I promised a while back I would write a series on ways to start a home church. This is the first and I have opened a separate ‘catagory’ in the column on the right in which I will put future postings. If you can tell us how you started in home church or give us some ideas, we will be delighted to include your posting in this series and other seekers will be encouraged.
One of the most ‘growing’ periods in my Christian walk was the two and a half years (appromimately) when I met with two other ladies, Jean and Lynnette, for ‘Renovare’ (Latin for ‘Renewal’). We used a study book, “A Spiritual Formation Workbook” by James Bryan Smith (Foreword by Richard Foster. Pub. HarperSanFrancisco). This book takes you through studies and practical exercises around the five movements in the history of the church - the holiness movement, the charismatic movement, the contemplative movement, the evangelical movement and the social justice movement. The book includes a form of service that keeps you focused without in any way falling back onto tradition or legalism. It works best in a very small group so as accountability and deeper sharing can take place. We had tears, we had hilarity. We called ourselves BEJELY (BE for Bessie, JE for Jean and LY for Lynnette - we even had a theme song! Yes we were a bit mad. But it was a precious time of growing and dealing with issues as well as being stretched in our understanding of ‘church’. It freed us up. I will always value that time. I recommend it for those starting home church because not only will you be challenged to grow outside the ‘box’ of your past experience of church, but you can always divide and work with others as time goes along, and multiply small groups (home churches!). Nedlands Home Church is starting this way. Read about their experience in their Blog (see the link on the front page of the Blog on the right). If you have used Renovare, then let us know your experience.