don't be a forum for people who criticize other house church groups over methodology. We need to witness the fruit of the Spirit in this movement.

church meeting occurs in Ac 20:7. It says, "On the first day of the week we came together to
break bread." The phrase "to break bread" is, in

obviously it has not yet been

possible for

3. Avoid a "God in the box" theology that tries to force every church into the home. Those who worship wil worship in Spirit
and in truth, not in this mountain or that. The early Christians

Greek, a "telic" infinitive, denoting a goal or

purpose. Why did the church come together on

the first day of the week? In order to observe

the Lord's Supper (see also 1 Co 11:33).

anyone to write an unsolicited

worshipped in a number of locations: in the temple, in their

homes, by a river-at a place of prayer, in the School ofTyrranus,

"Letter to the
Editor. " Because

etc.
4. Don't take a reactionary position. Your are revolutionaries, not

Thus, it seems the primary objective for the weekly gathering of the saints is to break bread.
This allows God's people to enjoy fellowship, to

of this, we have
asked Ralph

Moore, founding

reactionaries. If you miss this one, you allow the traditional church to dictate your agenda. You can best lead by success.
Show us an example that works and others wil gladly walk with you. Houses and lands are only the hardware of the ministry.

mutually encourage and exhort each other, to share prayer requests, to tell what God is doing

in their lives, to stimulate one another to love

and good deeds, to be reminded of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, to remind Jesus of His prom-

pastor of Hope

Chapel, Kaneohe, Hawaii if he

would respond to some of the early articles submitted
for this issue.

Love and mercy are the software that carry the message and
power of the Holy Spirit. Everyone worshipping outside the

ise to return and to be made into one body through the one loaf.
This truth bears repeating. The primary activ-

house is not necessarily "lukewarm.

As a church planter, I would love to see a well-developed theology

that embraces all kinds of meeting places. The problem with the

ity that a church should engage in during their

Sunday meeting is the eating of

Ralph has, over

the past 20 years,

the Lord's Sup-

established church is that it ignores the power of the house as a

place to establish the church. The problem with prior house church movements in the United States is that they seemed to worship the

pioneered many Hope Chapels.

Around 150 churches, representing

30,000 people
have developed

home and not be able to outgrow it when their numbers or their needs did. Their myopia caused them to die.
I have some questions that might help myself and others gather

per as a full meaL. All else is secondary to this and is therefore optionaL. This means that we do not assemble weekly to hold a "worship service," nor to hear "preaching," nor to have a
praise meeting, nor for any other reason. These

activities do have their place, but should not

be allowed to pre-empt the Lord's Supper. An

strength for planting house churches: Some groups will grow faster

from his work in Hawaii and other

parts of the

than their abilty to develop leaders, what should be done in that

\: situation? Parents of adolescents will gravitate toward congrega-

adjustment of our thinking is in order!

CONCLUSION

tions that support the needs of their children, how can a house
church best respond to their dilemma? How should we handle money

world. As a
church planter par

in a way that the apostle Paul deems "honorable" in 2 Corinthians

The eating that is associated with the coming of Christ's kingdom is even seen in the model
prayer of Mt 6:9-11. In reference to the king-

excellence within
a more traditional ~

8? What do you do in cities with hostile building codes? How do you insure that young children really comprehend a message in a
room dominated by adults? What are some practical ways to love

dom, Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom

(Foursquare Denomination) settng we felt

that he was

come, Your wil be done..." The very next sentence is "Give us today our daily bread" (6:11). However, the Greek underlying 6:11 is not so easy to translate. A literal rendering yields some-

hostile neighbors into God's kingdom? Do leaders emerge or do you

enhance their gifts with training? How do you start new groups?
Are there certain building setups that work better when you out-

excellently placed to help critique and expand the

grow the house? Etc, etc, etc?

I pray that you can broaden your message. My goal is to discover
'" the next generation of church planting tools from your project and

thing like, "the bread of us belonging to the

coming day give us today." Linking 6:11 with
6:10, Jesus may well have been teaching us to
ask that the bread of the Messianic feast be

thinking of those of us who have chosen to operate outside of traditional structures.

q your network.

Today's church desperately needs what you have to offer.

Ralph Moore

given to us today. This is what will happen when His kingdom comes!

Whether we pray the model prayer or celebrate

the Lord's Supper, we are asking Jesus to come

'1

Hope Chapel/Kaneohe, Hawaii

arch 2001

back. Thus we are to "look forward to the day

of God and speed its coming" (2Pe 3:12). Amen.

Continued from page 5

all evangelical churches to stand up and be

counted for the Kingdom of God? Recognizing
that our current church institutions are not

of these groups together and start actually calling this "church." When that outgrew our
house, we multiplied out into other homes.

British society is now viewed as being in a postChristian culture. Perhaps thats a reflection that

really touching society, could this transforma-

renewal within the churches over the last twenty tion pave the way for society itself to be pro- We recognize that what we are currently doyears has only, so far, had a profound signifi- foundly impacted by the Kingdom of God? ing in South Austin, in the heart of Texas, is cance among God's people. Many are finding just one expression among many that the Holy the Lord and lives are being touched, but soci- In this context, what could two British medi- Spirit is using to birth churches across the ety itself has not yet been forced to sit up and cal doctors possibly offer that would help any- nation. It appears to us that the Holy Spirit take notice. However, behind the scenes there one understand church planting in the United is stirring many in this country to see the
are all sorts of encouraging signs. Recently, I

States? The first thing we need to say is that need for new churches that follow new patour experience is clearly very limited. We have terns. Ordinary people are recognizing that been privileged over the years to see a number they have been called by the Lord to "go
of churches start and to see those churches
exert an influence that is greatly disproportionate to their size We have now lived here in

was listening to Gerald Coates of Pioneer de-

scribe some of the hidden things going on in

Britain that give us tremendous hope. Maybe

the passion for prayer that has characterized
the 90's will yet lead to a new wave of revivaL.

into all the world and preach the gospel,

making disciples." The B1ble has never known

any distinction between clergy and laity. From

the United States

the giving of the law at Mount Sinai (Ex.

19:6) it has been clear that God desired a

Now you might say, "Isn't there a contradiction to my com-

~~

for nearly 13 years.

.,'10

..

Early in our stay we

kingdom of priests. There was never an intention of separating out lay from profes-

ment that the late

sixties and seventies were revival, and yet

were part of four

different ch urches

sional, full-time from part-time folk. All of us

of a more tradi- are called to "seek first the kingdom of God."

tional nature. Those
'4
~-:",-

everybody has ever

since been praying

3f

years of imbibing

Our desire in the publishing of this booklet

for revival?" I see no

contradiction here.
It is rather like the

American culture is to help enable and empower the thousands and American of Christians who have pretty much given up
church life have

theological concept

been very formative in what you will see

L
written here It was

on church, but who are stil totally committed to following Jesus, that they can go out
and start churches. In these churches the

that the Kingdom of

God is here presently,

and yet it has not yet come. God sovereignly did something by His Holy Spirit in
the sixties and sev-

,
'0

11

focus will not be on buildings and programs at the last of these and professionals, but rather on enabling four churches, every member ministry. Instead of precious Northwest Fellow- resources being almost entirely used inter
ship in Austin, TX,

nally to maintain staff and building, those

that the pastors,

enties that still bears

fruit right to the

.'

Trey and Mary Ann

Kent, strongly en-

same resources can be used to fund missions and mercy ministries to a world that is waiting to see if the church can be relevant.

present. The large number of churches

that have been es-

think toward start- So lets read on. What would be possible if all
ing something our
of God's people got involved?

couraged us to

Tony & Felicity Dale

selves in the part of

Austin where lived.

tablished, along with

show all the hallmarks of the true revival of God.

The booklet w1ll also be continued in Issue 2

the thousands of lives that have been changed We were privileged from work with them and of this magazine.
watch the very effective way that they were

But this is still only a foretaste of what evan grounding new believers. When that church gelical Christians in Britain have been praying moved to the very opposite end of town to faithfully for. Christendom may have been where we lived, it did seem that the timing was
touched and shaped by the charismatic and new church movements in England, but as yet,
society has not been changed in a meaningful
way. That is a phase of revival that is still

Web Site List

house2house.tv - This magazine
austinfellowshi .com - Dale's home church

right to start something ourselves.

For two years we had been leading a Bible study

openchurch.com - Open Church Ministries

longed

group for business people to help them understand the importance of Biblical principles in
ntrf.org - New Testament Restoration Foun-

for.

In the United States, the spiritual climate is place where all of our non-Christian business very different. Culturally it is still acceptable to colleagues who were coming regularly to this
be a Christian, however in practice, there apstudy had found the Lord. We then added a

dealing with finance. This had grown to the

dation
themagdalenepro~ect.org - The Magdalene

Project
1mb.org - International Misson Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
tccm.org - Christian Care Medi-Share
pioneer.org.uk - Jeff Lucas

pears to be little difference between Christians children's Sunday morning Bible Breakfast Club
and non-Christians, as is shown so clearly in that we began for the sake of our own children. Barna's book, The Second Comin of the Church. This group was made up of our own kids and How can the Christian climate here be trans- their friends in the neighborhood. Most of those formed as it has been in Britain, and a new kids also became Christians. Various neighborwave of churches planted that challenge not hood friends who were parents of these kids only their own members, but also members of also found the Lord. So we then brought both

House 2 House 21 March 2001

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f
Scrooge-like criticisms

It's a hot, sticky day. I'm stuck on the Free-

"Bringing in the Kingdom" exists because

we've decided we want to be together, to

way. Bored, I look around at my fellow travellers. Drivers tensely tap steering wheels, in-

But it's a great idea to get away, sing new songs,

vestigate their nostrils, or sing along to the get inspired, and cremate some barbecued chicken with friends. And God seems to work radio. overtime as people take time out to meet with Something's different. I suddenly notice many Him. fish badges. Another "Christian" car appears.
Fading stickers say: we're going to Spring Har
vest (Britain's annual Easter eventfor Christians,

travel in friendship and partnership. With all our different ministries, emphases and visions,
we've determined to turn our back on inde-

pendence. So please be there.

In May the New Testament Restoration Foun-

In my early days as a Christian, I attended a church youth camp on the Isle of Wight. It
changed my life. I was somewhat zealous in my
responses to the nightly preaching. Eager for

dation will hold their 8th Annual Southern

House Church Conference. You can learn about

about 80,000 turn up for the week of Bible teaching, worship and praise); we've just been to

this on the web at http://www.ntrf.org/

2001HCC.html. Many have been profoundly

Spring Harvest; only a year to go for another anything God had for me, I'd go forward after Spring Harvest; in the event of rapture this car every sermon. But that event played a formawill be without a driver.
I'm relieved. The car has a driver. I've not been

impacted there

left behind. I'm in a Christian traffc jam - or

... Back on the Interstate, I've just responded to another

judging by the swif gesticulation from

perhaps a prayer drive, "Crawl for Jesus" on the M25? A window is lowered, and a faint waft of C n"st1Gn stic er- hon your horn if you ove Jesus. I've obeGraham Kendrick's new album, "Now That's What diently honked. But

I Call Make Way" reaches me.

the d 'ver, I must assume he's not a Christian. Sure nor.

The penny drops. It's summer. Thousands are breaking out new sandals and attending large
Christian events up and down the country. Loading up tents, caravans, and for fully fledged
tive part in my Christian experience.

charismatics like me - a trailer for the worship

... Back on the Interstate, I've just responded to another Christian sticker: honk your horn
if you love Jesus. I've obediently honked.

flags - we drive for miles in the hope of sunny A few years ago, I was speaking at a church on
days and God encounters.
the island. I had a spare morning. So I visited

But judging by the swift gesticulation from

the driver, I must assume he's not a Christian. Surely not...

the field where they used to hold our youth

They're a patient crowd. It's not easy driving

for ten hours, unable to shout at other drivers

camp. I worked out where the large tent used to be, then found the spot where the pulpit

because of "that fish" then arriving at your used to stand, where I'd responded to God 20 chalet which is missing minor items like a sink years earlier.

Jeff Lucas is a respected leader within the New Church movement in the UK. He is the VicePresident of the British Evangelical Allance. He is also the Chairman of the Spring Harvest plan-

and front door. And then there are the toilets, for which Greenbelt used to be famous.
All these events need teachers to provide instruction and inspiration - hard work, particu-

Surrounded by bemused catte, I knelt down

and remembered those heady, naive days when

I told Jesus I'd give him everything. I wasn't

ning committee of the Evangelical Allance.

Spring Harvest sees around 70,000 British Christians going to a residential week of worship

building a shrine, but renewing the vows of my

larly when an event runs repeat weeks. I spent youth. That's why I'm convinced these events four weeks speaking at Spring Harvest one year. are so usefuL. God goes along to them, too. For months I'd wake up in the night screaming
"Shine Jesus Shine"

and Bible teaching each Easter. Jeff is the main

speaker at this year's Labor Day Conference -

"Bringing In The Kingdom" (see opposite).

"Bringing in the Kingdom" hits Waco, TX over

the Labor Day weekend. (See opposite cover)

Event subculture critics reckon it would be bet- It's an opportunity to take time out, re-align ter to stay at home and reach our communities ourselves with vision, refuel our emotional and
rather that waste time on "Christian" holidays.
spiritual tanks, and pick up on relationships

H on Honk! k' .

They should add "baah, humbug" to their that have become important through the years.
House 2 House 22 March 2001

~O 0

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