REACHING OUR CITIES WITH HOUSE CHURCHES

Reaching our Cities with House Churches
Rad Zdero
Copyright © April 2002
The Purpose
This is an open letter to all individuals, local churches, denominations, and mission organizations in the Body of Christ who consider themselves ‘Great Commission’ Christians, that is, believers who take seriously the Lord’s directive to make disciples of all nations1. The motivation for those of us who consider ourselves such is that as many people as possible in our cities will have a chance to hear about, receive, and experience the awesome person of Christ in the context of a local community of believers.
What follows is a proposal that offers a practical way forward in saturating neighbourhoods with the good news of Jesus in a long-term, sustainable, and natural way. Specifically, to accomplish this, it is proposed that a vast network of house churches and cell groups be planted and multiplied consciously and strategically in every neighbourhood, apartment complex, institution, and commercial setting.
The Vision
The Nature of the Church. Picture if you will, spread out all over the city, mostly in homes, but also in offices, coffee shops, apartments, meeting rooms on the local university campus, small group huddles of 10-30 people committed to getting to know each other and God. They are called ‘house churches’. They gather to explore issues of faith, family, the media, culture, suffering, relationships, career, and social action. They may be working on projects, looking at the Bible, praying, crying, and playing. They have discovered that the secret of life is to love God and others and to connect with and become more like Christ. These folks simply want to rediscover the power and person of Jesus in community, as his early followers did. No buildings, expensive programs, highly polished worship services, or professional pastors are required.
The Mandate of the Church. So powerful has their experience of relationship with each other and Jesus been, that many neighbours, co-workers, family members, and friends, who may not even believe in God and may be suspicious of ‘church’, are chomping at the bit to get in on the action. These groups continually grow and become so big that they multiply themselves into new groups that are strategically placed in new neighbourhoods, commercial and business settings, and educational institutes. These ‘house churches’ are not led or hosted by traditional clergy but by average folks, called ‘elders’, who have a deepening love for Christ and other people. The few high profile leaders with ‘apostolic’ calling do not seek to exercise control or power over these groups, but rather wish to empower them with training, resources, and prayers, emphasizing a few essentials rather than a long list of requirements.
The Boundary of the Church. To network together, these house churches meet house-to-house, organize dynamic citywide large group events for teaching and worship, and/or have a select group of mobile teachers that circulate from group to group like blood through veins. In addition, leaders of these groups from across the city and across denominational and organizational lines meet several times each year. They pray, exchange resources, and coordinate their efforts to strategically plant new groups in unreached segments of their city.
The Expansion of the Church. As people are released to follow their calling to start new groups, without even knowing it, they are swept up into a movement, their movement, God’s movement, which will touch many generations to come. This is part of an emerging reformation in their generation, an underground revolution of faith that will transform their city and blaze across their region, their nation, and the uttermost parts of the earth. God is asking us to be a part of his restoration work, his divine revolution, in the world today. Are you up for it?
If this vision excites you, dear reader, please read on. Before we examine the steps of getting to where we could be, let’s take a look at where we are, particularly in North America.
The Current Situation
The Current Strategy
The contemporary strategy in North America and in much of the West to reach and disciple those without Christ, has primarily been the use of one of three approaches: large-scale evangelism, church growth, and/or church planting.
Large-scale Evangelism refers to the work of ministries such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which travel from city to city to hold meetings in partnership with local churches. Local church volunteers are trained in techniques to effectively follow-up people who indicate a decision for Christ and incorporate them into local churches, neighbourhood discipleship groups, or one-on-one mentoring relationships. Similarly, television and radio ministries that have national or international attention, such as 100 Huntley Street and Trans World Radio, provide some form of Bible study resources and addresses of local churches to assist new and growing converts. It has even been reported that Trans World Radio has been instrumental in starting 20,000 ‘radio churches’ over a 2-year period in China2.
Church Growth refers to initiatives designed to increase both the qualitative experience of Christians belonging to a local church and the quantitative numerical growth of adherents to that local body. Qualitative approaches include Natural Church Development (Christian Schwartz), a well-known program that focuses on increasing the overall health of a local church by self-evaluation and utilizing strengths to offset weaknesses. Quantitative outreach strategies include neighbourhood distribution of the Jesus video (Campus Crusade for Christ), Evangelism Explosion (D. James Kennedy), the Alpha video series (Nicky Gumbel), the use of the small group meta-model popularized by Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybels), and the large scale men’s movement Promise Keepers (Bill McCartney). As well, in North America, an increasingly common appeal3 has been made to restructuring local program-based churches to the two winged cell-celebration approach of the so-called ‘cell-church’ model. This model has seen explosive harvest growth all over the planet4.
Church Planting refers to the start-up of new local congregations either from scratch by denominational catalytic church planters and/or by mother churches spawning daughter churches by sending a team of committed members to start the new project. These churches may start off in a house or a storefront, but the goal is eventually to amass numbers to necessitate the rental of a facility or the purchase of a building. One of the most successful denominations in this regard has been the Southern Baptist Convention, which currently plants 1500 new churches each year5.
All these efforts will undoubtedly continue and need to be applauded and encouraged because of the harvest that has and is being reaped through them by the Lord of the harvest. I believe God will continue to affirm any efforts to get back to biblical faith and practise.
The Current Results
Taking a closer look though, our situation in North America seems far from rosy despite the enthusiastic and seemingly widespread implementation of the above three strategies. What has the outcome been?
A recent survey of religious life in the U.S. reveals that during the typical week in the life of an American adult, 41% attend church, 36% read the Bible, and 18% attend a small group or cell group meeting6. However, only 8% of Americans can be considered ‘evangelical’ Christians, meaning they believe the Bible is totally accurate in all it teaches, that Jesus lived a sinless life on earth, that they have a responsibility to share their faith with non-Christians, that eternal life is gained because of a grace based relationship with Jesus Christ rather than from ‘good works’, and that God is the all-knowing all-powerful creator of the universe7.
For those of us who know about the explosive growth8 of the church in almost every other part of the world, these seem meagre outcomes for the amount of time, effort, and money that’s been expended.
The Current Problem
A number of factors have brought us to this point. Materialism, secularism, pluralism, and relativism have seeped into the soil of our society and the church. Others have suggested that we are only temporarily in the low end of a continual sociological cycle of religious apathy and religious revival experienced in all societies. Some have interpreted the Scriptures such that we are seeing the beginning of a great apostasy from the Christian faith as a sign of the last days before Christ’s return9. Additional factors10-11 recognized by many, and the focus of this paper, are the twin problems of form and function.
By form is meant the way churches are organized locally using a ‘cathedral’ model, which is based on the three myths of a special man running a special service in a special building. These are elements that many have come to see as indispensable for the church to function properly. Now, none of these things in and of themselves are evil or wrong, but they can hinder the Body of Christ from functioning as effectively and Biblically as it could. Why? Pragmatically, the identification of ‘church’ with particular activities, places, and people can easily prevent believers from ever really becoming a part of the fabric of the city’s neighbourhoods to be a rubber-meets-the-road influence. Biblically, gatherings in the typical New Testament house church12 were Spirit-led, open, interactive, and participatory13, being much different than today’s highly programmed Sunday morning services in buildings. Moreover, first century homes could accommodate at most 35 people at one time14, thereby nurturing an up-close-and-personal atmosphere.
By function is meant the church’s enactment of the Great Commission as ‘join us’ rather than ‘go to’. Because the form of many local churches is a very centralized ‘cathedral’ model, a sort of ‘temple mentality’ develops. As such, the natural consequence is that a church begins to function evangelistically with a ‘suck in’ rather than a ‘reach out’ attitude, i.e. ‘come join our local church’ rather than ‘go make disciples in the highways and byways’. This, once again, deters believers from getting into the rhythm of life in a given neighbourhood or other context as insiders and influencers for Christ. A far deeper impact on a city could be made if increased numbers of small house churches were proliferated to geographically saturate a city (‘horizontal growth’), rather than making existing congregations larger in fewer geographic locations (‘vertical growth’). This would be like sprinkling salt crystals all over a meal, rather than placing a few large blocks of salt on just a few spots. Which method would make the food taste better?
The dilemma is not that we as the Body of Christ are doing nothing and that God is not in it, it is rather that we could be even more effective and fruitful and don’t even realize it. Even if we did realize it and knew what to do, would we have enough courage to rethink our view and approach to ‘church’ and do what it would take to reach our cities? A humorous, but true, definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. This applies all too well to our current situation. But, I believe, there is indeed a sensible and Biblical way forward. This requires a paradigm shift in our thinking.
The Way Forward: A Proposal
A picture of what could be was described earlier in ‘The Vision’. There are three practical steps necessary to see the picture emerge, namely (a) looking for local ‘men of peace’, (b) training workers, and (c) transitioning existing ‘cathedral’ church structures.
(a) Wanted: ‘Men of Peace’
Biblical Pattern
A man or woman of peace is a local person who welcomes a mobile ambassador of Christ into their home and receives the message they bring. They then serve as a local spiritual lighthouse within their community. Let’s look at the examples of Jesus, Peter, and Paul from Scripture to see what patterns emerge in seeking out people of peace.
It is reported that Jesus sent out a group of his disciples to travel and preach from village to village. He gave very detailed instructions for the mission, which are worth quoting in full:
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ ” 15
A look at the New Testament reveals that Jesus followed his own advice by traveling from town to town16, staying and eating with those who were receptive to him17, instructing some people to stay as ‘local’ fixtures in their community18, while on occasion calling certain individuals to follow him and become ‘mobile’ workers as he and his twelve disciples were19.
Later, the apostles could do no better than to imitate their Master. Peter received a vision to visit Cornelius20, an influential Roman officer who had been seeking after God but had yet to hear the message about Jesus. By the time Peter and his companions had arrived, Cornelius had invited a houseful of friends and relatives to hear what the apostle and companions had to stay. The message about Christ was eagerly received by all those gathered as evidenced by their baptism by God’s Spirit and in water. On another occasion Paul and his team visited a riverside21, knowing people gathered there to pray. They engaged a group of women in conversation about Christ, after which they were invited home. The entire household was baptized. Moreover, Paul’s team also had the habit of appointing local elders for the church in each town, while the apostolic team continued to travel22.
Several interesting strands emerge from these examples. First, Jesus and the apostles organized themselves into teams, most likely for the sake of mutual accountability and support. Second, they were to rely on God to meet their physical needs while they stayed focused on the task of looking for a house of peace. Third, if they found such a person, they were to enjoy the hospitality of their host and see this as God’s provision for them. Fourth, they were to stay in that home and build a base of operations there. This ‘house of peace’ would act as the spiritual outpost within that particular town or village. Fifth, Jesus and the apostles were ‘mobile’ workers, whose job it was to start house churches that remained ‘local’ within a given community. Sixth, they never spent an undue amount of time in a given community that resisted their message, but moved on in search of a more receptive audience.
Modern Scenario
Although we should not simply blindly follow what the early church did in a different socio-cultural context a long time ago, there are principles we can employ. So, how could this kind of scenario unfold in our modern-day context? It may look something like the following.
In a particular city, there exists a fledgling house church network. Three or four Christians, perhaps each from a different house church, know they have been called by God to be foundation layers and mobile workers and decide to band together. Each one has a particular skill and expertise, i.e. spiritual gift, which is highly developed and empowered by the Spirit. The band gathers one Saturday afternoon for prayer and discussion, trying to understand where God would have them go to look for a man of peace. They divide the city into zones along obvious geographical and demographic lines. It’s decided to focus on a zone that is of average size, being five by five blocks square. They determine to frequent a popular tavern in one of the neighbourhoods every Friday night to get to know the regulars and perhaps have a few beers and play some darts.
Over the next few weeks they get to know some of the regulars and start developing some friendships. Conversations include everything from work to family to sports to the news to religion. One of the tavern regulars appears particularly open to conversations about faith and God. Over the next couple of weeks, a few of the Christians are invited home for dinner and conversation. Although the host still has some questions, he would be willing to get together once a week to have an introductory look into the life of Jesus from the Bible. He is encouraged to invite family members, neighbours, friends, and coworkers. The following weeks see a small group of six begin to meet at the host home. Genuine friendships develop, as does a desire to keep wrestling through barriers to faith. There’s lots of food, folks, and fun.
After one year, more people have joined and a few have made commitments to Christ. The apostolic team appoints two people as ‘elders’ and baptizes several others. The group is about ten strong now. They are not invited to ‘go to church’ anywhere, but are challenged to see their group, indeed, as the church and their home as a local ‘house of peace’ which reaches out in word and deed to their immediate neighbourhood. They are persuaded to multiply into a second home if their group gets too big. They begin to meet others that are plugged into the house church network in the city for support and accountability. The new ‘elders’ start to participate in monthly training sessions with others in the network (including the mobile ‘apostolic’ team) for resourcing, training, prayer, and relationship. The team is now ready to move on to the next zone to repeat the process.
(b) How the Early Church Trained Workers
The key people involved in this work of establishing and leading ‘houses of peace’ that penetrate our neighbourhoods and blanket our city will need to have adequate ministry training. Let’s examine the New Testament in search of any patterns regarding how such training occurred in the early church.
Jesus and the Twelve
The approach of Christ will be examined first. Although he knew his divine identity, he nevertheless recognized that the only way his work would endure after he left the scene would be if he left a legacy of followers who would follow in his footsteps and teach others to do the same23. The Scripture reports that Jesus “appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach”24. In other words, he would spend intimate time with, carefully train, and later send out these men on his behalf. His job, in short, was not just to become the leader of a movement, but it was also to make these same twelve men capable leaders in their own right. He spent quantity and quality time with this small band, pouring his life into them. They were by his side as he taught, healed, forgave, prayed, confronted, and wept. He also gave them practical hands-on assignments to baptize, preach, and heal25. Jesus’ approach is well described by Robert Coleman in his classic book The Master Plan of Evangelism:
The time which Jesus invested in these few disciples was so much more by comparison to that given to others that it can only be regarded as a deliberate strategy. He actually spent more time with his disciples than with everybody else in the world put together. He ate with them, slept with them, and talked with them for the most part of his entire active ministry. They walked together along the lonely roads; they visited together in the crowded cities; they sailed and fished together on the Sea of Galilee; they prayed together in the deserts and in the mountains; and they worshiped together in the synagogues and in the Temple. 26
This was not only Jesus’ primary strategy but, in fact, it was his only strategy; there was no backup plan. It has been said that “but for the twelve, the doctrine, the works, and the image of Jesus might have perished from human remembrance, nothing remaining but a vague mythical tradition, of no historical value, and of little practical influence.”27 So much depended on the proper training of the twelve that Jesus took it upon himself personally to do so in an up-close-and-personal way.
Paul and the Posse
The apostle Paul took a similar approach by investing in a small group of young emerging leaders who worked closely alongside him as mobile apostolic workers. They included at one time or another the likes of Timothy, Titus, Silas, Mark, and Luke, and less well known men such as Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus, Trophimus, Clement, and Epaphroditus28. It seems that no more than two or three of these gents accompanied Paul at any given time. They traveled the dusty Roman roads together, preached together, spent jail time together, started churches together, shared their lives as a team with their new converts, and ensured the proper training and qualification of local church leaders29.
Paul’s specific advice to Timothy gives some insight into his idea of the adequate schooling and moral qualifications of leaders:
If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.30
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.31
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings - what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured.32
Lessons Learned
From this brief examination, we can see several important themes emerge.
First, the small group concept was employed to ensure an up-close-and-personal type of training. This meant that potential leaders would receive adequate individual attention from their coach, as well as have the opportunity to learn the necessary group dynamics of working together as a team.
Second, the apprenticeship model was employed. This meant that preparation of leaders consisted of practical on-the-job learning experiences as they laboured side-by-side with each other and their mentor.
Third, a multiplying discipleship chain mentality was evident. Jesus and Paul saw their jobs not simply as gaining followers and doing the work themselves, but in making capable leaders of their trainees. They were well aware that the impact made on their mentorees would be felt several generations down the line.
Fourth, they employed both mobile and local elements in their movement. The arena of service of a worker would depend on their availability, willingness, spiritual gifting, and sense of calling. Local workers (i.e. men of peace, elders, deacons) would lead the work from the spiritual beachheads that were established by mobile teams (i.e. apostles).
Fifth, moral integrity and maturity must not be exceeded by ministry competence. These must be kept in balance. Paul knew that new converts and those struggling with lifestyle issues, no matter how sincere, could not carry the weight of responsibility that labouring for the kingdom required.
(c) Transitioning Existing Church Structures
The question now arises whether it is possible for New Testament-style house churches to partner with and/or transition existing ‘cathedral’ churches organized along more traditional lines -- church buildings, professional clergy, and Sunday morning services -- to implement this vision of houses of peace strategically planted in all our neighbourhoods. I believe it is not only possible, but also necessary. This kind of far reaching impact on our cities requires the entire Body of Christ.
Currently, there are denominations and ministries working within or alongside local churches that have a similar vision to the one proposed here. The Lighthouse Movement33 has helped mobilize 8000 local churches to deliberately establish 1 million neighbourhood and workplace evangelistic units.
The cell-group movement, in which local ‘cathedral’ churches place equal emphasis on Sunday morning ‘celebration’ services and evangelistic ‘cell groups’, is exploding numerically worldwide, as discussed earlier34. Cell churches typically rely on some combination of strategically targeting specific areas in their city and tapping into relational networks. DAWN (Discipling A Whole Nation) has as its mandate the saturation church planting of some form of Christian church for every 500-1000 people35.
Although these efforts should be applauded and encouraged, there are additional steps that will need to be taken if a city is to be reached.
First, we will need to start thinking like the citywide church. The word ‘church’ in popular discourse has come to mean a local ‘congregation’ of believers that meets primarily in a building. Furthermore, each city is separated into numerous ‘congregations’, functioning quite independently of one another. What I would like to suggest here is that we begin seeing each city or town as having only one church, namely the entire Body of Christ, regardless of denominational or organizational affiliation. Everyone that has a deep and personal connection with Christ is part of this citywide church. If we are to reach our cities for Christ in the broadest and deepest ways, we must get back to the New Testament in which each city or region was recognized as having only one church.36
Second, we will need to start acting like the citywide church. What I am proposing here is not some sort of centralized organization that administrates one giant citywide church, but rather a willingness on the part of all local congregations to partner together in a strategically coordinated effort to reach a given city or region. What this would look like is a coalition of partnering congregations who are willing and able to come together regularly, perhaps three or four times each year, for the purpose of prayer, resource exchange, division of the city into geographic and/or demographic zones of responsibility, and the development of a common training track for leaders. The key players in these gatherings will be some traditional but forward looking pastors, church planters, and leaders of small groups, cell groups, and house churches.
Third, we will need to release small groups and cell groups to be the church. Instead of seeing small groups as peripheral add-ons to the real church on Sunday morning and cell groups as only one half of a two-winged cell church, we will need to release these ‘little churches’ to act like the church. What I am suggesting is a prioritization of little churches over and above any large group worship services that continue to occur weekly on the congregational level. This will mean that mother churches give their little churches the freedom and authority to baptize, marry, bury, administer the Lord’s Supper, and exercise church discipline. This will mean that the evangelistic mandate for each of these little churches will be focused on the neighbourhood, workplace, or educational setting in which it gathers. This will also mean that these little churches are strategically placed in areas of the city that are considered untouched by the Body of Christ. The result is the emergence of a massive army of so-called lay people ministering by using the vehicle of ‘houses of peace’ in hitherto unreached areas of the city. Although not ideal, this will be a good step closer to the citywide house church networks established by the apostles.
Fourth, we will need to transition existing church structures closer to the house church network model. It’s always difficult to run before you can walk. It’s also tough to walk before you can crawl. Attempts to do so can cause a sort of trauma. During this revolution, there will be some local congregations participating in the city reaching coalition who have never even had a small group ministry. They’ve heard of small groups but never tried them. They will need to be encouraged and assisted in beginning a small groups ministry, in which their small groups are comprised mostly of members of their congregation and are not necessarily evangelistic at all. Furthermore, some congregations who have had years of experience with small groups may want to take the next step of moving towards a cell group model, in which the cell groups enjoy an emphasis equal to the Sunday morning large group. Even further along the line, there will be some congregations that are cell churches but who want to take the next step of dropping their building and reorganizing as a tight network of house churches. In his research into some of the most rapidly growing and multiplying church planting movements on the planet, David Garrison points out that one of the key ingredients is lay led house churches and/or cell groups of 10-30 people37. As such, each of these efforts in transitioning existing church structures somewhere further along the spectrum will go a long way towards reaching our cities with house churches.
Summary
This paper has attempted to paint a picture of a way forward in reaching our cities for Christ beyond the traditional approaches being applied. It is a call to continue reforming the church to more strategic and biblical practices. The tools proposed are:
Strategic Placement of a vast network of house churches (and cell groups) in unreached areas of the city
Leadership Training using the Biblical small group apprenticeship model
Citywide Church attitudes and coordinated efforts especially concerning strategic placement of house churches
Transitioning Existing ‘Cathedral’ Structures by increased implementation of small groups, cell groups, and house churches. This will move us closer to the New Testament house church network model.
If this paper has struck a resonant chord with you, dear reader, please contact me if you wish to discuss the matter further. May the Lord bring about ever-increasing cooperation among believers for his increased fame and for the sake of the harvest.
Breathe Deep
Rad Zdero
Recommended Reading
Bunton, Peter (2001). What History Teaches Us: Cell Groups and House Churches, House to House Publications.
Fitts, Robert (2001). The Church in the House (free online book at http://www.robertfitts.com/).
Garrison, David (1999). Church Planting Movements, International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, download free: www.dawnministries.org/general/freedownloads.html
House 2 House Magazine: http://www.house2house.tv/
Kreider, Larry (2001). House Church Networks, House to House Publications.
Simson, Wolfgang (1998). Houses that Change the World: The Return of the House Churches, Paternoster Publishing.
Viola, Frank (1998). Rethinking the Wineskin: The Practice of the New Testament Church.
Rad Zdero (2004), The Global House Church Movement, available from William Carey Library, http://www.wclbooks.com/ .
About the Author
Rad Zdero, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. He has spent the past 15 years starting and leading small groups and house churches in various contexts. He is currently part of a team starting up ‘House Church Canada’, which is developing a network of house churches in Southern Ontario.
Mail: House Church Canada, Box 42067, 128 Queen St.S, Mississauga, ON, Canada, L5M-4Z0.
Phone: 905-820-8846
Website: http://www.housechurch.ca/
Email: rad@housechurch.ca
1 Matthew 28:18-20
2 “China: Radio Churches”, Pulse, May 3, 1996.
3 Proponents include Paul Yonggi Cho (Seoul, South Korea), Ralph Neighbour Jr. (Touch Ministries), Larry Kreider (Dove Christian Fellowship), Larry Stockstill (Bethany Cell Church Network), and Dale Galloway (New Hope Community Church, Portland, USA).
4 Joel Comiskey, Home Cell Group Explosion, Touch, 1998. (The International Charismatic Mission in Bogota, Columbia, has 20,000 cell groups; Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea, is comprised of 25,000 cells).
5 North American Missionary Board (Southern Baptist Convention), www.namb.net/root/cp
6 Barna Research Online, “Annual Survey of America’s Faith shows no Significant Changes in Past Year”, March 8, 1999, http://www.barna.org/.
7 Barna Research Online, “American Faith is Diverse as shown among Five Faith-Based Segments”, January 29, 2002, http://www.barna.org/.
8 China and India have an estimated 80 and 30-100 million Christians, respectively.
9 Matthew 24:9-14, 24; Rev 3:14-18
10 Wolfgang Simson, Houses that Change the World, Paternoster Publishing, 1998.
11 W.A. Beckham, The Second Reformation, Touch, 1997.
12 Acts 2:26, 5:42, 12:12, 16:14-15, 20:20; Rom 16:3-5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15-16; Philem 1:2
13 1 Cor 14:26; Col 3:16
14 Del Birkey, The House Church, Herald Press, 1988, p.55.
15 Luke 10:1-11
16 Luke 8:1-3, 9:58
17 Luke 10:38-41, 14:1-6, 19:2-9
18 Luke 8:38-39
19 Matthew 4:19-22, 19:21-22, 19:27-29, Mark 3:13-19
20 Acts 10:1-48
21 Acts 16:13-15
22 Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5
23 Matthew 28:18-20
24 Mark 3:14
25 Matthew 10:1; Luke 10:1-11; John 4:1-2, 8:1-11, 11:1-45
26 Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Revell, p.45, 1994.
27 AB Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, Kregel, p.13, 1988.
28 Acts 20:4; 1 Cor 4:14-17; Philip 2:25, 4:3; 1 Thes 1:1
29 Acts 16:3-5, 22-36; 2 Cor 8:23; 1 Tim 3:1-10; 1 Thes 2:6-12; Titus 1:5
30 1 Tim 3:1-10
31 2 Tim 2:2
32 2 Tim 3:10-11
33 Lighthouse Movement, http://www.lighthousemovement.com/
34 Joel Comiskey, Home Cell Group Explosion, Touch, 1998.
35 Dawn Ministries, http://www.dawnministries.org/
36 Romans 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor 1:1; Gal 1:2; Eph 1:1; Philip 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thes 1:1
37 David Garrison (1999), Church Planting Movements, International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention,
free booklet download from www.dawnministries.org/general/freedownloads.html