gospel collective
a church of
house churches
“One church made up of many House Churches, connected together under one eldership, yet decentralized into diverse discipleship communities each with distributed lay pastoral leadership.”
house church
pastor role
Shepherd 12-15 adults in Christ primarily through a house church gathering either Wednesday or Sunday night.
“House Church Pastors fully pastor their House Church. They oversee discipleship relationships for every person under their care. They are the front-line for initial counseling and benevolence, they do weddings and funerals, baptisms and communion, and the community they cultivate is completely dependent upon their leadership. They baptize people in pools, or in the corporate gatherings, because they have been the ones to lead and pastor their people.”
biblical principles of house church
1. family
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. - 1 Corinthians 1:10
2. diversity
generational
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. - Titus 2:3-5
spiritual gift
19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? - 1 Corinthians 1:19-20
socio-economic
22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. - 1 Corinthians 11:22
ethnic
29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. - Galatians 3:29
spiritual maturity
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. - Ephesians 4:13
3. geographic
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you - Titus 1:5
4. open to visitors
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
- Acts 2:47
5. children welcome
6. multiplication
missional
22b I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
- 1 Corinthians 9:22b
house church host
discipleship
evangelism
house church pastor multiplication
5 This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
- Titus 1:5-9