Friday, July 29, 2011

How to start a million churches

*Every home a church. The subtitle of The LK10 Journal is "Stories from the Revolution". So, what exactly is the nature of this revolution? One critical aspect is a return to the Biblical concept that the home and not the church building is the center of spirituality.

The Chinese house church movement captured this simple but powerful concept with their three mottos...

1. Every home a church
2. Every follower of Jesus a church planter
3. Every church building a training center

So, the house church movement does not necessarily mean that traditional churches or church buildings must cease. Rather, it means that the priorities must be reversed. The large (church services, etc.) must begin to serve the small (the church in the home). The first expression of church must become the small family-like group meeting in the home. The larger gathering must become secondary and supportive.

Want to see revival in America (or, whatever country you live in)? This one revolutionary shift might just do the trick: Every Christian household begins to see themselves as a church. That home would become the center for worship, for education, for outreach. With this revolutionary concept, a million new churches could be started this week (with no building programs!)

This is the vision of the LK10 Community: fulfilling the Great Commission by seeing a vibrant family of Jesus on every block of every neighborhood of every city in every nation on earth.

What might this look like? In the video below, you will hear the story of one of the families who is beginning to live this out. Let's pray for 999,999 more like this one.




"It is not a church’s job to spiritually develop your children. Scripturally, it is the job of the parents. The church body is supposed to support parents in raising children, not replace them." -George Barna

"Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night." Dt. 6:6-7 (The Message)


“The household (in the New Testament) was more than a model; it was the matrix of the new congregation.” Gehring, House Church and Mission, P. 193, footnote quoting Campbell.

Let's return to the New Testament model!

John



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