Welcome

Solidarités International: Water talks from La Boite Concept on Vimeo.

The Church has had its day by David Allis

The Missional Church: becoming a Missional Community by David Allis,
and also The Missional Church: Two Different Sets of Values by various authors

The Problem with Preaching by David Allis - a challenging critique of the theology & practice of 'preaching' in western churches.

Look here to see other articles in the 'ideas from the edge'

Look here to subscribe to regular-ish weekly email articles 'ideas from the edge' from a variety of writers.

Foster a child with the Open Home Foundation
The Open Home Foundation needs Christian people who are willing to open their homes and hearts to children and young people in our nation.
To find out more about fostering, please click on this link 

WANTED
- Tauranga house church please let us know
- Nelson house church (in Nelson New Zealand) ..... we know of someone looking for a Nelson house church .... if you know of one, please contact us
- Roturua house church (in Rotorua New Zealand) ..... we know of someone looking for a Rotorua house church .... if you know of one, please contact us

When 'Good' is the Enemy of 'Best' - article by David Allis (send us your comments on it)

What are house churches???????  ?What sort of churches meet in homes deliberately? .... these home based churches that are a bit (or a long way) outside the 'box' ... hence the name 'Edge'. Actually, they're a bunch of people who (hopefully) think & live outside the box - being the church in their community. ?What are they called in New Zealand - house churches, home churches, micro churches, organic churches, simple churches, emerging churches, liquid churches, street churches, XYZ churches, edge churches .......... whatever label you like ?What are they like? ... a wide variety .... but they often don't have a church building (they usually meet in a house), professional clergy, paid staff etc ?Are we a formal network? ... Nope .... definitely not ... but we want to encourage the exploration & development of alternative ways to 'be church' (not 'Do church')........... hence you'll find links here to all sorts of groups/ churches/ networks/ websites etc ...... so we use the term 'network' in a very very very loose, non-structured, informal way (if you have any ideas for better words to use, let us know) apostolic churches? - yep - hopefully cutting edge, sent out, breaking new ground etc - real apostolic stuff (with a little 'a') missional communities - hopefully - if they aren't, we are probably wasting our time ... Do we endorse all the house churches we link to? ....... No & Yes ....... we can't endorse something we don't know well, but we haven't heard anything bad about them ....... so as far as we know they're OK ?Are house churches safe? .... hopefully ..... but the only way to be sure with any church is to check them out, use your wisdom, talk to other people & compare them with what you learn from the Bible. There is a wide variety of house churches out there - you might like some & dislike others ..... ?How 'emerged' are we? ..... not very far at all - but we're having fun on the journey So What Do We Believe In? Mission - we want to be effective in seeing people come into relationship with JC & become disciples Discipleship - growth only comes as people enter God's kingdom & become disciples of Jesus Planting 'churches' that are relevant & 'effective' The Bible is accurate & authoritative in our lives & churches Rethinking what it means to 'be the church' Reviewing our lives ... to see how much we are influenced by God, & how much is extra stuff added thru christian/church culture, western culture, societal expectations etc Healthy dialogue - as we try to figure out how to follow Jesus Remember the poor (Gal 2:10) Who Are We? This (great?) house church site has been thrown together by David & Margaret Allis (& their 6 wonderful kids). We are establishing a missional church in Devonport Auckland that meets in our home (unless you live nearby & have better coffee). See the Devonport page for more info .... We hope this site will serve the emerging missional church (house, home, micro, organic, simple, liquid, street, XYZ, edge) in New Zealand. There are many great churches in Devonport - we are proud to be one of them. Contact Information If you want to talk more, we can be contacted at by email or ph (9) 445-1293 - come & have a coffee sometime if you like. Edgenet  - serving emerging 'new wineskin' churches - house churches/ home churches / micro churches / micros / home-based churches / edge churches / organic churches / emerging churches / street churches / xyz churches / liquid churches / simple churches / apostolic churches / ??? churches

Some more interesting reading about house churches .......

A Canadian Advert -
Needed: HouseChurch.ca Planters! - The house church movement in Canada has just begun. We are on the lookout for house church planters. People who will take this vision to different parts of Canada and to the rest of the world. Does what you read here make your heart beat a little faster? When you read our vision do you see yourself helping to fulfill it? Then please contact us. We'd love to hear from you.

The same is DEFINITELY TRUE FOR NZ - do you want help to spread the vision, plant home-based churches (house church / micro church / simple church / organic church) in NZ (or overseas)??? Contact us, & we can help link you with some very helpful people...

TOP TEN Reasons for Planting House Churches
The following is taken from “The Global House Church Movement” by Rad Zdero
1. Biblical – This was the normative New Testament pattern established by Jesus and the apostles and perpetuated by the early church of the first three centuries and in subsequent renewal, reform and revival movements throughout history. (Acts 2:46, 5:42, 20:20)
2. Exponential - To reach a growing world, we need to multiply, not just add. Current house church movements worldwide are outstripping more traditional church planting and church growth efforts.
3. Effective – The most effective method of evangelism is not growing existing churches, but planting new ones. House churches are the most easily reproducible form of church, and hence, are the most obvious choice for church planting.
4. Natural – House churches become part of the local community and easily tap into relationship connections, thereby more readily taking on an indigenous flavour.
5. People-Focused – They focus on relationships and the development of people spiritually, not on executing programs or projects.
6. Efficient – They are more mobile, flexible, and adaptable than conventional churches, especially in areas characterized by persecution and poverty.
7. Equal Opportunity – Because of their small, intimate and participatory nature, all believers have the opportunity to exercise their spiritual gifts during church meetings, and not just professional clergy or key leaders.
8. Unbounded – They are not limited by church buildings. Whatever use buildings may or may not have, history shows that they are not necessary for rapid church planting movements to start; in fact, they may be a hindrance. Although church buildings are not evil by any means, nor are homes in any way magical, the practical release of time, energy and money away from building maintenance, and into evangelism and discipleship, should cause us to rethink current practices.
9. Inexpensive – They are less expensive than traditional church, because no expensive buildings, programs, or professional clergy are required.
10. Immediate – It can start now, right in your living room. There is no need to wait for a gym to be rented or for a building program to be completed to begin a new church or for a full-time pastor to be hired.

House Church - a good definition from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

House church is an informal term for a group of Christians gathering regularly or spontaneously in a home instead of a building dedicated to the purpose. Another term with the same meaning is "home church".

Some groups meet like this because they lack a conventional church building; but these are not normally regarded as house churches. Others meet in homes because they prefer to meet informally, or because they believe meeting in a home is the true pattern set in the first century and intended by Christ. Some, perhaps, meet in homes for several of these reasons.

Structure and organisation

House churches should not be confused with "cell churches". A house church is not normally part of a larger, overseeing organization, although the group may associate informally with other Christians and house churches in networks reflecting equality rather than hierarchy. Those who meet in house churches regard themselves as belonging to the worldwide Church, but are self-governing and independent, generally without formal relationships with established "institutional" churches.

Some house churches have a conventional leadership structure, others have none. A commonly held belief in the modern day house church "movement" is that the Protestant Reformation did not go far enough to demonstrate a New Testament belief in the "priesthood of all believers" and that Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the Church which is the body of Christ. This movement has been gaining momentum worldwide in both industrialized countries such as Australia, Germany, the UK and the USA, and in third world countries.

The absence of hierarchical leadership structures in many house churches, while often viewed by the Protestant church at large as a sign of anarchy or rebelliousness to authority, is actually viewed by many in the house church movement to be the most viable way to come under true spiritual authority of love, relationships, and the visible dominion of Jesus Christ as Head of His own bride. Some within the house church "movement" therefore consider the term house church to be a misnomer, because the main issue within people who practice their faith in this manner is not the house but more the type of meeting that takes place; other titles which are sometimes used to describe this movement more functionally are "simple church", "relational church", "primitive church", "bodylife", "organic church" and similar terms.

The house church movement also owes much of its networking and exchange of information to the use of the internet; HC is generally used as an abbreviation for 'House Church' and IC is used to designate "Institutional Church" which is the generalized term for more traditional church structures, including a church building and/or sermon-centered church services led by a pastor or minister.

As a rule, house church gatherings are free, informal, and sometimes include a shared meal. Participants hope that everyone present will feel free to contribute to the gathering as and when they sense the leading of the Holy Spirit to do so. Leadership structures range from no official leaders, to a plurality of appointed elders; however, there is a deliberate attempt within most house churches to minimize the leadership of any one person, and so having one pastor or leading elder is generally frowned upon, in favor of a more plural responsibility of leadership diffused over several people or the members as a whole.

Origins and history

The origins of this movement are varied. Some consider it a new variety of the Plymouth Brethren movement, others recognise a relationship to the Quakers or see it as resulting from the writings of Gene Edwards ( http://www.seedsowers.com ). There is also an argument that the house church movement is a re-emergence of the move of the Holy Spirit during the Jesus Movement of the 70's in the USA ( http://www.one-way.org ) or the worldwide Charismatic Renewal of the late 60's and 70's. Most see it as simply New Testament church Restorationism ( http://www.ntrf.org ), urging Christians to return from hierarchy and rank to practices described in the Bible ( http://www.century-one.co.uk ). The house church movement may in some ways be considered a cousin of the Emerging Church movement.

Probably there is no single factor, but all the threads noted above have contributed to the growth of house churches.

External links

Discussion Forums

• Yahoo Discussion Group HCConnection (http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/hcconnection)
• House Church Discussion List (http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/hcdl)
• Koinonia Life Discussion Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/koinonialife)
• New Wineskin Discussion Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/new-wineskin)
• HC raw "where sparks fly" group (http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/hcrawwheresparksfly)
• Sites Unseen House Church Directory (http://zoecarnate.com)

Further information

• House 2 House Magazine (http://www.house2house.tv)
• Home church information and HCtalk discussion group (http://www.homechurch.com)
• Home church information and HCDL homepage, also contains home church directory of churches worldwide (http://www.home-church.org)
• A Network of Home Churches in Cincinnati, Ohio (http://www.vineyardcentral.com)

See also Chinese house church. Be aware, however, that Chinese house churches typically have a leadership structure (including a pastor) that resembles "underground traditionally structured churches" in contrast to what is generally considered to be a "housechurch" in countries with religious freedom and tolerance.