Twin Cities House Church Coalition

David Brown

I recently met David Brown, a UMC Pastor who has launched "A coalition of house churches across the Twin Cities living in the way of Jesus" called STORM Faith Community.  At some point I'd like to post a little profile/interview with him here but for now I suggest you visit his website if you are interested in House Church groups in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Area.

I would add though, that this is one of only a couple of cases I know of where a mainline denomination is actually investing in a home-based faith community as a missional strategy.  (If you know of others please let me know!)  The proof of that pudding is that STORM only gathers for large group worship monthly.  That may sound familiar if you've been reading my blog from the beginning since that pattern was part of my very first musings:

I began to wonder… what would it do for the life of the people if they met weekly in small groups, and then monthly, perhaps even quarterly for a rip-roarin’ pull-out-the-stops large group, corporate worship celebration? I thought about the possibilities for spiritual growth and evangelism. I thought about the time and the money it would release. I thought about the amazing celebrations we could do if we had a month or more to prepare for each one. I thought about the enormous decrease in the facilities needed. Then I realized, there is a name for the kind of congregational life where the small group is the main thing instead of an extra thing.

It’s called the house church.

Blessings, Dave.  May your house increase!

100 Cups of Coffee #3 - Paul Anderson

I first met Paul Anderson several years ago at an event for Pastors he was leading at North Heights Church, and I was impressed by his genuineness and warmth. Then earlier this year I learned that he had become involved in some kind of house church expression so I sought him out and we’ve had some wonderful conversations.

History
Some time in 2005, Paul had some young adult believers living in his home (in addition to his own family) as a result of his gift for hospitality. Some of these were people who had come home changed from service in Iraq, and had leadership gifts. They began to pray together and were drawn to an image of a spiritual “fire” starting in the Twin Cities, where their role was not to try and create a centralized bonfire around themselves, but rather to help start lots of fires in many locations. It was an uncomfortable image that stretched them to think about “going out,” so they began to think of their own gathering as a kind of training or Boot Camp for that work. As they talked about this with others, more people started to gather, typically young adults in their early 20s. Gatherings were monthly at first, but started becoming more frequent and over time became a weekly event. The group grew and grew and now typically has 50 to 60 people attending, packed into Paul’s home, sitting on stairs and so on.

Leadership
From the outset, Paul has resisted the temptation to lead or control the group. He serves primarily as a mentor, and meets with the people who are the de facto leaders just before the whole group gathers. The group actually talked about formally identifying leaders but decided against it, so the leadership circle is a fluid, porous group. In essence it is a self-selected group of servants. This avoidance of closed structures (my term) also showed up in a discussion of whether they should establish a website for the group. There was concern that defining the group might end up confining it. Paul sees this as a part of the move towards centered set identity (in contrast to bounded set) and you can see it reflected in some of the quotes below in my “Tidbits” section. (For more on bounded vs. centered see Frost and Hirsch p. 47, or go here for some nice visuals: http://www.3dff.com/php/viewtopic.php?t=386.) Paul does provide a little bit of structure, simply working to ensure that for any given gathering there is someone ready to lead the people that come. Though he is a resource to the active leaders, Paul only rarely acts as the teacher in the large group so as not to set up some kind of external (“professional”) standard that others will then think they have to live up to.

Gatherings
At about 6pm, Paul typically will meet with the leaders he is mentoring. During this time they may discuss broader issues related to the community, but the focus tends to be on preparing for the evening’s gathering. By 7 they turn to prayer, again, largely but not exclusively pointed towards the gathering which gets going at about 8:00. In the gathering there is usually about 30 minutes or so of worship led by 3 or 4 people who were in preparation since the 6:00 meeting. After that, someone will share “a word” with the group that can be teaching, exhortation, personal story etc. Occasionally someone from outside the group may speak here. After this, there is discussion in impromptu small groups focusing on what was just shared. At that point, people are invited either to stay in the room for open prayer or go out to the dining room for food, or move back and forth between both. People often linger for about 2 hours and sometimes return to Paul’s home in between gatherings.

Community
Paul uses the term communitas to describe the kind of relational network he is seeing, a term that is distinct from community. This is a concept I’m still new to, but I gather that it refers to a kind of bonding through challenging experiences – a “fellowship forged by fire” – and a shared life that extends beyond the times of group gathering. Frost and Hirsch have also written about this, notably Frost in Exiles.

Mission
I’m not well-informed here, but Paul did mention that the group has been active in supporting some of its members in short-term international mission trips to Thailand and Brazil. An ongoing connection to a Thai church is emerging. Although there is a desire for the gathering to be “here for the people who are not yet here,” Paul reports that he is seeing more discipleship of current believers taking place, as opposed to new believers being birthed.

A Few Tidbits:
● Personal sharing is common in the group time. People are eager and often ask; “When can I share?”

● Some have said; “This is more like church than church!”

● Some have wondered; “Are we a church?” The sense of the group is that for those who think they are a church, they are. For those who think differently, that’s OK.

● Some have asked; “Can I make this my church? Would that count?” Paul’s sense is that the majority of people involved still have a connection to another, traditional faith community. But for most, this gathering really is their primary faith community.

Virtual Coffee (100 Cups #2) with AnnMarie

I ran across AnnMarie's blog and found that she was, like me, transitioning from some of the familiar ways of church life towards... something else! Both of us are interested in house churches, so I invited her to join me here for a virtual cup of coffee and a real conversation that others are welcome to join in on as well. I' delighted that she said yes, so away we go!

I started her off with these general questions: "Tell me about your journey! Where do you feel you're "from" and how did you get interested in house churches?

And here is her response:

My Journey:

Twenty-nine years of my life consisted of gathering with Christ followers in a church building on a Sunday morning. Around nineteen of those years took place in a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. I had no desire to go after God during those years and I went to church out of mere duty. In my second year of college, a man that God placed in my pathway told me straight out that I was going to hell which shook me up spiritually. God used this man to introduce me to what it means to believe in God and to walk in communion with Him. That is when I decided to commit my life to Jesus Christ and walk in radical transformation. I buried my old scummy self and rose up as a new creation. I continued to go to the traditional church setting at a non-denominational church. In the meantime, I interned for a college campus ministry called His House Christian Fellowship during my senior year and took on a position with them right after graduation. I served in the role of Women’s Minister as well as an Evangelist/Outreach Minister. I was introduced to the Assemblies of God during that season in my life. In that season, God took me to a sweeter relationship with Him and hit me hard with His Spirit. I became crazy about Jesus Christ and the people here on earth. I quickly caught on to the heartbeat of what God wants to do here on earth. I wanted everyone to hear about who He is. I wanted everyone to meet up with Him. I wanted to reach out to the unchurched, the lost, and the backslidden.

I hung onto the Assemblies of God Church and I have been taking ministry classes with the Michigan District Assemblies of God. Currently, I am a credentialed minister and I am in the process of applying for my license to preach. In the midst of the past few years, I have served in many roles at the traditional church. I served as a sunday school teacher, a small group leader in the marketplace, an intercessor, an altar call worker, and a welcomer. I have also preached in the church setting and also at retreats. Around 2 years ago, I took on a staff position at a church plant as the Network Director which is a non-churchy title for an Evangelist. I networked with those in the church and those outside of the church. I led (and still do) a Bible Study with around 15 non-Christians in a coffee shop. Most of these individuals have never stepped foot in a church until that group was started. Most of them do not own a Bible. Half of the group believes Jesus is God but they are not ready to commit their lives to Him. The other half do not feel as if Jesus was God but they are looking for spiritual truth. I also served in many other areas at the church. On the weekends, I roamed the streets of the downtown area prayer walking and networking with the lost. I prayed that God would move powerfully in that land. I prayed that His Kingdom would come. I prayed that lives would be resurrected.

After twenty nine years of my life, I have decided that it is time to transition out of the traditional church for a season or maybe even for good. I am in the process of praying and asking God for specific direction in this area. There are a few reasons as to why I am taking this transition. First of all, God said, “Leave!” In a small way, I can relate with Abraham when he was told to leave his country. He was told so that he could be a blessing to others. I feel as if that is what God wants me to do. Secondly, when I first accepted the position as Network Director I felt it in my spirit that it was only for a season. Thirdly, God has instilled in me a different type of heartbeat for ministry. If I stayed in the traditional church I was in, I would remain paralyzed which would not be healthy for me. I can honestly say that I have a joyful expectancy for what God has in store. I stand before my God and I humbly commit this transition and my life to the Lord. As of right now, I am homeless when it comes to church and it is extremely out of the box for me.

I am currently in the position of wondering what church is. Over the past year, I have been asking myself several healthy questions when it comes to church.

What is church? Why do we have church? What is church suppose to look like? Are we in line with what God wants? If so, why are some churches shrinking and not growing? Why do we see so little salvations and life transformations? How are we to reach out to the unchurched, lost, and backslidden?

I do want to be part of the local body of Christ. I am just in the position of trying to figure out what is church and where do I fit. As of right now, I am in the midst of doing some research of house churches and praying about becoming part of one. House churches seem to be more and more on the rise these days. The house church looks attractive to me for many reasons. First of all, there is a great level of intimacy with those that gather and even with God. That intimacy leads to authentic and real relationships. That intimacy brings about a strong accountability and even discipleship. Secondly, house churches seem to have the freedom and a passion to be actively involved in the community without trying to get the “church name” out there. Thirdly, house churches have the freedom to be lead by the Spirit and not by mere programs. The traditional church tends to run by a minute by minute schedule which is ordered by one person. Fourthly, There seems to be a depth when it comes to the diving into the Word, prayer, worship, and even fellowship in the house church setting.

Just recently I ran across a quote that sums up how I feel right now when it comes to “church”.

“Acts 2 is a virgin church, unblemished by 2000 years of schism. It is a church at its most zealous, most spirit-filled, most connected, and most unified. If only church could be like it was during those times.” Mike Bishop

Oh, how I desire to be at that place!

100 Cups #1: Julie Jacobs

Julie Jacobs – Frontier Fellowship Church

One of the first people I met who is actually doing house/cell church ministry locally is Julie Jacobs, so I’m pleased to have her as my first profile for the 100 Cups of Coffee thread on my blog. I was introduced to her by John Mayer who publishes the Cityview Report, a comprehensive summary of religious demographics and trends in the Twin Cities, MN.

About Julie

Julie leads a small network of cell churches called Frontier Fellowship Church based primarily in the East Metro area, with monthly celebration meetings on the East side of Saint Paul. She and her husband Robb are graduates of Christ for the Nations, and she is an ordained minister who also serves as a Presbyter in their Fellowship of Ministers and Churches. The two of them are partners in a variety of ministries dealing with audio/visual technology, global missions, worship music, and homelessness prevention through their organization Rivertown Christian Ministries International. She has traveled internationally to train pastors in cell-based ministry, most recently in 2004. She also works bi-vocationally as a manager in the health care industry.

About the Network

Frontier Fellowship Church is comprised of five main cells, one of which has a daughter cell and another in development. There are roughly 10 people in each of the main cells so the overall network involves about 50 people. Of these, Julie estimates that about 35 see their cell as their primary faith community. The others look to conventional congregations as their primary community and participate in Frontier cells in addition to that. The network emerged around 2004-2005 out of several groups that Julie had been working with, including an initial cell group of pastors she formed in 2001.

About the Cells

Each cell is distinct in the group it serves: one is a neighborhood group, another is made up of couples, and others are made up of men or women only and so on. Meeting frequency varies from weekly to monthly. Julie does not lead the cells herself. Some of the cells she visits rarely, others more often, especially the newer ones so she can help to “imprint” them with the values of the overall network. The cells are formed with growth and multiplication as a stated goal from the outset. Conversions and baptisms are taking place in the cells through the relationships there, rather than through people attending the large group gatherings. About 20% of the members currently in the cells were baptized through the ministry of Frontier, with about half of these being new conversions. It bears pointing out that if you were to translate that to a conventional congregation, it would correspond to having 10% of your members as adult converts who came to faith through your ministry.

Julie refers to the groups as cells intentionally. In the cell model, each group is fully Church and not just a part or segment of the larger, “real” church/congregation. This is in contrast to the way that conventional congregations typically segment their life into separate groups that are responsible for fellowship, evangelism, education, care and so on. This also applies to sacramental life which is not limited to the large group gatherings, again in contrast to the norm for small groups in conventional congregations. In practice, Julie reports that the cells in her network tend to invite her to join them when they are celebrating a baptism or Communion.

Large Group Gatherings

All of the cells have been gathering together monthly for a “First Sunday” celebration service which Julie leads. A second monthly large group gathering is just now being added. Part of the impetus for that is coming from the members who are not also involved in conventional congregations and want to gather more frequently. This second gathering will have a greater focus on ongoing training of the cell group leaders. It will probably be modeled after a typical cell gathering rather than just a second monthly Celebration-type service.

Training

Julie uses a well laid-out process for discipleship that extends from conversion and baptism to leading your own cell group. Along the way are various lessons, retreats, spiritual gift discovery and so on. An outline of the whole process is available on the RCMI website. They use materials from a variety of sources such as Bethany, Dove, Global Leadership Network and the G12 model. In her experience, it takes about a year to help a member grow to the point that they are ready to lead a cell and disciple others. When people have become involved in one of her groups, she always encourages them to retain whatever ties they had to existing congregations. However, some of her leaders have progressed in their training and now are feeling drawn to lead their own churches and even seek licensing.

In Her Own Words

Julie has agreed to spend some time with us on the blog and answer a few questions! I've got three that I'm going to ask. Here's the first:

How did you come to be involved in cell-based ministry and what fuels your passion for this work?

Coffee's Ready!

Welcome to 100 Cups of Coffee, a collection of profiles of people who are active or interested in the house church movement in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul Area.

Even in the short few months that I've been meandering along my new path, I've accumulated a good batch of contacts of people to be in conversation with. Many of them I haven't even called yet or sent my first e-mail. Even so, I've noticed that among the people I have met, most of them are not aware of each other. So I hit on the idea of collecting and posting these little profiles as a way for me to keep all these folks straight, and to help them learn about each other.

I'm hopeful that my blog can also serve as a place for conversation. I'll be asking the questions that I'm interested in of course, but I encourage you to be a part of the conversation as well. If you prefer, you can e-mail me directly and give me suggestions for improving the profiles. That would be great. In fact, just the other night I got some helpful guidance from my wife Kisten. It was about how to make my writing more, um, well... interesting. I forget exactly how she put it. It was very helpful, though! No, seriously. You have no idea. And she was very tactful, too. What a good wife! How am I doin' hon? Are you still reading?? Whew! ;)

Anyway, coffee's ready. Cream or sugar?

Tim