Brothers and Sisters: Need your advice, please read...

After months and months of trying to hook up with other New Covenant believers here in the Detroit area the results of my efforts have been pretty much fruitless.

After studying and watching the house church / new covenant churches I've noticed that there is no easy way to find a Christian fellowship in our area, much less find a group to fellowship with while travelling on business. My observation is that this movement while powerful and life changing is so loosely affiliated that it hinders the effectiveness of the whole movement. If I travel to Loveland, CO I know that I can hook up with believers there or Austin, TX or Bangalore, India but what happens if I'm travelling to Seattle?

The only other option that we have is to travel from church to church to church seeking to find a place where we fell at home. As many of you know, you could spend the next 3 years going to different churches every Sunday and still not cover half of them seeking a new covenant place to call home.

To the best of my knowledge there is no website / directory that provides a list of house churches and or fellowships that we can attend.

To answer this need I am in the process of creating a website that enables folks to create groups for their house church / new covenant churches. It basically functions like Facebook but the plan ultimately is to network these churches in a way that makes it easy for like minded believers to connect and communicate with each other.

Ultimately, I'm going to have a Google map on the homepage and you will be able to easily look on the map and find a fellowship that meets in your area. From the map you will be able to click a link on the location and it will take you to the group on the site where you can post messages, get information, see details of events, etc.

I currently have the site partially developed and the Facebook like technology setup and running but there are some logistical details that I'm struggling with.

This is the point of the thread (sorry for the long explanation).

Here are my questions:

1- Since the site is not directed at every kind of church, how can I figure out who can start their own group, or how do I know whether a group is legit? My motive in this is I want to create a protected environment where people can be sure that they are getting in contact with rock solid believers. Or is this approach wrong and should I just leave open the ability to create groups in their own cities?

My goal is to let every person who has a house church join and be fruitful yet I want to keep the wolves out. Inevitably satan will send in his deceivers and I'm not unwise concerning this. I don't want to restrict anything yet want to be wise moving forward.

"Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellers they are established." -Proverbs 15:22

This problem has caused development of the site to come to a standstill and hindered the work. After praying about it the answer that I got was to ask some advice here.

I appreciate your help and understanding and truly need your advice in order to move forward.

Thanks for your time!

Have you checked out the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches? ncfic.org Seems they have something similar....

QUOTE: “My goal is to let every person who has a house church join and be fruitful yet I want to keep the wolves out.”

Brother, I highly regard your love and passion for God’s people. Yet it seems that your goals are outside of your power. That must be immensely frustrating. Is this an area where your faith is being tested by fire, or where God is bringing about the death of a vision –to resurface it later in a new way?

I have often heard the despairing words, “There is no good church around!” Yet, for myself, in the seasons when I have been in the “right” fellowship, wolves and discord have surfaced. Those were faith building experiences.

Strangely, after allowing God to put me in a church/fellowship of his choosing, he led me into a dying mainline church with weak preaching. I have served there for 11 years, and have come to love the people.

I think that the best place to be is where God plants us. He can make us a light there, and he can use the people there to sand down our rough edges so we become conformed to the image of Christ. We can trust God to build his kingdom - and bring us into fellowship with others - as he wishes and when he wishes. It may be that he is calling many into a season of solitude, where we learn to trust him to fill all our needs - and not be so people-dependent.

I have come to see that trusting God on Kingdom matters is never predictable or controllable - but it is adventurous! Who knows when “Elijah” may come by and perform a miracle – even in the seasons of judgment on our land.

What do you think?

Diane

I appreciate the link and the recommendation. I have a great appreciation for what Diane said.

We would love to have you at our fellowship, we desperately need strong believers to strengthen the body and join us in the LORD's service here in Hamtramck and Metro Detroit: www.acts-29.org.

That said, we are far from perfect. Since I got born again the Lord has pretty directly told me where to go to church and none of them were perfect. The fellowship and mission I currently serve with has significantly different theology than me and we have our share of flaws along with all the struggles and challenges of running an urban mission in a Muslim dominated area filled with poverty, crime and spiritual darkness.

Many excellent teachers criticize churches for any number of unscriptural practices, false teaching, wrong organization, attitudes, lifestyles, principles, methods etc. but there wasn't a church in history that was perfect. How many of us would go to the church in Corinth when there was sexual immorality, greed, drunkenness and so many other issues? Yet God called people to be there too and the Holy Spirit was present working in a radical way.

I hope you find the place where the LORD desires you. Even in the toughest times, knowing that He has called you to a specific body is a strong anchor creating commitment and faithfulness to a certain group of people even in the midst of things that others would say are offenses worth leaving over.

I commend your effort to create a means for people to find holy fellowship. As far as keeping wolves out, it would be very difficult in an internet setting. Perhaps you could have people sign a form statement of faith before joining? Setting standards beyond major doctrine seems very difficult. God bless you in your work, calling and fellowship.

-Jonathan

Roadsign has the best advice I have seen.

There are others that have tried to do this.

http://homechurchhelp.com/find-a-home-church

I find that there are just as many that prefer not to be in a directory.

Certainly, if you are in China, you don't want to be in any directory.

I have found the Lord to be faithful if you ask Him to lead you. Sometimes, He may ask you something, though.

You cannot stop them, mainly because the church is an open society and not a closed one like cults.

Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

False brethren abound and sometimes brethren fall away. You can do your best but should always be diligent and on the alert and testing the spirits.

1Ti 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2Ti 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

Mike

I have often heard the despairing words, “There is no good church around!” Yet, for myself, in the seasons when I have been in the “right” fellowship, wolves and discord have surfaced. Those were faith building experiences.

Thanks Diane,

My point isn't that there aren't any good churches around, there may be. My point is that there could be a wonderful house / new covenant church on the block next to me yet there aren't any resources to direct me to that church. There are tons of traditional churches in the area but my heart is longing for a church modeled off of the book of Acts not traditions.

If there was one place where people could go online and find a local body modeled in this way I think that it would be a great benefit to the body. They are all over the place but there's no way to find one easily, I'm trying to solve the issue.

Thanks for all of your input regarding this question, nearly all of the folks who responded came to the same conclusion that I did :-)

I'm going to move forward, the Lord will help me, of this I am sure.

Brother Zac only had 2 families when they started CFC and the Lord was with him. To be sure, we are in the same place that he was when he started. Please pray that the Lord directs us!

Thanks again!

Elijah did not think there was anyone else, but the Lord showed him 7000.

Only the Lord knows where His people are and consequently, like Elijah, only He can reveal who and where they are to you.

They are not found in the yellow pages.

May the Lord light your way in your search for fellowship with His people.

allaboard