Providing community for a searching people

House churches go back to the basics

KELLY HENSCHEL
CW Staff Writer

Some church leaders say it’s time to get back to the basics to reach thousands of Canadians who are unhappy with the traditional church.

“We need new paradigms which are efficient and effective at drawing in the spiritually seeking but institutionally reluctant person,” says Bob Granholm, one of the coordinators for the Canadian House Church Resource Network (CHCRN).

According to research published in 1999 by Church Planting Canada, 82 per cent of Canadians are not actively involved in a church, although many claim to believe the basic principles of Christianity.

House churches, small groups which meet in homes for worship and teaching rather than attending a traditional church, may be the ans-wer, Granholm says. “They’re surprisingly popular. People are finding the institutional church is not what they’re looking for in Christian com-munity, so they’re finding themselves in house churches.”

Old concepts made new

CHCRN, which was developed two years ago, currently has a database of about 155 people interested in

planting house churches or who have already planted a house church, says coordinator Grace Wiebe. While most of the churches are located in B.C.’s lower mainland and the Greater Toronto Area, there are also house churches in Edmonton, Winnipeg and the Maritimes, as well as many smaller towns.

“We eventually hope to see these kind of church gatherings meeting in restaurants, places of business, hospitals, apartment buildings, in parks…anywhere where people are,” says Wiebe.

The concept of the house church is nothing new; it stems from the first gatherings of believers in New Testament times. For centuries house churches have been established around the world, particularly in areas where Christians are persecuted, such as China and India.

House churches have also grown in Europe. For example, many Christians in England embraced the concept and in France, a post-Catholic culture is using the home-based model to plant new churches, says Murray Moerman, director of Church Planting Canada. Close to 150 house churches have been established in France in about the last year and a half, he says.

“I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be able to grow and blossom in Canada as well,” he says. “The church has grown in large majority by this kind of model and it appears to have been a very effective harvest tool.”

But, Moerman warns, “House churches are not a place for Christians to retreat from institutions if they’re weary of the work that’s involved. The reason for house churches is an entry point into the kingdom for non-Christians. There’s non-Christians who will come to our home for meals, who won’t come to the church with us.”

Reforming the nation

Four months ago, Mike Andre’s church in Surrey, B.C. consisted of himself, his wife, two daughters and a neighbourhood couple meeting around the dining room table on Sunday morning for tea and cookies. Now, 40 people gather for worship, and a group meets Thursday mornings and Friday evenings as well.

“I believe there’s a reformation taking place. God is getting us back to the original heart and vision of the church,” says Andre. “We have people in our group who haven’t been through a church door in 12 years. Basically they’re like the lost sheep of Israel.”

Being a house church brings an intimacy to relationships that is often missing in the larger church setting, says Dan Willson, pastor of Oasis Christian Fellowship in Fort St. John, B.C.

“Because we’re flexible and discipleship is such a big part of what we’re about, we’re able to respond to needs quickly and efficiently,” says Willson. “You can’t help but get into people’s lives and find out there’s a lot of [trouble] there.”

“The purpose of the church is discipleship, not just proclamation,” agrees Mike De Geer, pastor of The Lord’s House, a small house church in Hamilton, Ontario. “Discipleship can’t happen without accountability.”

Getting away from the institutional concerns is one of the benefits of meeting in a home, he says, and the times of worship and teaching can be more interactive. “You’re more focused on just doing ministry.”

While a majority of house churches are independent of mainline denominations, the Foursquare Church of Canada took the step of naming a national coordinator dedicated to establishing regional house church initiatives. Currently, Doug and Ellie Hagey are working to establish a prototype regional model for house churches in Northern B.C. and Alberta.

Regional prototypes

The regional model acts as a hub, Hagey says, “that will provide adminstrative as well as spiritual and leadership training for the development of a number of churches in the region.” Foursqare’s Home-Based Church Network offers house church leaders a chance to interact with monthly meetings and regional celebrations, as well as keeping leaders accountable.

Still, many mainline denominations remain wary of house churches. “Just a handful of years ago, people were really cautious and wondering ‘Are you a real church?’” says Hagey. “The understanding is that when people come together and meet in a house, it really is the church. It’s not a segment, a program or a wing of the church.

“The agenda is more geared towards caring for exactly what’s happening in those people’s lives at that moment rather than following a particular order of service.”

More information about house churches is available on the Web at www.outreach.ca/cpc/Housechurches.htm or www.foursquare.ca/hbcn.htm.