Why house church?
Jesus.
Specifically, the earliest description of the Church revolves around intimate settings; scripture even says “house to house”. Many of us are products of large churches with a mass of programs, but God has called us as a group of believers to strip away everything and to focus on those early descriptions of the church and nothing else.
How does it work logistically?
Jesus.
Specifically, we currently meet in a single home and gather on Sundays at 5pm. We have a light finger food, we spend a good amount of time in prayer, worship, and let the Holy Spirit lead. We also gather on Wednesday nights. The focus of these nights is breaking bread together and spending the majority of the time listening to the Spirit through prayer and worship. Also, often we come together for a corporate worship gathering somewhere around Memphis with other area house churches. Check out our calendar for more info.
What do you do for kids?
Jesus.
Specifically, we like to think about the early church. What did they do? Without any doubt, the children were integrated into almost everything they were doing. Also without any doubt, they had the understanding that speaking and teaching to the kids was slightly different than to adults. We have them with us however understand sometimes they might need to step away so we just let moms and dads to decided each Sunday and Wednesday what the best plan to be.
What does ‘A Jesus Church’ mean?
Jesus.
Specifically, our culture has trained us to ask questions to figure out where someone stands and who they are as quick as possible. Questions like “Who do you affiliate with?” or “Are you non-denominational?” feel like loaded questions; questions like these ask us to explain ourselves using someone else’s frame of reference. Understanding who we are takes time inside relational settings. So we decided we just want people to know that Jesus is the point. Jesus is the affiliation. Jesus is our head! JESUS IS OUR EVERYTHING! We are a people who love Jesus, serve Him and gather with the sole purpose of worshipping Him.
How do you reach people without programs?
Jesus.
Specifically, we MUST trust the Holy Spirit. This is not passive, nor does it mean that our faith has no works. We are active about resting surrendered to the will of the Father. We trust the Holy Spirit to send people into our family with the gifts God has given them that meet a need for our church, neighborhood, city, country, and world. Church programming isn’t wrong, but it can create an atmosphere where very few are using their gifts in order to accomplish the God-given vision of just one man. In contrast, we trust that God gives a calling and vision to every individual inside the local body and then gifts them for that vision. The rest of the body then encourages, participates, motivates, and resources each other to accomplish the calling God has given to every person. God gives us gifts for one another to accomplish the thing He is wanting to do in our areas of influence. When we use those gifts, we begin to reach the world.