Canadian House Church Resource Network

HOME GROUPS/CARE GROUPS: This is the model which most churches use in order to help their people have some place within the context of the local traditional church model, where they feel they can get to know people more personally in a bigger church, and where they can be nurtured more deeply than in the big meeting assembly. Churches have found these to be a main type of 'glue' that holds traditional churches together.

In these groups there is usually a fairly structured meeting which includes prayer, worship time, Bible study, some sharing/fellowship, some snacks and perhaps some ministry time. Home Groups are not usually intergenerational and usually focus on a particular age group or other specific group in the church - ie. musicians, seniors, youth, singles, truck drivers, etc.

With Home Groups, the Sunday corporate service is considered the primary meeting. Often the weekly home group meeting will be a follow-up to the Sunday sermon. Home Groups/Care Groups are often not greatly concerned about multiplying, because a main focus is on nurture.

CELL CHURCHES: This model, which has been popularized by Pastor David Yonggi Cho  in Seoul, Korea for several decades, has become increasingly utilized around the globe. It is a model essentially in-between the home group/care group model and the house church model. Cell churches function very much like a house church, and their primary meeting is the cell churches rather than the larger weekly corporate meeting.  The cells are accountable to the local church which has birthed the cell churches. These meetings usually are a follow-up to the weekly sermon as well.

Cell churches are often much more evangelistic than home groups, which tend to be more  nurture-focused. Cell churches are often intergenerational, and usually encourage the use of spiritual gifts in their midst.

Although much nurture happens in cell churches, they are not focused on nurture but on evangelism/discipleship.

Cell churches usually have the vision/mandate to multiply through evangelism and are much more conducive to leadership development/discipleship within the cell church, than the Home Group/Care Group model.

== It is important to note that what we are saying as a network is not intended to criticize traditional churches, but rather to say that we have been seeing how the biblical model of house churches seems to be potentially much more conducive to doing the things and living the life that we as the Church were called to be and do than the traditional model is. It is also more conducive to reaching the various segments of society that are not a part of traditional churches. As is stated in our vision statement, it is our desire as the Canadian House Church Resource Network to compliment other forms of Christian gatherings in Canada, since God has called us to unity, to love one another and to work together to see His Kingdom expanded in our nation. There is more than enough work for all of us and we NEED EACH OTHER. ==

House churches tend to be intergenerational and see children as having a vital role in the Body of Christ even as children.

House churches are the primary meeting. If there is a local network of house churches, they may meet together corporately for worship perhaps once a month or so locally and potentially work together in various ministries as the Holy Spirit leads. The corporate meetings are seen as a secondary meeting.

In addition to focusing on knowing Christ and experiencing His Presence together, house churches are usually focused on evangelism/discipleship and usually have a vision/mandate of multiplying reproducible, Christ centered house churches. As in cell churches, though the focus is on evangelism/discipleship, nurture is a by-product of that.

House churches (and probably cell churches), especially if most of those attending are from the same neighbourhood, try to get together much more often than just on a weekly or bi-weekly basis...they try to share their lives together as a witness to their neighbours and to grow in their relationships with the Lord and with each other. It is a very grass-roots way of seeing the church grow and has great potential for becoming a people movement.

A house church meeting usually includes a meal, the exercising of spiritual gifts, prayer, worship, fellowship, ministry to each other, everyone sharing a word or a song, etc. as in 1 Corinthians.

Leadership style: plurality of leaders. Potentially mutually accountable to a local network of house churches and possibly receiving the ministry of an itinerant apostolic team who serves the local network of house churches.

Wolfgang Simson also says that house churches are also part of the 'city church'. "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you...and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare" (Jeremiah 29:7).

Children are a vital part of the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ. We believe that God wants to reach out to/minister to and work through families, and to bring those without families into vital family relationships with others in the Body of Christ - of various ages. We all have things we need to learn from each other, and God is calling ALL of us, young and older :) to living out our lives as wholehearted disciples/worshippers of Jesus Christ.

The are some resources to help you with the aspect of dealing with children in house churches in our LINKS section.

In addition, one excellent book to help encourage you with a vision for what God can and is doing among children, and some practical ways that you can move forward with this, is the following book which we would strongly recommend: SHOUTING IN THE TEMPLE: A Radical Look at Children's Ministry -- by Lorna Jenkins, Foreward by Lawrence Khong

After 25 years of teaching Sunday School, Lorna Jenkins has been working with children's cell groups for fifteen years. She has worked with people around the world who wish to bring their children into their cell groups. The result? "SHOUTING IN THE TEMPLE" - a handbook for Intergenerational Cell Groups. She has written down what she has seen and the answers to the most common questions people ask. It is a workbook designed for the people who are prepared to go out and take the risk.

"Lorna presents a Kingdom vision for kids, that is apostolically anointed and passionately practical." - Alan Corrick, District Pastor & Training Director, Alaska

"In a day when the church at last recognizes the importance of children, Dr. Jenkins' ground-breaking book encourages us to return to God's original plan: that children should primarily absorb and live out Kingdom principles in their natural family and small community, the modern equivalent of which is the intergenerational cell group. A must-read for all parents, pastors and children's ministry workers." - Ann Hornshaw, Children's Pastor, Church of the Good Shepherd, Sydney

"Lorna Jenkins is the global expert in forming Intergenerational Cell Groups. I know this book will bless your ministry!" - Dr. Ralph Neighbours Jr., TOUCH Outreach Ministries, Houston, TX

"Shouting in the Temple gives a prophetic voice that must be heard in this generation. No nation, church or individual can afford to ignore this message as we approach the return of Jesus." - Daphne Kirk, Children's Pastor, Lighthouse Center, Ely, UK

"Reading her book is like unfolding the process that makes the children's ministry in FCBC what it is today. Her book is principle-centred, inspiring and down-to-earth. I am so glad to be a part of Lorna's journey of translating a vision into a reality." - Aw Yew Lin, Director of Children's Ministry, Faith Community Baptist Church, Singapore

There are many wonderful things about this book, but a couple things which I have found very helpful are that it is VERY PRACTICAL and explains the steps this church took to encourage this paradigm shift in their church. It also explains how they transitioned into this paradigm from a more traditional church model.

For more info about Lorna's excellent resource materials, and to order this book, and to find out more about Lorna's ministry, check out her web site at: www.kidsslot.org.nz  To order a copy of the book, contact: http://www.fcbc.org.sg