The Global House Church
Movement:
A Missions Fest Vancouver 2008 Seminar
with Dr. Randy Wollf
Serving with The Journey house church network and as a
church planting missionary with the Evangelical Free Church
Seminar Outline
House church case studies
Characteristics of church planting
movements
Getting started
Seminar Outline
House church case studies
Worldwide
It is estimated that worldwide there
are approximately:
450 million Christians within
conventional churches
10 million in cell-based churches
450 million in simple, organic
structures such as house churches, or
meeting outdoors
Source – Dale (2005)
Case study - China
China went from having approximately five million
believers (1949) to 80-130 million today
Tens of millions of believers are part of house
churches
Even if freedom came, the Chinese house leaders
have said that they would continue to use the house
church approach
House church leaders hope to send out 100,000
missionaries into unreached Muslim, Hindhu, and
Buddhist regions (initiative called Back to Jerusalem)
Sources – Brother Yun et al (2003), Zdero (2004)
Case study - India
Victor Choudrie, a leading spokesperson for the
house church movement in India, estimates that
100,000 house churches started in India from 20012006.
“These little house churches in India are like the
starfish, the more you divide them the more they
replicate.” (Choudhrie, 2007, p. 308)
An Indian housewife started 50 churches in just 12
months (Dale, 2005)
A Ph.D. graduate and his 13 year-old son started a
church with a street vendor (Dale, 2005)
Case study - Nepal
Children as young as 9 or 10 are
starting churches (Dale, 2005).
Case study - Philippines
Eman Abrea and partners saw the
planting of almost 50 house churches in
just one year (Abrea, 2007).
Romulos Nacua and a few others began
13 house churches in 2000. There are
now 400 house churches in the Visayas
House Church Network (Nacua, 2007).
Case study - Myanmar
Ram Lian started the Household Church
Mission (HCM) in 2005.
In 2007, 10 students were planting 18 house
churches.
HCM’s vision is to see 1,000 house churches
planted by the year 2030.
The HCM mission is to train leaders to start a
church from their homes and multiply as God
leads them to serve the world for Christ.
Source – Lian (2007)
Case study - Ethiopia
In 1982, the Ethiopian government outlawed the
Meserete Kristos Church. It was comprised of 14
congregations with 5,000 members.
The church went underground and started meeting in
small groups.
In 1992, when the Meserete Kristos Church could
surface again, its numbers had grown to 50,000.
Source – Case Study (Ethiopia) in Nexus (2007).
Note: You can hear more about the story of the Meserete
Church in the film “Against Great Odds” distributed by
www.visionvideo.com.
Case study - Russia
Harold Zimmerman and Home
Fellowship Leaders International
(www.homefellowshipleaders.com)
supply literature to a growing number
of Russian house churches (800
currently)
Source – Zimmerman (2007)
Case study - Britain
A house church movement emerged in Britain
in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Many of these house churches became “New
Churches” as they moved into larger facilities.
Noble (2007) believes that the house church
movement in Britain, although it has waned
in recent years, did much to restore vitality to
the church in Britain.
Case study – United States
It is estimated that there are 5 million people in the
U.S. who are involved in house churches (Dale and
Dale, 2007).
Neil Cole started his first organic church in a coffee
shop. This was the start of Church Multiplication
Associates (CMA – www.cmaresources)
In 2000, CMA started 10 new churches.
Second year, 52 church starts.
In 2002, CMA saw 106 churches started.
In 2007, they had seen well over 1,000 churches started in
36 states and 31 nations.
Sources – Cole (2007) and Cole (2005)
Churchgoers Putting Feet to Their Longings in the U.S.
2000
2025
Conventional church
70%
30-35%
Alternative faithbased community
5%
30-35%
Family
5%
5%
Media, arts, culture
20%
30-35%
(e.g. house churches,
cyber-churches,
marketplace churches)
Source - Barna (2005)
Churchgoers Putting Feet to Their Longings in the U.S.
2000
2025
Conventional church
70%
30-35%
Alternative faithbased community
5%
30-35%
Family
5%
5%
Media, arts, culture
20%
30-35%
(e.g. house churches,
cyber-churches,
marketplace churches)
Source - Barna (2005)
Case study – Canada
The Canadian House Church Network serves
as a resource for house churches
(www.outreach.ca/OC2-Planting/7HouseChurches/HC-home.htm).
Ross Rains started Pathfinders Fellowships,
which now has 11 house churches across
Canada (www.pathfindersfellowships.com).
The Journey (www.journeypath.com) seeks
to help individuals, groups, and churches
start simple churches.
Case study – Cuba
In the 1990’s fuel shortages and
government restrictions on the
registration of churches led many
Cubans into house churches.
Today, it is estimated that there are
approximately 10,000 house churches
in Cuba.
Source – Belz (2007)
Case study – Ecuador
Guy Muse and other missionaries of the
International Mission Board have helped
national plant over 250 house churches
in Ecuador since 2000 (though only half
continue to function).
Source – Muse (2007)
Case study – Basic Ecclesial
Communities
House churches are not limited to
Protestant Christianity. In 1985, it was
estimated that there were over 100,000
Basic Ecclesial Communities associated
with the Catholic Church.
Source – Allen (2007) and Driver (2007)
Case study – Muslim world
In an Asian Muslim country, more than
150,000 Muslims embrace Jesus and
gather in more than 3,000 locally led
Isa Jamaats or Jesus Groups (Garrison, 2004).
Seminar Outline
House church case studies
Characteristics of church planting
movements
Characteristics of Church Planting
Movements
Show “Like a mighty wave: Church
planting movements” video at
http://www.blip.tv/file/149518 or search
for it at www.imb.org in their videos
section.
Characteristics of Church Planting
Movements
Extraordinary prayer
Abundant gospel sowing
Intentional church planting
Scriptural authority
Local leadership
Lay leadership
Cell or house churches
Churches planting churches
Rapid reproduction
Healthy churches
How do these
characteristics
and associated
practices
contribute to
church planting
movements?
Seminar Outline
House church case studies
Characteristics of church planting
movements
Getting started
Getting Started
Where are you at right now?
A rhetorical embrace
A simmering vision
Faith seeking understanding
Passionate pursuit
Riding the wave
Getting Started
Make room
Strengthen your prayer life
Begin at the end
Think strategically
Identify non-Christians in your life
Look for and reach out to people of
peace (Luke 10)
Getting Started
Engage in spiritually meaningful discussions
with people of peace
Disciple the seekers
Baptize those who repent and receive Jesus
as Lord
Equip them to grow, to serve fellow believers,
and to reach the lost
Send them out to repeat the whole process
Conclusion
Many Chinese Christians believe that:
“It is good for a Christian to lead
someone to Christ.
It is better to plant a church.
It is best to start a church-planting
movement.”
Possible Next Steps
Prayerfully work through the relevant
parts of the “Getting Started” worksheet
Attend a “Getting Started” training
event (9:00-3:00 on April 5 in Langley)
Note: You can sign up on the signup list on the
resource table (max. 15 people) or contact me.
References
Abrea, E. (2007). Case study (Philippines): From traditional pastor to
house church planter. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house
church movement reader (pp. 310-314). Pasadena, CA: William Carey
Library.
Allen, D. (2007). Case study (Brazil): A house church movement
becomes visible. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house church
movement reader (pp. 365-369). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Barna, G. (2005). Revolution: Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc.
Belz, . (2007). Case study (Cuba): How Fidel Castro launched 10,000
house churches. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house church
movement reader (pp. 362-364). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Choudhrie, V . (2007). Case study (India): How 100,000 house
churches were started in five years. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The
world house church movement reader (pp. 304-309). Pasadena, CA:
William Carey Library.
References
Cole, N. (2007). Case study (USA): The story of Church Multiplication
Associates – From California to Chiang Mai in seven years. In R. Zdero
(Ed.), Nexus: The world house church movement reader (pp. 346-351).
Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Cole, N. (2005). Organic church: Growing faith where life happens. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Dale, F. (2005). Getting started: A practical guide to planting simple
churches. Manchaca, TX: Karis Publishing (available through
www.house2house.com).
Dale, F. & Dale, T. (2007). Case study (USA): A city of house church
networks. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house church movement
reader (pp. 352-356). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Driver, J. (2007). Case study (Latin America): House churches in a
Roman Catholic context. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house
church movement reader (pp. 376-381). Pasadena, CA: William Carey
Library.
References
Garrison, D. (2004). Church planting movements: How God is
redeeming a lost world. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Note: For a free booklet that has the main parts of what the book
has, go to http://www.imb.org/CPM/default.htm.
Lian, R. K. (2007). Case study (Myanmar): Planting house churches in a
Buddhist country. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house church
movement reader (pp. 323-328). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Muse, G. (2007). Case study (Ecuador): The story and strategy of “The
church in your house.” In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house
church movement reader (pp. 370-375). Pasadena, CA: William Carey
Library.
Nacua, R. (2007). Case study (Philippines): The wanderer: Unplanned
house church planting. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house
church movement reader (pp. 315-319). Pasadena, CA: William Carey
Library.
References
Noble, J. (2007). Case study (Britain): A retrospective on the British house
church movement of the 1970’s. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house
church movement reader (pp. 341-345). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Vision Video & Eastern Mennonite Missions. (2007). Case study (Ethiopia): How
an underground church survived persecution. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The
world house church movement reader (pp. 304-309). Pasadena, CA: William
Carey Library.
Yun, B., Yongze, P. X., Wang, E., & Hattaway, P. Back to Jerusalem: Three
Chinese house church leaders share their vision to complete the great
commission. Atlanta, GA: Authentic.
Website - www.backtojerusalem.com
Zdero, R. (2004). The global house church movement. Pasadena, CA: William
Carey Library.
Zimmerman, H. (2007). Case study (Russia): The house church movement of
Mother Russia. In R. Zdero (Ed.), Nexus: The world house church movement
reader (pp. 338-340). Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Other Resources
Books
Banks, R. & Banks, J. (1998). The church comes home. Peabody,
Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers.
Choudhrie, V. (2006). Greet the ekklesia! The church in your house. Victor
Choudhrie.
Dale, F. & Dale, T. (2002). Simply church. Manchaca, TX: Karis Publishing
(available through www.house2house.com).
Fitts, R. (2001). The church in the house: A return to simplicity. Salem, OR:
Preparing the Way Publishers.
Hattaway, P. The heavenly man: The remarkable true story of Chinese
Christian Brother Yun. Grand Rapids, MI: Monarch Books.
Simson, W. (1999). Houses that change the world: The return of the house
churches. Emmelsbull, Germany: C&P Publishing.
Webber, R. E. (2002). The younger evangelicals: Facing the challenges of
the new world. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Zdero, R. (Ed.) (2007). Nexus: The world house church movement reader.
Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library.
Other Resources
Video
Like a mighty wave: Church planting movements (available from
www.imb.org – click on videos and then search for video title)
Tidal wave: An exploration of simple church (available from
www.house2house.com)
When you come together: Simple church gatherings – what do we
do? (available from www.house2house.com)
Websites
www.house2house.com
www.journeypath.com
www.dcfi.org
www.cmaresources.org
www.housechurch.ca
www.pathfindersfellowships.com