Category: Unsung Heroes

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by Bob Good.

My name is Bob Good. My wife, Ellen, and I have four children, all in their twenties, and one grandson. I have been a mechanical engineer throughout my life and am currently about two-thirds done with my Master’s in Theological Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I received Christ when I was 19 years old through a megachurch located near my home. It was through their ministries that I learned the gospel and gave my life to Christ.

My first experience with small group life occurred back in the 1990s at that same megachurch. Our Sunday school class was enormous, with about 400 people attending. Recognizing the challenge in building deeper relationships in such a large setting, the church began monthly cell groups. It was through these cell groups that I truly experienced meaningful small group life. Although the meetings were only monthly, they had a significant impact on me. I began researching cell groups and eventually discovered house church literature. Reading Steve Atkerson’s book, “Moving Toward a House Church Theology,” ignited a passion within me that continues to this day.

I have been involved in house church ministry for approximately 20 years. After leaving the megachurch, my family and I joined a house church in our area, where we stayed for about 13 years. It was one of the most fulfilling church experiences of my life, characterized by deep involvement in each other’s lives and genuine care. About six years ago, we began efforts to establish our own house church. This journey has been challenging due to various circumstances, including my mother-in-law living with us and her health struggles. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further complicated things, especially since my mother-in-law had lung issues, and we wanted to ensure her safety.

Despite these challenges, the Lord consistently provided spaces for our meetings. We initially met in apartment complex common areas, spent about a year meeting at a retirement home, and even used a library conference room for a summer. Since last summer, we have resumed meeting at our home. Sadly, my mother-in-law passed away, a heartbreaking event that nonetheless opened a new chapter for our church. Currently, we are associated with a few other groups around town. Together with our original house church, we now have four very small groups that occasionally meet as one larger group quarterly.

One unexpected challenge we’ve encountered is that our house church primarily attracts singles, with very few married couples and no families with children remaining long-term. Singles typically have more flexible schedules but tend to move around frequently, making it difficult to establish and maintain a stable group. This differs greatly from my previous house church experience, where five families with children attended consistently.

Authentic Christian community has profoundly impacted me, although I’m still unsure exactly why. Perhaps growing up in a broken home has deepened my desire for meaningful connections. Over time, these groups become like a second family, centered around caring, loving, teaching, and praying for one another-something I feel traditional church environments struggle to achieve. House churches, with their emphasis on open participation and engagement with scripture, foster deeper and more transformative experiences than passive listening typically provides.

Starting a new house church can be incredibly challenging, and I firmly believe it requires a calling from God. Without such a calling, maintaining the necessary passion and persistence becomes very difficult. Since starting our own groups in 2019, we have seen many people come and go due to job changes, health issues, and life circumstances.

To summarize, I describe house church as H.O.M.E.:

– *H*: Historical precedence-house churches align with biblical norms.

– *O*: Open participation-actively engaging with the text and each other rather than being passive observers.

– *M*: Meaningful relationships-groups quickly become extended families.

– *E*: Efficient and Economy-house churches avoid the high costs of traditional buildings and salaries, focusing resources directly on ministry and community building.

When combined, these elements make house church a powerful, transformative, and vibrant expression of Christian community.

If you would like to contact Bob and learn more about Participate Christian Fellowship please go to https://trainingupbelievers.wordpress.com/

Subscribe below to my bi-monthly newsletter. Thank you.

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by John White.

I’ve been married to Tami for 35 years.  I have two children from a previous marriage and three grandchildren.  I grew up in Charleston, WV.  Our family moved to Bethesda, MD when I was 14.  I attended college at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA and then Fuller Seminary in CA.  I was called to a church in Denver, CO and pastored three traditional churches in Denver over the next 25 years.  I left the traditional church world in 1998 and started involving myself in the house church world.  I planted several house churches in Denver.  Beginning in 2002, I was the US Coordinator with a global church planting ministry called “DAWN” (Discipling A Whole Nation).  DAWN ended in 2007 and we started our own ministry, called “LK10” in 2007.  The LK10 Vision is to fulfill the Great Commission by seeing a “vibrant family of Jesus” (ie, house church) in easy access of every person in every region and people group on earth.” The LK10 Mission is to connect and equip spiritual mothers and fathers who are the necessary component for a vibrant family of Jesus.

We were church goers growing up but it wasn’t until the move to Bethesda and involvement in a great youth group that I understood about a personal relationship with Jesus. I invited Him into my heart as a 10th grader. I immediately fell in love with the Bible and with the youth group in addition to Jesus. Throughout high school and college, I loved being involved in making disciples and leading small groups so it was natural for me to go to seminary to prepare to be a pastor. After seminary I was called to a Presbyterian church in Denver, CO. I spent the next 25 years serving in three traditional churches.

After 25 years of leadership in traditional churches, I was beginning to be disillusioned with the church. I had been behind the scenes and knew, as they say, “how the sausage was made”. Although I was in good evangelical churches, the politics and administration were exhausting. About that time (in the mid 1980s), I began to hear about house churches in China. I knew nothing about house churches but the topic fascinated me. I began to reread my NT and discovered a startling fact. All of the churches in the NT met in homes and functioned like small spiritual families. No one talked about that in seminary!

Around that time, I also came across a verse that I had never seen before. It described what actually went on in NT church. Yet, I had never heard anyone preach or teach on this verse. 1 Cor. 14:26. “When you come together, brothers, everyone has a word of instruction, a hymn, a revelation a tongue or and interpretation. Let all of these things be done for the edification of the church.” The word that most impacted me was the word “everyone”. Apparently, everyone contributed in NT church. Amazing! At that time, I was on the pastoral staff of a church of 4000 so the idea of everyone contributing in the church gathering was impossible.

In 1989, I was asked to plant a new church. This gave me a chance to begin to implement 1 Cor. 14:26 (what Jim Rutz called “Open Church”) in the new plant. We continued that experiment until 1998 when that church came to an end. At that point, we fully moved into house churches. What we learned was that 1 Cor 14:26 was really designed for a small group setting.

I also learned that seminary and traditional church leadership had not prepared me for house church. House church was not big church shrunk down into a home. It was, rather, “a whole different animal”. I began the journey of learning the skills and practices necessary for a healthy house church. I had lots of unlearning to do!

In my years at DAWN, I had the opportunity to share what we were learning with around the world. Then, in 2008 we began our own training organization which we called “LK10”. (Based on the belief that in Luke 10 we see the clearest picture of how Jesus himself began fulfilling the Great Commission). Our desire was to serve the thousands of “Dones”. The increasing number of people who were done with church as they had known it but not Done with God.

We started LK10 with two questions that we were asking Jesus.  1-How can we do church in such a way that sustainable transformation occurs. We didn’t just want to do meetings. We wanted to see people be transformed into the image of Christ.  2-How do we do church in such a way that viral transformation occurs. (As opposed to the top down, programmatic church planting I had experienced in the traditional church).

As we had an increasing number of people coming to us for training in how to do organic house church, we began incorporating what we had learned into a simple six week online course that we call “Church 101”. That became the first step in an in depth training process.

We have been doing exclusively house church for 26 years.  Still doing it. In the past 16 years, we have trained 1300 people in our Church 101 Course.  Most of them are continuing on with some form of house church.   

We have a learning culture which means that we are continually experimenting to see how we can grow and improve. For instance, we learned that Church 101 is a far more powerful learning experience when the groups are led by trained facilitators. As a result, we have developed an in-depth process for training great group facilitators. Another challenge was that a few people signed up for Church 101 who didn’t understand what it was. So, we now have everyone go through and Intro call first to help determine if it’s something Jesus wants them to do.

We have a far greater sense of being in community, of not being alone. We have heart level connections with people locally and beyond. We have lots of teens especially in our house churches. They love being in church where they have a voice. Most groups struggle because the people don’t have the same DNA (values and practices).  And, they lack training in relational brain skills.  We train everyone to be in a CO2 (Church of Two) first.  (Two people connecting as close to daily as possible with two rhythms of attention). House churches made up of multiple CO2s are far stronger.  It’s very important to be part of a larger community of people with the same DNA for continued training and support. Most leaders trying to do house church without that support will struggle.

Joy Fueled Amazon link. Relational Revolution Amazon link.

To read an short excerpt from Relational Revolution click here.

LK10.com website.

Stories from the Revolution podcast.

I really enjoy getting together for coffee and conversation with my new friend Buff Scott Jr. Last week Buff mentioned W. Carl Ketcherside and I promised to look him up. I found this written about him.

Few individuals among Churches of Christ in the 20th century were as well-known as W. Carl Ketcherside (1908-1989). He described his journey as that of a piece-maker who became a peacemaker. He was for many a champion for the recovery of a lost unity amid a divided fellowship; for others, his voice represented a dangerous departure from historic restorationism if not biblical teaching.

I found a pdf of his book In The Beginning written in 1957. I would encourage you to read this (pdf at the end). You can read an excerpt of his book here. The second half of his book is dedicated to explaining what true fellowship is. This is so incredibly important if we want to get relational fellowships right. I wanted to do more than a book review and wanted to honor his life in some small way. People like this shouldn’t be forgotten. The excerpt below is from the first chapter of his book.

In the Beginning is not just another book about creation. It does not deal with the primal order of things. Rather, it is about the beginning of a new approach to the vexing problem of sectarianism in our day. It was an approach made by one who had long been steeped in the sectarian spirit without realizing it. It represents some of the things said and done in order to discover freedom in Christ and to stand clear of all that opposed such freedom. It is not by any means the last word in such a struggle. It is possible there will be no last word on earth.

The articles appearing herein were all written about 1957. Some of them were sent forth in fear and trembling. “I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Some were delivered orally. There has been no intent to be slavishly wedded to them as they originally appeared. Changes have been made in their construction. They have been altered and amended to better convey the idea originally hoped to achieve. The only thing that can be said about them is that they represent an honest attempt to find and recommend a better way than the one previously known.

There is probably nothing more traumatic than for one who has been shut up as a sectarian to be delivered by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is as if an earthquake had occurred which leveled the prison and left one standing in the midst of the wreckage unharmed and unhurt. All that had ever furnished security and protection is now gone, swept aside by the elements. There is no retreat to be found, no shadow in which to hide. All of the subtle little hypocrisies of the past, the caviling and the accommodations are gone. There is no place to flee except to Christ.

It is very difficult to confess that one has been in error much of his life. All past training is opposed to such a confession. It stifles pride. It runs counter to the ego. There is the question of those one has taught. His fellow-prisoners resent his admission. There is the problem of the congregations he has planted. Many of them would rather continue where they are than to acknowledge they have been mistaken. They prefer to embrace the errors with which they are familiar than the truth that is new.

There is the tendency to dart furtive glances in this direction or that, seeking some solution which will allow one to hold on to his own prestige. There is the frantic search for an escape. But none of these can avail. It is only when one admits that he is wrong, and has been wrong all of his life, that he can shed the past as a snake divests himself of his old skin, and be ready to move on to new heights. In the final analysis it is the best thing to do. One does not want to be forever trapped by his own past.

I began in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. It was a venerable institution with a stately ritual. Gathered about it were all of the grand teachings of the Monk of Erfurt. Not the least of its history was the tacking of the Ninety-Five Theses on the church door at Wittenberg. I entered it by inheritance. My grandparents were from Denmark and Schlesweig-Holstein. Like thousands of others they brought their religion with them. It was one of form and not of substance. They knew but little about it and nothing of its origin.

But they bitterly resented any attempt to merge with the social order around them. They kept their manners, customs, and language. They expected all to conform to them. My grandmother even kept her old-world form of dress as far as possible. They resented all change with a deep hostility. They were old-order. When I was sprinkled by the Rev. Mr. Peterson I was really inducted into a way of life, more than into a church.

I left the Lutheran Church shortly before I was twelve. In spite of the tenderness of my years the plea that one could be a Christian and Christian only, without being some special kind of a Christian, gripped my heart and provided a certain kind of exultation. It was genuine and now almost sixty years afterwards, I remember how the Spirit strove with me. I recall the deep inward sense of gloom which was mine and the ineffable joy which came when I surrendered to His claim upon my life. I was immersed in a clear creek which wound its way through the pasture, and knew that I was forgiven for the childish sins I had committed.

It was only after I had been preaching the good news for a number of years that I awakened to the fact that I had not been a Christian only, but a partisan. I was actually a Church of Christ Christian. Although it came as quite a shock to find it out, I did not feel betrayed or frustrated. I realized it was a natural development. But I began from that moment on to recognize that the body of Christ was greater than any movement within it. The community of the reconciled was not limited to a movement which began arrogating to itself the name “Church of Christ” but embraced every saved person on the face of the earth. I was helped by a crisis experience in North Ireland in which I was brought face to face with Jesus. If I had never left the United States, or if it had never happened, I would no doubt be today exactly where I was. God forbid.

From 1951 to 1957 I went through all of the “withdrawal symptoms” essential to coming off the party spirit. I lay awake in bed at night and thought of all I had advocated that was wrong. During the day I studied the Word, and prayed, and sometimes wept. How precious it all seemed to me then. I read every copy of the Millennial Harbinger, every Christian Baptist, and all of Lard’s Quarterlies, during that time. I finally became convinced that we had betrayed the restoration movement as it was in the beginning. In its stead we had contrived something of our own which we advocated and which pampered our hearts into thinking we were heirs of that wonderful idea of those who launched it.

I became conscious of the scriptures we had twisted to justify division which was always condemned by the Spirit. Finally I was ready to launch out. It was in 1957 that I first began to advocate what has now become much more popular than it was in those first days. What I advocated was an idea whose time had come. Gradually, as we gained courage and momentum, and as knowledge increased and multiplied, the Mission Messenger began to grow until it went to every continent on the globe.

In the Beginning will recover for you some of our feeble attempts to help men think, to let them see a brighter vision, and to lift them to a broader fellowship in Christ the Lord. As you read it, we sincerely hope that you will recognize it for what it is, the first faint vision of a fellowship which is truly non-sectarian, based upon His will for the lives of us all. It is not the last word upon the theme. Much more and better material will be written by others in the future. May God use it all to His purpose and to the glory of Jesus!

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by Eliakim Odida.

Praise Jesus! My name is Eliakim Odida and I was born in 1979. I’m from Mfangano Island, Homabay County in Kenya, Africa.

Throughout my life I have lived in a remote village without electricity, good schools or a hospital, but I thank God things are getting better now, especially since the introduction of solar power.

My parents were members of an indigenous church and our fellowship was in a small house that belonged to us. I still have fond memories of that grass thatched house.

Those intergenerational meetings were accompanied by great works and we were a family who had one father, God. At fifteen years old winds of change were sweeping the indigenous churches. Pastors were forced to go for training and groups were pressured into being institutionalized. Groups were no longer relational.

My father Peter, and my mother Brigitte, were now called Pentecostals. Meetings became filled with lectures and monologues. I felt something was lacking.

I finished high school in 1999 but my life was a struggle because of rampant poverty. I didn’t follow my father in his ministry as I had doubts about the way the church had changed. I was married in 2011, to my beautiful wife Diane. I shared with her the questions I had about the changes I thought were not right. She supported me in prayer and we started disciple-making groups asking the Lord to lead us.

Our ministry was met with resistance from the local traditional churches who believed in hierarchy, clergy/laity, pews and the need for degrees. Many times I was in the hands of police with false accusations of devil worship and in 2016 my house was torched. God rescued my wife, myself and our four children.

Seeing how disciples of Jesus were suffering, I kept on seeking God’s heart and listening to his Spirit to teach me more. This led me to the book of Acts 7:48. God does not live in houses made out of human hands.

As of today we have planted thirty-four house churches and people have heard and accepted the truth, doing life together in a relational way. We don’t have church buildings or professional clergy. We are one family and all of the body is free to participate. Serving Christ in this way is easy.

The fire of the Spirit is burning wild and nobody can stop it. We have the heart of a servant and Jesus is the one controlling His church. Love among us makes us grow as the Lord adds to His church. We are going on and encouraging others to hold true to the gospel. It’s all of us, not some special person.

To contact Eliakim Odida

Phone number +254757064967
Email: odidaeliakim62@gmail.com

Kenya Islands House Churches

I was recently introduced to Buff Scott, Jr., a 96-year-old gentleman who is still on fire for our Lord. I had a chance to interview him and the audio is below. Buff still writes his Reformation Rumblings newsletters, which he has been doing for 39 years. He converted from IC to relational fellowships about 50 years ago. He is not only an Unsung Hero but he is a gem of a man. His testimony below was taken from a couple of sources. If you would like to get on his mailing list email him at renewal@mindspring.com.

I was born and brought up in the Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. There were nine of us. Education wasn’t stressed in those Kentucky mountains. My formal education consisted of the 7th grade. My teacher refused to promote another student and me to the 8th grade when she caught us looking up dirty words in the dictionary. Yes, that actually happened.

Mom was a Hatfield before she married Dad. I was four years old and rocking my pet cat in the old rocking chair on the front porch of our shack when I watched a man shoot another man down, 20 feet in front of me. The impact of the bullet made him sick instantaneously and he fell to his knees and threw up. I screamed and ran into the house. As the bullet missed his heart, but barely, and lodged in his rib cage, he survived. But he never again “trespassed” the shooter’s wife.

Such was life in the Appalachian Mountains. Dad did some bootlegging when I was a kid, but surrendered his unprincipled lifestyle and embraced Jesus when I was about 11 years old. He threw his cigarettes and bottle of moonshine whiskey in the same creek he was immersed in and never touched them again. 

It was later on in life that I educated myself, mostly through self efforts. A big part of my occupational experiences has been in the journalistic field as Writer, Editor, and Publisher. Additionally, many years have been spent in the psychiatric arena as alcohol and drug counselor, Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist, and teacher.  

My career in the bowels of Churchianity began when I was but a youngster. I was indoctrinated at an early age. When I was 26, I was “called” to my first church as pulpit minister. That was a giant step for a hillbilly who was born and brought up in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky, one mile from where the Hatfield-McCoy feud began.

Having been a child of partisan religion a big part of my life and served many of her churches as pulpit minister, pastor, orthodox leader and teacher, I want to tell you in this undertaking why I deserted Churchianity and became a free man in Jesus. Inasmuch as the clergy-“chief priests and elders”-have no control over my life, my thinking, and my teaching, I can tackle this endeavor without interference from the ecclesiastical “powers that be.” I assure you, I am no longer one of their puppets.

Let me say at the outset that I love and respect my spiritual brothers and sisters, in spite of their loyalty and addiction to Churchianity. They are my brothers and sisters and I have not rejected them. I have rejected the system that has them enslaved. I can identify with them, for I was once as they are. Like them, I too believed Jesus authored a church. I preached my brand of church on the sidewalks and from many pulpits. I pressed her upon others. I strove to win converts to her ranks. I was totally sold on the concept that Jesus redeemed her with His sacrifice. I felt that King James’ Romans 16:16 and other related scriptures were pure gold. I equated “church” with God’s new reign and defied any man to show otherwise. Like my churchly brothers and sisters, I used the same arguments, affirmed the same theology, advocated the same principles, and quoted the same scriptures.

It was 1976 when, after careful evaluation of and research into institutional religion, I concluded that Churchianity was not the solution to sin, or to the world’s problems. I discovered that institutional religion and the contemporary church were introduced by men who envisioned their answers to life’s problems more profound than God’s. The stream flowing from the river of life was pure and tranquil before religion and church contaminated it. It is my sentiment that God has been replaced with Religion, and Jesus has been substituted with Churchianity.

The spirit of man can survive only in an atmosphere of freedom, and it is difficult if not impossible to be free while being a bond servant to some sect or denomination. I love my freedom too much to allow some church or religious party to tell me what I can and cannot teach, what I can and cannot believe, and how I can or cannot conduct my daily affairs.  

My allegiance is to a Man called Jesus, and it is to Him that I will give an account. It is in Him that I will stand or fall. And He is able to make me stand. I will never grow too old to acknowledge and listen to valid counsel from others, but I will never become so senile as to renounce my will in favor of religious slavery-no, never again. 

Did I leave Jesus when I abandoned organized [partisan] religion or the religious establishment? Goodness, no! He and I are closer now than ever before. As a result of my surrendering institutional religion in favor of freedom in Jesus, I am now a “believer at large,” a free thinker, and one of God’s instruments for reform. 

No human being and no partisan group or church does my thinking for me any longer. I arrive at conclusions after careful evaluation, study, and prayer. Simply stated, I have cast aside the chains of religious orthodoxy and deserted the Establishment’s status quo. God has blessed my ministry of reformation abundantly. Currently, I have hundreds of recipients, here and in foreign lands, who receive my weekly Reformation Rumblings.

Not every recipient agrees with my views on reformation-naturally. But rarely do I have a “theological knock-down-and drag-out-fight,” or an exchange of unsightly implications with any of them. But in spite of the few who disagree disrespectfully, I enjoy exchanging views with many of the admirable readers. So I’m not going anywhere unless I’m fired!

You can read a sample of Reformation Ramblings here. You can read an excerpt of Buff’s book Apostate Church here. You can download all three books as PDF files here.

To keep up on my blogs register below. I send out emails twice a month.

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by my good friend Zack Armoney.

My name is Zach Armoney, I am a humble servant of Jesus, devoted husband and father of six beautiful children (three sons and three daughters). We live in Pine Grove, LA where we home school our children and host house church. Hollie and I met almost 18 years ago at a local church youth camp where she was leading worship. We met again a few months later at a local Bible college, MTI School of Ministry in Baton Rouge, LA. We immediately hit it off, delving into deep conversations about life, the word and the future.

A little less than two years later on October 10, 2009 we were married and our journey as a couple began. Four years after that, we already had three children and over the next 10 years we had a total of three boys and three girls. We both had a strong conviction that our children’s minds, hearts and souls were our responsibility. Who better to mold and direct their lives than their parents. It’s a labor of love, but we have had the privilege of witnessing great fruit.

My relationship with Christ began early. At eight years old, growing up in a mostly Christian home, I had the understanding of who God was but no knowledge of the cross of Christ. My parents separated and later divorced and this trial would push me closer to God. Through that difficult time, I cried out to God, walked through the conviction of my own sin and was born again.

By twelve, I was faithfully reading God’s word. The word was living and powerful like fire shut up in my bones. But I didn’t know what to do with that fire or the words of life that were so alive in my soul. After twelve years of faithfully attending congregational church, I had a strong understanding of the word of God and a conviction to live it out, but there seemed to be no outlet for my faith. I was later part of a church plant that began in a home and eventually moved into a traditional building. As a leader in this church I found little opportunity to live out or express the faith that I had. Each week I was only asked to help set up and run programs, sit nicely in my pew week after week, say a few amens and greet the brethren on their way in and out. Everything else was left up to the pastor: the “man of the hour”.

What was I supposed to do with this word, with this revelation, with this relationship that I had? Most of my Christian experience provided very little opportunity for me to live out or even communicate the faith that I had. I felt frustrated and trapped. Sunday mornings served more as a frustration to my faith than it did to encourage it.

In 2007 I started a new job. My boss was also a graduate from MTI. Like me, he recognized some of the same pitfalls and errors of the traditional church. Daily we would share the word with each other, read through the Bible and pray together. This fellowship advanced my faith more than the previous twelve years of church attendance. In 2008 we started a home church together and this began my journey fulfilling what I believe is the biblical structure for the body of Christ. Two years later we joined a network of house churches called Oikos Ministries based out of Central LA where we served as elders.

Like the early church we met in homes, shared a meal together and prayed with and for each other. Each member was allowed and encouraged to use their gifts and share the word of God. Finally I found myself inside a structure that provided a platform for my faith and calling. But like any structure, having the right frame-work was only part of the puzzle. Lessons were learned and re-learned along the way and sometimes they were difficult lessons. Our fellowship must be filled with the spirit and word of God to flourish. Even in a good structure, like marriage, there are difficulties, there are labor pains but success happens when Christ is our centerpiece.

I soon realized that tradition and religion can be carried into any structure: “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down” Mark 7:14. Do not expect that getting the structure right is the end of all your trials and labors. Each individual must passionately pursue Christ and bring to the body whatever word, calling or gifting they have in Christ. We must suffer with each other, encourage each other, endure with the weaknesses of the body and overcome.

When each member is built together in this way, we can be a building built by God and fitted together as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit where God can and will do great things. This doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen by accident. I am convinced that each believer desires to see the same zeal and passion they have for Christ be lived out within the body. I believe many feel just as I did…stuck in the religious traditions of men. They have a strong relationship with God but don’t have an opportunity to live out their faith in institutional church.

Start sharing your faith with other believers. Break bread together, share your lives with each other and see what grows in His light. This type of fellowship will produce great fruit, not only in your life but in the lives of many others around you as well. It may not always be perfect or easy but just like raising children, if you are faithful and consistent the reward and fruit of your labors will be beyond measure in this life and in the life to come.

Find our more about Oikos Ministries by clicking here.

Read more Unsung Heroes by clicking here.

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Ventura recently while I was on vacation. He tells his story here.

Hello! My Name is Stephen Ventura. I grew up on the island of Kaua’i in Hawai’i. I grew up Catholic and did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. I graduated high school in 1981 and found the Lord in 1995. I was 32 years old when God radically changed me.  After a series of bad decisions I found myself at the end of my rope and called out to God. He answered me and my life has never been the same. 

In 2000, I went to seminary in the San Francisco, California area. I became a youth intern for a church in California and that’s where I met my wife, Diana. We got married and had my daughter Victoria who is now 19 years old. In 2010 we were called to the associate pastor position at Waikiki Baptist church on the island of Oahu, Hawai’i. We stayed there for five years (2015) then moved back to Kaua’i as church planters. The name of our church is Kaua’i House Church Network which includes three solid house churches and one that is starting up.

I was searching for something more after my seminary schooling and fifteen years on staff at two conventional style churches. I was looking for something more organic and less institutional. I’ve sat through endless board meetings, worked through tight budgets and then there’s building maintenance and logistics all overshadowed by the need to bring in more tithing people to keep the machine running. 

As a church planter I was looking for something simple and organic, something with low overhead. I found that in the house church model.  None of our leaders, including me, gets paid and we don’t have a cost associated with a building. We meet in homes, on the beach or in parks. It can’t get any simpler than that and the model is easy to reproduce.

We started out with a vision of a network which would organically grow by everyone making disciples. As more disciples are made there would be a need for leadership development and then we would see a natural multiplication of groups.  We started in 2015 and this initial group met for five years before expanding. In 2021 we expanded into three groups, tw of which are located on Kaua’i and one located in Oahu. In 2023, one of our families moved to Florida and started a community of believers in their home. Also in 2023 another family attending our church started their own house church which grew quickly.  They decided to become their own church and actually broke away from KHCN but they had our blessing. The goal is and always has been kingdom growth, not Kaua’i House Church Network growth. Our vision is to see simple forms of organic churches rise up throughout our island and beyond.

The challenge I would say is not everyone has the vision nor can they understand the concepts of house church, disciple making and church planting. I also believe that house church is a whole new paradigm that will take some time for people to catch on. Discipleship is another challenge. Christians are engrained with the idea that church is simply a spectator event: you attend once a week and it’s the pastor’s job to make disciples. After all, isn’t that why we pay them?

The house church structure and setting has been a great way to establish close relationships and we’ve become like family. Every week we meet and enjoy a meal together while discussing what’s going on in everyone’s life. After some time we break into a period of worship and discussion of the word. The message is shared and everyone can chime in. I usually close it with some key points, the good news and a challenge. I enjoy the intimate setting and the discussions that are initiated through the message. Others share their experiences, perspectives and things they’ve heard and learned about the particular passage we are studying. It brings a “multi-perspective” approach to preaching. I love that.  Everyone is able to participate and everyone is hearing from the Spirit and speaking out. I think our quaint family style home church setting is the key to authentic biblical relationship building. We meet in our individual house church groups throughout the month and on the last Sunday of the month we all get together in one location for a big family-style potluck at the beach or a park.

For our group, the kids stay with us. We usually have something for them to color and we ask them questions and they share things as well. Two of our other groups have so many kids that they have someone lead them and they usually go outside to play while the adult group meets.

In my opinion, if a house church has all the same people meeting together after twenty years with no changes something is wrong. The goal is to make disciples that make disciples not sit, soak and get comfortable in our own little holy huddle. I challenge our people to be on mission at work, home, their communities and everywhere they go. The house church is always morphing, it’s organic, alive and takes on different shapes over time.

I think the secret, for me, is that I don’t have to build anything. I just share the gospel in a casual way with people I know and am trying to build relationships with. I disciple and teach our people to seek to make disciples and churches will eventually form. Some disciples grow faster than others and some house churches will spawn faster than others. So keep it simple and continue to preach the gospel rather than beat yourself up because you don’t see growth. Just live the gospel and the fruit of your labor will naturally develop. Jesus said, I will build my church. That’s all I need to know.

To contact Stephen and to find out more about the Kaua’i House Church Network click here.

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by Fernando Souza.

My name is Fernando Souza, I am 58 years old and was born and raised in the city of Bauru, Brazil.  I studied Arts in college and currently I am instructor in Muay Thai. In 1997, I married my beloved wife Sheiza, with whom I have two daughters: Fernanda, who is married to João Vitor, my walking companion, and Lívia, who is 18 years old.

My experience of meeting Christ in July 2002 was impactful and transformative. It was through the lives of a couple who invited us to a church different from the ones I knew. This church had no name, building, or pastor, which initially seemed strange to me, but soon I realized the authenticity and simplicity of the faith lived there.

In August of the same year, I experienced deep repentance and decided to follow Christ wholeheartedly. I was baptized, symbolizing my new life in Christ and my commitment to Him. This experience brought spiritual renewal, peace, and purpose to my life, strengthening my journey of faith and bringing me closer to God.

Like many disciples in the Bible who had transformative encounters with Christ and were baptized as a symbol of their new faith, I also lived this significant experience in my life. The act of baptism represents death to sin and rebirth in Christ, marking the beginning of a new spiritual journey and a public commitment to the Christian faith.

My journey of transitioning from initial faith to understanding the importance of organic church and communion with disciples was marked by a deep and significant transformation. Initially, I held a superficial view of Christ and had no affinity with the disciples, even mistreating them and rejecting the idea of being part of a church.

However, God’s work was evident in my life through the loving influence of my wife and a Christian couple. The love of Christ was manifested through them, leading me to genuine conversion and baptism in a short period of time. From that point on, worshiping God became about intimacy, communion, and mutual love among the disciples.

Over the years, the church I belonged to was growing, but gradually it was losing its simplicity and initial essence. Institutionalization began to overshadow genuine communion, with the renting of a building, establishment of a clerical structure, and ritualization of services.

Faced with this scenario, there was an awakening in our group to return to the roots of faith, choosing to gather in homes, in a simple way guided by the Holy Spirit. In this setting, we rediscovered the joy of communion, sharing meals, sharing the Word, and praising the Lord in unity and simplicity.

This transition experience was crucial in realizing the importance of organic church and communion among disciples. We learned that true worship goes beyond rituals and structures, being grounded in a living relationship with God and mutual love among brothers and sisters. Thus, our journey led us to value the essence of Christian communion and to seek authentic and transformative worship.

Our journey of organic communion began this year, and we have witnessed the presence of several people participating in the meetings. During this period, we faced significant challenges, such as people missing the more spectacular format of institutional churches and their difficulty in understanding and accepting the true meaning of the church. People are so ingrained in religiosity…

It is interesting to observe that, even in the face of these obstacles, the Lord has been leading the process in a surprising way, attracting lives to join us. Amid uncertainties and questioning, our stance has been to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, fully trusting that He is in control of all things.

The key to overcoming these challenges has been to focus on loving God, loving others, and fulfilling the commandment to make disciples. This love-centered and mission-focused approach has strengthened our community and empowered us to move forward, even in the face of adversities and resistance.

Thus, we remain steadfast in the purpose of living organic communion, trusting in the Lord’s guidance and in the transformative power of love and communion among disciples. Each challenge faced has been an opportunity for growth and spiritual maturity, strengthening our faith and commitment to the Kingdom of God. 

Living in authentic relationships has had a profound impact on both myself and those around me. When people witness the communion and genuine bonds of the church, they may initially feel awe or strangeness, but these feelings soon give way to other perceptions. Some are drawn to the life of Christ manifested in the community, while others may show repulsion and disdain, labeling us as a “cult.”

The greatest benefits of this experience are the true connection and mutual edification that occur in authentic relationships. The ability to share life, challenges, joys, and sorrows genuinely strengthens the bonds between disciples and fosters an environment of love and mutual care. This atmosphere of communion reflects Christ’s love and positively impacts the lives of all involved.

Regarding raising children in the organic church, I can witness firsthand the benefits of this experience. My daughters grew up attending church meetings in our home, and the result was remarkable. They have become wonderful young women who love and fear God in all areas of their lives. They were raised according to the Lord’s principles, and this is reflected in their integrity, character, and relationship with Him.

Therefore, living in authentic relationships not only transforms lives individually but also significantly impacts future generations, as in the case of children raised in the organic church. Building strong bonds and witnessing Christ’s love shape not only the present but also the future of the community of disciples, yielding lasting fruits of faith, love, and commitment to the Kingdom of God.

To encourage someone facing difficulties with a group of people and to motivate them to start a new group, it’s essential to remember that we are merely collaborators with the Lord. We must keep in mind that He is in control of all things and that our obedience to His commandments is fundamental. The main thing is to love Him above all else and to love our neighbor as ourselves, following the call to build His house with living stones.

Starting a new group requires faith, perseverance, and humility. It’s important to remember that the Lord is the one who empowers and directs, and we must trust Him amid the difficulties and challenges that may arise. Encourage the person to trust in divine provision and guidance, always seeking unity, love, and truth in all interactions with the group.

Experience and faith teach us that the solid foundation for long term success lies in the constancy of faith, dedication to teaching the Word, and the practice of mutual love. Keeping a group active requires commitment, patience, and care for each member, cultivating authentic relationships and encouraging everyone’s spiritual growth.

Just as Scripture teaches us in Timothy about the importance of faithfulness, the expectation of persecutions, the need for perseverance, and the sufficiency of God’s Word, these principles are fundamental to sustaining a group over the years. The secret lies in remaining faithful to the Lord, facing adversities with courage, and building one another up in faith, always keeping the focus on the purpose and mission entrusted to us.

Dear leader, organizer, facilitator, pastor, or apostle who dedicates your time and effort to guide and care for the group, I want to share a word of encouragement based on faith and the truth of Scripture. Remember that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. This is the essence of our mission and our service: to allow Christ to manifest Himself in everything we do.

To ensure the longevity and success of the group, it is essential to maintain focus on the Kingdom of God as our highest priority. When the Kingdom of God is at the center of our lives and ministry, we are strengthened and empowered to overcome challenges and grow together in fellowship and love.

Furthermore, remember to never take your eyes off the Lord, even in the face of adversities and difficulties. Trust fully in the Lord, for He is the one who sustains, empowers, and renews our strength. Keep your faith unshakeable and hope alive, knowing that the Lord is in control of all things and that He has a greater purpose in every situation.

As the group leader, be an example of humility, love, and dedication. Always be willing to listen, teach, and guide with wisdom and grace. Cultivate genuine relationships and invest in the spiritual growth of each group member, for it is in fellowship and mutual love that we find strength and encouragement to continue advancing together.

May your life and ministry be marked by the living presence of Christ, faithfulness to God’s Word, and unconditional love for others. May the Lord richly bless you and empower you to lead with wisdom, grace, and integrity, guiding the group on the path of truth and eternal life. May the peace and grace of the Lord be always with you.

Fernando can be contacted through WhatsApp +55 14 99191-9477 or email: aigrejaembauru@gmail.com.  You can also check out his blog here.

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by Geoff Willmott.

My name is Geoff Willmott, I’m married to Carrie (Caroline). We have three adult children and six grandchildren. I grew up in Hamilton, New Zealand then at age twenty one travelled to London where I lived and worked for two and a half years. While in London I met Carrie, we married and returned to New Zealand.

I grew up in a Christian household and asked Jesus into my life when I was eight years old. During my teenage years I rebelled and lived life in the world thinking it would provide me with the satisfaction I was looking for. How wrong I was! When in London, the New Living Translation was on sale at the St Paul’s Cathedral bookshop around the corner from my workplace. When I read it, compared to the KJV, the Bible came alive. I recommitted my life to Jesus and eventually trained through Baptist Theological College in Auckland alongside Anglican, Methodist, Catholic and Church of Christ students. I worked on mainframe computers for eighteen years, trained and pastored for fifteen years and had several small businesses. In my latter years I drove a school bus. 

A couple of reasons why I was a rebellious teenager was I saw the institutional church looked nothing like the book of Acts and the demarcation lines of denominationalism were set in concrete. (Interestingly, the Chinese underground church has a manifesto based on the book of Acts: PRINCIPLES For the Gathering of believers under the Headship of Jesus Christ rather than the Gospels.) These realizations started a journey of looking for authentic church. Reading books helped, like James Rutz’s book ‘Open Church’. This book explained the history of how the church went off track.

Over the last forty years there were small group gurus who came to NZ that influenced me. Ralph Neighbour and Larry Kreider (Cell churches), Wolfgang Simson, Tony and Felicity Dale (House churches), Steve Addison (No Place Left discipleship and church planting).

We had some good small groups over the years and our church in Auckland saw fifty people come to the Lord over a two-year period using the cell group model. There was a transition from just a small group to a small group which desired to see people saved and groups multiplied. A friend introduced me to Paul Watson (son of David Watson) and a few of us did some Skype meetings introducing us to Discovery Bible Studies. We have since been involved in No Place Left by Steve Addison and others. T4T: A Discipleship Re-Revolution by Ying and Grace Kai was a great resource and it worked well in Auckland. Over one weekend, with minimal visitation, we found 82 houses of peace out of 450 visits open up for a DBS. I learned that we need teams raiding our communities to find houses of peace and then begin the discipleship process. 

Currently, I’ve been involved in small groups of several kinds. Destiny Church meets Sundays and Wednesdays at a cafe, Wednesday night we feed the hungry in the city square and Friday night we have a group Bible study on Revelation. We are involved in We Are One Prayer Network – New Zealand and Beyond on Facebook which is growing rapidly as we pray for our towns and cities. Saturday mornings there are Indian house church fellowships with evangelizing afterwards at a river market. I believe God is sending Indian believers to NZ to wake us up! Sunday morning, I support my wife at her church (Indian pastors). Sunday night, I am part of a new church planted as a result of people excluded from places of worship during Covid. We are also involved politically, interviewing people like the mayor and other politicians and we see people being saved.

Children are involved in Destiny Church and children participate in the general part of the meeting at the Indian house church before going off to do something by themselves. My friend, a few hours north whom I network with, facilitates several house churches and trains people in disciple making. His three boys, eight to twelve, run their own house churches and evangelise their schoolmates and their parents.   

I don’t hold things in permanence because things could suddenly change in this world. One thing we learned from Covid was that we were never going back to the ‘old normal’, God is preparing us for what is to come. So hang on for the ride and enjoy it. Hold to what the Holy Spirit is telling you and trust that Jesus is your covering. Stick with like-minded people for encouragement because at times it gets lonely and you’ll find you won’t fit into the ‘old’. We are a new creation destined for great exploits with our God. HALLELUJAH!!!

Geoff Willmott can be contacted at geoffrey.willmott@gmail.com or 027-775-4131 or +6427-775-4131.

I would love to hear from those who have been doing organic church for an extended time. Contact me (Jonathan Rovetto) at 414.217.2189 or at jirovetto@yahoo.com. Don’t miss the next Unsung Heroes, subscribe below.

In Western society it’s difficult to do life together, but it does happen, it can be sustained and it can be life-changing. I pray these stories encourage you to keep meeting, keep searching and start gathering. This story is told by Eman Abrea.

My name is Eman Abrea. I am married with three children. I encountered Christ while attending church services near our home. I don’t remember the exact date when I gave my life to Him during my teenage years.

My life as a believer had its challenges. But a turning point came when I moved in with my older brother. He and his wife regularly attended a local church near their home. Since then, I gradually began to learn about Christ and His teachings personally. I started to grow in my faith and decided to study at a Bible School. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Theology.

Q–How did you go from your initial faith to a realization that organic church/fellowship with believers was significant enough to change your pattern of worship?  What was your journey?

At the age of 21, I became the pastor of a struggling church, older than myself. During those years, I began comparing the church’s practices to the teachings of Jesus and the early church. While studying the New Testament, I noticed many practices of the modern church that are not explicitly taught by Christ. For instance, conducting worship services every Sunday. Worship in the New Testament is a lifestyle, not a program-based activity confined to a particular day or days. The New Testament describes gatherings in small groups or house churches. All believers contribute to one another what they have learned from the Word and the Holy Spirit during their gatherings. There are no passive observers; everyone participates.

Q–How long have you been doing organic fellowship and are you still doing it?  Have you seen other groups start from your initial group?  What are the challenges you’ve seen?  How do you/did you overcome challenges? 

In the year 2000, my family and I embarked on a journey of organic church ministry after resigning from the church we had planted. We firmly believed that God was the one who encouraged us to start this path, with no support from any individual or group. By faith, we obeyed Him, even though we weren’t sure what to do. We felt alone in this endeavor. Some pastors we knew accused us of being backsliders because we stopped attending a local church.  To make matters worse, they labeled us a cult group.  We ignored their accusations and continued doing what we felt God was calling us to do. During those years, we established several house churches in different locations. However, we encountered challenges that led to setbacks:

• Lack of effective discipleship
• Absence of training for new leaders
• Insufficient prayer
• Insufficient reliance on God
• Failure to focus on God’s Kingdom
• Lack of character development
• Lack of genuine relationships

Q–Have you had children grow up in organic church?  Have you seen the benefits of this?  

I’m grateful to say that our children grew up in a nurturing house church environment. We thank God for the fruits we’ve seen in their lives, they are all God-fearing, loving, and obedient to us and the Lord.

Q–How would you encourage a struggling group? How would you encourage someone to start a group? What’s the secret of a group that lasts more than 5 years?

My answer is simple, yet essential:  Build an intimate relationship with God, especially with the Holy Spirit. This is His time, and He is actively working in our lives as the Teacher, Counselor, Coach, and Discipler-always available. He will teach us everything we need for this life. We must ask Him, talk to Him constantly, and listen to His guidance for every question we have.  I assure you, He will not fail us. This is what’s happening in my life, my wife’s, my children’s, and in the lives of other believers. And this is what I teach to others: daily Bible reading, meditation, studying, journaling, and obedience are essential for building an intimate relationship with God.

This is not a system, method, program, materials, etc., but rather a growing and fruitful relationship with the King.

You can contact Eman Abrea by email at emanelvie@gmail.com.

I would love to hear from those who have been doing organic church for an extended time. Contact me (Jonathan Rovetto) at 414.217.2189 or at jirovetto@yahoo.com. Don’t miss the next Unsung Heroes, subscribe below.