Why do we do the things we do in ministry? What drives us? In this blog I would like to begin to share with you the catalyst for this vision of the house church network.
In 2010 I was introduced to the leadership training material produced by BILD International known as the Antioch School. These courses drove me back into the Scripture to challenge the assumptions I had been making and forced me to reassess those assumptions. The initial seeds were planted in the beginning Acts course, and by the end of the course on Leaders in the Early Church, the idea had taken root in my heart and mind.
Before I go on, I should make it clear that there is nothing in this vision shift that comes from any ill feeling towards the brothers and sisters or the ministry at Hope Community. However I am not sure this vision could be realized in the context of our NH community without alienating some good friends. So it's no accident that the vision coincided with our actively seeking to put our dream of living in Florida into reality.
I believe that the structures of our churches and congregations have reached a point of inhibiting the growth of the Body of Christ. The vision of Community Faith Network is founded on the principle that the successful expansion of the New Testament Church came about through networks of small home-based gatherings of Christians engaging one another and their communities in daily life.
This might be accomplished within the existing frameworks of current congregations, but only partially. There are always the elements in traditional congregations which resist the move to community and close relationships, even if that move is grounded in Scripture. The formal Sunday service and a midweek gathering are enough and if people would just come to those everything would be fine. Except they don't and it's not.
There needs to be a fresh vision for training up disciples who are able to carry out the mission of Christ of carrying the Gospel to the lost.
I truly believe that the most effective means of establishing Christians in the Way of Christ is mentoring and training through relationships developed not in classrooms but living rooms; not in large congregations but in family groups.
Please don't think I have it all figured out; I do not. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and my own uncertainties, but I am excited for the journey ahead.
In 2010 I was introduced to the leadership training material produced by BILD International known as the Antioch School. These courses drove me back into the Scripture to challenge the assumptions I had been making and forced me to reassess those assumptions. The initial seeds were planted in the beginning Acts course, and by the end of the course on Leaders in the Early Church, the idea had taken root in my heart and mind.
Before I go on, I should make it clear that there is nothing in this vision shift that comes from any ill feeling towards the brothers and sisters or the ministry at Hope Community. However I am not sure this vision could be realized in the context of our NH community without alienating some good friends. So it's no accident that the vision coincided with our actively seeking to put our dream of living in Florida into reality.
I believe that the structures of our churches and congregations have reached a point of inhibiting the growth of the Body of Christ. The vision of Community Faith Network is founded on the principle that the successful expansion of the New Testament Church came about through networks of small home-based gatherings of Christians engaging one another and their communities in daily life.
This might be accomplished within the existing frameworks of current congregations, but only partially. There are always the elements in traditional congregations which resist the move to community and close relationships, even if that move is grounded in Scripture. The formal Sunday service and a midweek gathering are enough and if people would just come to those everything would be fine. Except they don't and it's not.
There needs to be a fresh vision for training up disciples who are able to carry out the mission of Christ of carrying the Gospel to the lost.
I truly believe that the most effective means of establishing Christians in the Way of Christ is mentoring and training through relationships developed not in classrooms but living rooms; not in large congregations but in family groups.
Please don't think I have it all figured out; I do not. There are still a lot of unanswered questions and my own uncertainties, but I am excited for the journey ahead.
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