Winning the World

30 Wi nn i ng the Wor l d: Fac i l i tat i ng Urban Chur ch P l ant i ng Movement s

C. Re-evaluation of the claims based on our understanding of the evidence

D. Conclusions to draw

IV. The Church Defined in Terms of Structural Forms: Traditional, Cells, and House Church Networks, Kreider, Foreword-p. 17.

Eph. 4.4-7 (ESV) There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. [7] But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

House churches, and churches of any kind, should never be exclusive entities cut off from the rest of the body of Christ. The litmus test used to discern if a house church is healthy is simple. The healthy house church will focus on loving the Lord, loving each other, reaching the lost and loving the rest of the body of Christ anywhere and everywhere. ~ House Church Networks , p. 16.

A. New Wineskins: new forms of the Church

1. Change today is a way of life; changes occurring today are both frequent and radical, Foreword 1.

2. For the first couple hundred years of the Christian movement, all churches were house churches, Foreword 1 (not as common in our generation, with the exception of China).

3. Different folks and different strokes: house church networks, community churches, and mega-churches are all important in drawing people to God, Foreword 1.

4. House church networks as a new species of church emerging in North America, p. 1.