Lack of networking with other house churches
When I first started hosting a house church in our home, about five years ago now, I was desperate to connect with others who were doing the same thing we were. Mainly just so I wouldn’t feel all alone, and so I could learn from the mistakes of others without making them all on my own.
One of the first people I got in touch with was Ken Eastburn of The Well. We started out meeting at a local Carl’s Jr. and over time we developed a friendship that continues to this day. Ken’s story was not the same as mine. He was the pastor of a local Baptist church that transitioned into a series of house churches after selling their building. Still, Ken and I were able to encourage one another and inspire each other to continue on in our journey into New Testament church.
Out of the many ideas we bounced around together, one of them was to create a network of local house churches in the Orange County area. We both knew the value of getting connected with others who were hearing the same call on their life and sharing stories, ideas and resources with one another. From here we added other local house church leaders and advocates like Bill Faris and Michael Bischoff.
Of course, not every house church wants to connect with others in this movement. I’ve had some people over for dinner who were hosting house churches locally who had no interest in meeting others, or in connecting with other house churches. I’m not sure why this is, but I do know from experience that it’s so much better to have people you can reach out to for ideas, for encouragement, for prayer and for support as you walk down this organic church experience. Not only that, I think there’s a biblical precedence for this networking together of churches. In the New Testament there were no maverick groups. Every house gathering in a city was considered as one church family. Paul letters to the church in Corinth, the church in Galatia, the church in Ephesus, the church in Collosse. He did not write to individual groups, or to pastors. He wrote to everyone who was in that city or region as one church family. So, there’s one church in Orange County, made up of house churches, and traditional churches, of all denominations and practices. We are the church in Orange County, and the more we get to know and to love one another, and to work together to preach the gospel, to feed the poor, and to advance the Kingdom of God in Orange County, the better.
Now, with a house church the idea of finding everyone is difficult, as we’ve already discussed in this series. House Churches don’t have signs out front or ads in the paper. Some have blogs or websites, but not all of them do. Some are closed groups for example and the last thing they want is to attract newcomers. So, getting connected with other house church and simple church groups in your area can be a challenge. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try!
One good place to start is at www.House2House.com where they have a “find a house church near you” directory with a map. You can list your house church group and also search for the groups that are nearest to you. If you’re in the SoCal area be sure to check out the site I set up called OCHouseChurch.com.
You don’t need to agree with everything the other groups practice. Ken and I are like night and day on most things, and both of us are different from Bill Faris and Mike Bischoff, but we still meet regularly for lunch, share ideas, encourage one another and even hose monthly “OC/Organic Church Forums” where people can come to meet with others in the local organic church movement, and to discuss important topics, share ideas, etc. In fact, this blog series I’m writing came directly out of last month’s OC/OC Forum with Paul and Lori Byerly.
I’d encourage you do all you can to connect with others in your area who may be leading or participating in house church. If you’re all alone in the desert, I’d suggest connecting online. In addition to me and the others I’ve mentioned, you can also connect with the Organic Church Today online and even find house church networks on Facebook.
The organic church is especially relational, so the more we stay in relationship with others the more we can learn and the more we can work together to have an impact on our community for Christ.
-kg
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