Start A House Church
If you have a passion and love for Jesus and love to share His Word, you are well on your way to being a House Pastor. We firmly believe that God created us each as distinct individuals who are meant to learn and grow together. The house church allows us the opportunity to connect, share, and grow in a very deep and meaningful way.
What We Are Not
We are not here to bash the local, conventional church or any legitimate denomination. Hundreds of thousands of people have been saved through them and I would say we should be praying for them.
Why We Are Here
There are as many reasons as there are people why some choose not to go to the local church. Your house church may be the only way these people get to hear the Gospel and grow in Christ.
Let’s Get Started
Starting a house church does not have to be difficult, but it is a huge responsibility. You are committing to sharing your home (or other location) with people on a weekly (or more) basis. You are committing to studying the Bible so you can disciple God’s children and help them and you grow in truth. Whether you allow us the honor of helping you with your house church ministry, or you strike out on your own, what follows will help you get started.
Step One – Pray and Listen
If you want to have a successful house church, God must be in it with you. When you ask god if He wants you to start your home group, make sure you take the time to listen for His reply.
Step Two – Check Your Motives
There can be a myriad of good reasons to start your home church… no other churches in the area… churches are to big… you are not learning… you want to serve and teach… your job doesn’t allow time for church…I could go on for a long time. However, if your motive is anger at your local church or other house church, there could be a problem. You could easily infuse your anger into your group.
Step Three – Consider Your Meeting Place
Most likely you are building your church around your home. Do you have the space to seat 10 to 20 people? Will you always meet at your location or will you rotate homes with others in your group.
Step Four – Plan Your Meetings
A house church involves your entire family and you need to take that into consideration. For now, you will want to consider things like: will there be meals, how often, snacks – yes or no and when. Some groups have snacks before the study time and a potluck dinner after. How long will the study be. The format of the study… one person teaching… short teaching followed by discussion… study a passage on your own throughout the week and we discuss it in the group. Watch a video then discuss it… there are so many ways to construct your meetings and they don’t always have to be the same.
Step Five – Invite Your Initial Group
As you get started, you might invite just your family and friends. This trusted group of people can help you grow and focus your group while working out the kinks. I suggest you start with no more than 10 to 12 people. It has been my experience that when your house church is on fire for Christ, more and more people want to join in.
Step Six – Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing
Hundreds of thousands of people are flocking to house churches for one reason or another. The main thing you will hear is, they feel closer to Christ, they feel loved and accepted by their groups, it’s like becoming a member of a loving family. The central theme is always love and relationship with Jesus and love and relationship with each other.
Where Does God Calling Ministry Come In
We can be as involved or un-involved as you would like us to be! We will be posting a lot of crucial information that will help you lead and grow your ministry. We may not even know you are using these materials (though we would sure like you to let us know). We promise, we are not going to invade your house church or dictate every aspect of it. Our goal is to see you raise up passionate, educated followers of Christ who long to see His Kingdom grow.
Training To Lead
Leading a small group church isn’t rocket science but there are unique things you should know and be able to do. The first is to recognize your limitations and overcome them. While there are similarities between leading a business and leading a church, there are also a number of differences. We will help every step of the way while encouraging you to lead according to God – Not Us!
Training To Teach
Teaching in a small group like a house church takes on many forms. You may teach all of the time, or you may have others teach as well. Either way, learning to share yourself, your spirit, your love and passion for Jesus within your message is key to helping your group see how Jesus is relevant in their lives.
Training To Train
Our hope is that you grow to a size that is to large for your meeting place and that people from your group begin house churches as well. As they grow, the same thing happens and soon, you will have a number of like-minded house churches in your area that supports each other and continue to grow together. This can only happen if you are willing to train those in your group who feel called to do so, to do what you are doing.
Serving Your Community
Jesus says we should serve one another and our community. This looks different for each house church. The beauty of being a small group is, you can discuss and agree on ways to serve. Serving could be as simple as sharing food from your gardens to having a Bar-B-Que for the homeless or your community. No matter what you decide, we will help if we can. In many cases, we may have already planned out an event where all you have to do is customize it to meet your needs.
House Church Listings
We will offer a listing of house churches worldwide. The stipulation is, you must agree with us on our faith and vision. We choose not to direct people to groups that are not Biblical or limit God in any way.
We will not display exact locations, however, we will display the towns and how many churches are in that location. If someone in your area requests information, we will forward that information to you so you can contact them.