***More session notes sent to me by a co-worker who was also at Renov8*** (All of my posts from Rnov8 can be found here)
In 1998 Bow Valley Christian church felt led to plant a church, planted a church and 5 years later again felt led to plant another church. Keith felt called and wrote a proposal for a network of house churches who would be linked together for encouragement, vision, mission, etc… www.connectionsCC.ca
So he set out plant one church and the movement grew to 6 churches that were networked and linked. They would meet once a month for a larger gathering, one bank account, and common vision, 1 leader administering and coaching, meeting weekly with the leaders of the house churches for coaching, encouragement and teaching. Found that this model is well suited to urban areas.
After training a successor Keith moved to Vancouver in 2008 and started another network.
The nature of Connections:
1. Minimal reliance on buildings
2. Minimal reliance on programs
3. Minimal reliance on staff
What they do at each gathering:
- Everyone shares all the responsibilities. Believe that it is not about the main person preaching and leading music, teaching, etc… a place for people to blossom in their gifts. Everyone’s gift unleashed, freed up to practice their spiritual gifts.
- A shared meal which is celebrated as the Lord’s Supper. The meal consists of food the family would normally eat at supper. Bread referred to as the body of Christ, the cup as the blood of Christ.
- Singing – songs of praise
- Teaching time
- Children grade 5 and young – Sunday school curriculum
- Teens and adults together for a learning and prayer time.
- Generous living is promoted and a collection taken at each gathering:
10% used for new church plants
10% local endeavors
10% international poverty relief
Once a month would gather together in a larger group:
- For a celebration, a reunion and an opportunity to communicate about things which affect the entire community
- Reminder that we are part of something bigger than the small groups of people with whom we regularly meet, a reminder that we are accountable
- Encourage the group to go out into our worlds, where God is at work and then coming back to celebrate how God is at work through people.
Each house church and indeed each individual seeks out ways in which they can be missional:
- Groups visit senior homes
- Paint a widows fence.
- Volunteer to support and hold accountable high risk sex offenders who have been released into the community.
- Provide friendship and a worship service for street people at local street missions.
Do something:
- Incarnational mission starts with each and every one of us.
- Pastors and leaders of churches are often the worst at doing these things
Experiment:
We will never again be the first century church, throughout history we have experimented what it means to be “The Church”
Need to keep trying new ways of being the church
Don’t be satisfied with the way we have always done things
Holy Men and Women of God
It’s not about models and techniques. We need to be people of faith, people who truly follow Jesus. This model is simple – house church does not have large resources tied up in buildings, equipment and programs, and it allows for mobilization of large numbers of lay people.
Important to note that he does not believe this model is the only way; it is one of the ways of doing church.
