The folks gathered shared a meal. They entered into a time of sharing and prayer. There was some group singing and worship music. The bulk of the time was spent exploring a passage from John 10. Everyone gathered participated and everyone there contributed to the evening in one way or another. Pastor Dennis facilitated the discussion, but everyone engaged. There were some open chairs around the table and a real burden for some specific friends and family members who might fill those chairs someday.
Some might call this a house church (that’s what we used to call this kind of gathering). A lot of folks today are calling gatherings like this a “micro-church” while others are referring to such efforts as “fresh expressions.” I’m not so concerned about what they’re called, I’m just grateful for what God is doing in and through his people.
A couple of folks around the table have come to follow Jesus in recent months. They’ve received His gift of salvation and followed Him into the waters of baptism and it’s resulted it amazing changes in their lives. They are different now than they once were, both by their own testimony as well as the testimony of others: they are not the same people they once were before knowing Jesus Christ. They are engaged in studying the Word, growing in Christ and reaching out to others who need to know Him too.
Some in the group are now connected to a larger church body and view this as more of a small group or discipleship group, but others consider this Tuesday evening gathering as their church community. This is where they worship Jesus and grow in discipleship as they connect with their brothers and sisters in Christ while actively inviting others to do the same.
I’m excited about what I experienced in Washington Boro on Tuesday and I pray that we see more ‘fresh expressions’ like this one. In a post-Christendom world, it’s going to take more fresh expressions to reach our neighbors and friends who may never connect in a traditional church gathering. Some of these fresh expressions may be connected to an already existing congregation, but many will be new works started in response to a particular need or people group in a particular area.
I’d encourage you to get in touch with Pastor Dennis – he’s more than willing to share from his experience and what they’ve learned as they’ve made this journey. I’d also encourage you to visit https://freshexpressionsus.org to learn more about the different ways in which brothers and sisters from around the U.S. are working to demonstrate and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their friends and neighbors.
Where are the opportunities in your community to launch a fresh expression of God’s work and people?
Christ’s Peace,
Lance