Vision-mission statements are popular these days, for good reason. They focus on what the task is about, what the long term goal is. It’s valuable for all those involved to discuss and pray through what this may be, because they will "buy into" the task, if they feel it is expressing their heart. For home groups, a suggestion could be a scripture: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul, and you shall love your neighbour as yourself." (Luke 10:27)

To love God, we need to know Him - through the Bible, through each other, in prayer, in our daily lives. To love our neighbour is to love those we come into contact with (the Good Samaritan parable), “especially to fellow believers” (Gal 6:10), “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.”(John 13:35). Loving ourselves means we will have something to give out, and God does “wish us to prosper and be in health, even as our soul prospers." (3 John 2).

House church is a place where love can be expressed, where shepherding can take place. And evangelism becomes a natural outcome of the wholeness of the members, because of their love, enthusiasm, joy etc., they will both be attractive to others, and have a desire to draw them in.

Operation of Small Groups

Home churches are a relaxed, natural way of gathering, so a "cuppa" and chat is a good plan, and spiritual too; “Don’t forget to do good and to communicate...” (Heb 13:16) Then to commit the meeting to the Lord, to ask him to lead and guide, and move by his Spirit... [If someone has come distressed - this should be addressed immediately, but not for too many meetings, the person can be referred to a specialist group or ministry for a while.]

A time of praise is refreshing - "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise" (Ps 100:4).

House churches are an ideal place to work through a sequential curriculum, beginning with the gospel, then the foundations and ministry gifts, then general Bible and Christian knowledge. The importance of all believers having a good understanding of the basic foundations of our faith cannot be too greatly stressed. “As new-born babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow by it.” (1 Peter 2:2) and "study to show yourself approved.” (II Tim 2:15) The studies need to be easily understood by everyone, and consist of a short explanation of the idea or story, then a good discussion on how this relates to our everyday lives. Application is a key issue to avoid the common problem of ‘head, not heart’ learning. “Be doers of the word - not hearers only.”(Romans 2:13, James 1:22) "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up”. (I Cor 8:1) Ask questions such as `what does it mean? What does it mean to us? What can we do about it?’ And there can be a time of quiet, allowing God to speak in that still, small, voice in our hearts. Also, gentle accountability is very possible in house church, as people care enough to ask, "How did it go?"

It is good to pray for those outside the group who we care about - including prayer in pairs or triplets for those we can reach out to in our neighbourhood, whom we would like to bring along. We can also ask God for his strategies - giving him opportunity to put his thoughts into our hearts and minds...

And when each person has learnt the basic truths of the Gospel, the foundations of our faith, and about ministry gifts, they can be available to serve in many ways. House church is an ideal place to discover and use our gifts for others. It is a place where they can be trialed, and fine tuned. And there is ongoing care for growth in character and Bible knowledge. When issues are raised that require specific prayer and ministry, time can be made for this: "The whole body...grows....as each part does its work." (Eph 4:11-16)

Growth & Membership

There is potential for house churches to have fun times - which are great to invite “pre-Christians” to. You can have specific groups that reach out to a target group of people, or you can have all-age neighbourhood groups, like an extended family. It’s a good idea to do the opposite of what happens at Sunday meetings, either specialist, or ‘family’ gatherings.

And when growth occurs, the natural way to form another group is for the new leader to choose his apprentice, and invite anyone who feels to join them. A good size is ten to twelve people - as Moses and Jesus had. More than that becomes unwieldy, as the number of conversation threads possible means it is easy to overlook quiet people.

Summary

If the mission of the group is being focused on, it won’t matter so much if some things are not finished - there is no need to rush tasks, and miss people. Good growth takes time, and God does want us to grow in love, in our character and abilities, as well as in numbers - this way, it will be a lasting work, bringing joy to all members.

HOME GROUP/ HOUSE CHURCH is a place where these three areas of love can be expressed,where basic shepherding can be done for one another, according to maturity and giftings - applied teaching, accountability, ministry gifts, care and prayer etc.

Evangelism becomes a natural outcome of the wholeness of the members, because of their love, their enthusiasm, their joy etc, they will both seek to draw in others, and be attractive to others.

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[2] FORMAT OF HOME GROUPS {Note that each activity relates to different aspects of the vision}

FELLOWSHIP - `Cuppa' and catch up.... Heb 13:16 "But to do good and to communicate do not forget: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

PRAYER/ PRAISE - Ps 100:4 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise" - have two or three songs, and if there are no musicians, tapes can be used, or a time of spoken praise. And a prayer of commitment of the meeting, for the Lord to lead, and move... [If someone has come distressed - this should be addressed immediately, but after about three weeks, the person should be referred to a specialist group or ministry for a time...]

BIBLE STUDY - House churches are an ideal place to learn and apply a sequential curriculum of Bible studies, beginning with the gospel, then the foundations, ministry gifts, and general Bible and Christian knowledge [an outline for these is available. The alternative would be an all ages Sunday School.] This should consist of a short explanation of the idea or story - and in depth regarding on how they relate to our everyday lives. Thorough Bible studies need their own separate church or Bible College programme, for house church studies need to be easily understood by everybody. 1 Peter 2:2, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”, II Tim 2:15 "Study to show yourself approved”. It is what we do with it that counts.

DISCUSSION/ APPLICATION - Application is a key issue to avoid the usual Western problem of `head learning’ only. `Be doers of the word - not hearers only' Romans 2:13, James 1:22. We need to be building our houses on the Rock of His Word: Matt 7:24-27. "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (oikodomeo)" I Cor 8:1. Here the questions are asked - what does it mean, what does it mean to me, and what should be done about it... And there should be a time of quiet where God is asked to put His thoughts into hearts and minds...Note here that accountability is very possible in house church.

MINISTRY - It may be that issues are raised that require specific prayer, if it is possible, there should be time made for this, perhaps after the general meeting... I Cor 12:7-31, "To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good", Rms 12: 6-16 "We have different gifts", Eph 4:11-16 "The whole body...grows....as each part does its work." When each person has learnt the basic truths of the Gospel, and the foundations of our faith, they can become available for service in more ways than praying and sharing their beliefs with their friends. There are practical, creative and “brain working” ways of serving God - depends on two things - God’s will, and God’s gifts - which may be your natural gifts, or something that God puts into your life to share, by the power of His Spirit.
Home group is an ideal place to study, discover and use your gifts for others... It is a place where you can try things, because they will need refining - fine tuning, and strengthening. You will need to continue to grow in character and Bible knowledge - and ideal place for this, is in the small group where the ministry gifts and study are ongoing.

PRAYER - Time for prayer requests, and regular “outreach prayers” - such as prayer in pairs or triplets for those we can reach out to in our immediate neighbourhood, whom we would like to bring to the group - and part of that should be asking God for His strategies - and don’t forget to give Him a chance to speak in that still small voice in our hearts... John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” It is good out-focusing for the home group, and also monthly, a specific missionary that the group can “adopt” and correspond with, and pray for... Eph 6:18 "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers, with this in mind, be alert and keep on praying for all the saints" - one of the weapons of our warfare we sometimes forget to include.... Rms 12:12 "Be instant in prayer" I Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing".

NOTES:
`Pre-Christians’ will enjoy the friendly, interested, caring atmosphere, any good singing, - and that they are able to ask questions, share concerns and receive prayer and counsel. They can be introduced into small group social events, or straight into small groups, and then into inter-group celebrations, i.e. Sunday meetings.

The name `cell' group is not easily understood by unchurched people, whereas "house church" is obvious to anyone. - Also, the way a real biological cell divides - i.e.. straight down the middle,doesn't work well with a group of people, it's not a natural thing to do, and people do get hurt... But - as in a family - when the apprentice leader is ready to start a new group, he chooses his own apprentice, and leaves, inviting anyone who feels to join them. A good size to reach for is 10 to 12 - as Moses did, and Jesus. More than that becomes unwieldy, because of the number conversation threads that can be formed... It is too easy to overlook people - which is not what house church is for...

Ministry gifts are to `edify' the church - Eph 4:12. The Greek word for `edify' combines the word for household, (= oikos) and the word for roof, (dome). [In fact each verse of Eph 2:20-22 uses this word: vs. 20, “Built on” (epoikosdomeo), vs. 21, “building” (oikodome), vs. 22, “built together” (sunoikodmeo).

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[3] FORM OF HOME GROUPS

ASPECTS TO CONSIDER:
Friendship is important for evangelism, commitment and individual and group growth. - A house group creates the same pattern Jesus used - of building a close group of friends, from which you relate intimately with two or three, who will form the nucleus of any new groups.
[Other relationships are correspondingly less deep and more numerous].

Either:- natural groups of like-minded people, which needs to be balanced with growing from challenging relationships. Also, there is a need to minister to the `unlovely' - and provision should be made to include people going through a hard time, [extra grace required -or EGR groups - see Bob Orr for ideas] but if they are consuming all the group's time and energy to the exclusion of others, they will need to have pastoral (trained) counsel and may need to attend a special support group who can minister to especially difficult problems, which we can all have at times.
Or across church - the `family of faith' is all races and ages - so there may be a place for allowing some members from other congregations to join, and children will also need to be considered, as to either being involved, or arranging for a group babysitter. If the Sunday meetings are distinctive congregations, I suggest the later may be the best for church cohesion.
And travel time may be a consideration - across town can seem a long way - although if the desire is there, we don’t worry about it; and next door may not like to feel pressured that they have to join that group.

Frequency needs to be weekly to maintain good quality friendships,and for variety, regular meetings can be interspersed with task groups (e.g.. missionary personal support groups - PSG's), visiting, fun nights/ leadership training etc... Also, there can be meals together - as individuals or the whole group - which is recognised in the Eastern world as cementing of relationships - in the OT the “covenant of salt” referring to everlasting friendship, is about eating together - “sharing salt - as a symbol of sharing of lives...

Other possibilities during the week, to be hosted by house churches, are evening interest groups, weekend social times, concerts, outreaches, work parties, bible studies, intercession meetings, and ministry sessions.

PERSONNEL

LEADERS AND APPRENTICES need to conform to I Tim 3:1-13, [about bishops and deacons] has good guidelines for leaders and assistants in groups, and these need to be helped and encouraged, and made accountable by the church leaders and house church co-ordinator.
AREA LEADERS: Exodus 18:17-26 gives a model of people care, where Jethro advised Moses to divide the people into groups of 10, leaders into groups of 10, etc - and only the most difficult decisions were brought to Moses himself. House church seeks to increase the covering and care for God's people. Using the Moses/ Jethro 1-10 principle, an area leader will cover up to 10 home churches of 10 - 12 people... This person should have a strong shepherding/ pastoral ministry.
Job profile:

Ring once a week to check how things are going - to note statistics, problems and joys. Meet leaders once a month for prayer, inspirational message, discussion and planning. Sit in on each meeting at least once a quarter, and straight afterwards, give encouragement, comfort and exhortation as needed!