Twelve Steps
- Choose three or four people (or couples)
to be the elders.
They
should be mature enough to be elders of a small church.
One should be prophetic, one should be an evangelist, the rest
should have shepherding gifts.
They should also have the potential to work together.
- Submit to each other. That means:
Praying
for each other
Agreeing to accept correction from the others in the group
Testing major decisions with the rest of the group.
Committing to sorting out issues honestly.
- Commit to supporting each other
Support
should be spiritual, emotion and material.
Part of this would be sharing of material goods.
- Start praying together and seeking Gods
will.
The
foundation must be prayer.
- Find out the neighbourhood, where God
wants the church to start.
This
is the most crucial decision.
It should be in part of the city where there is no established
church, so it is not a threat to them.
It may the house of a person who has just become a Christian and
has contacts with his neighbours.
It may be where one of the people is already living and has
contacts in the neighbourhood.
Ideally, the other members should move to within walking
distance of that neighbourhood.
- Determine the focus of the church.
There
may be a couple of things.
The focus will be partly determined by the interests or burdens
of the of the eldership group.
For example, pressing through to victory in healing, supporting
missions, supporting Christians in politics, caring for the poor
or the Kingdom
of God.
The church will need to be focussed or its energies may be
diffused.
It will need an outward focus so that it does not come a
"bless me" club.
- Agree on the rules under which the church
will function.
This
will set boundaries on the way the church will function.
Getting agreement on these boundaries will be very important and
set the direction of the church.
- Start meeting together regularly for
worship and fellowship.
Meetings
would be once or twice or week.
One of the meetings may be on Sunday, but if that is a problem,
meetings could be on weekdays.
The aim would be a meeting led by the Spirit and learn to be led
by the Holy Spirit.
The meetings will focus on praying for people in the
neighbourhood.
- Minister to the people of the
neighbourhood.
Find
someone who is in financial difficulties and bless them
materially.
Find someone who is sick, and pray for their healing.
The key is to find a way to crack open the neighbourhood.
- Let the Holy Spirit go to work.
Wait
and see what he will do.
If he does nothing, get on a different bus.
- Disciple the people who join the church
One
of the elders would be assigned responsibility for each one.
The elders would build relationships between the members.
They should be built into a caring sharing community.
- Eventually, the church should be able to
send some of the elders out to start a new church.
Within
a year the church should have twenty or so members.
If this has not happened, the leaders really need to pray
seriously about what is wrong.
Within a couple of years some of the members should be ready to
be elders.
They would be anointed as elders in place of the original ones.
The original elders would be sent out to start a new church.
Practical Guidelines
This is an example of the type of guidelines
that a church may adopt.
Avoid publicity, so the Church can remain in obscurity as
long as possible.
The only people who need to know are those in the
neighbourhood.
Excessive attention will be a distraction.
People should not be told that a new church is being started.
If asked about what they are doing, they should just reply
that they are just a group of Christians who are seeking a
deeper life together.
- People should generally only be allowed to join if they are
seekers or new Christians. There will be Christians from
all over the city who want to join, but they will just be a
nuisance.
The church should not grow by drawing in Christians who are
frustrated in their existing church, as they will just be a
distraction.
The primary focus of the church should be on growth through
evangelism.
- The group should be easy to leave.
People should not be held
within the church by coercion or control.
They should be free to leave at any time, if they no longer want to belong.
The only restraint on members of the church should be the bond of love.
- Only new Christians should be allowed to join the Church.
Focus on growth through evangelism.
Avoid drawing frustrated Christians from other churches.
Work hard to maintain relationships with other churches.
Avoid conflict with pastors of existing churches.
Prepare to bless them when hard times come.
- Christians should only be allowed to join if they live within
walking distance of the meeting place.
Many Christians will come saying that the Holy Spirit has been
speaking to them about this for years.
Most will be unwilling to make the sacrifice of moving to the
new location.
Understand Offer to help them start something themselves where
they live, but understand that they will be a distraction if
they are allowed to join.
- A few Christians should be allowed to join, if they need to be
discipled into the specific ministry of one of the elders.
This would be limited to one (or at most two) per elder.
Each of the elders should be replicating their ministry in
another person.
- Everyone must open their lives to the elders. That involves:
Accepting their correction.
Accepting their guidance.
Being willing to learn.
- Do not try to organise a celebration
Members can go elsewhere for celebrations.
Aim to be radical.
Focussed on action, not entertainment;
Choosing simplicity, not materialism;
Committed to sharing, not individualistic;
Opposed to the world, but loving the lost;
Zealous for the Kingdom of God.
If you think the following guidelines are too complicated, do not
worry. You can ignore most of them and not come to grief.
If you think they are too hard, I suggest that you try reading
House
Church for Dummies.
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