Planting Churches Among the City's Poor - Volume 2

242 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 2

C. Appeal and necessity of house church networks

1. Both young Gen X (18-35) and older generations (middle-ages and seniors) find no existing form of church (i.e., “existing wineskins”) to either find their niche or experience reasons for which they can “enthusiastically participate,” p. 3. 2. Younger generations will take the lead in starting new house churches and house church networks because “ they will thrive in a new wineskin that fits their generation’s need for authentic relationships ,” p. 4. 3. Essentially, Kreider views HCNs as a way to contextualize the wineskin of the faith for generations looking for dependable, meaningful relationships, p. 4. 4. “Imparting spiritual fatherhood fills the void and closes the gap of broken relationships between the old and the young. The generations must learn to work together. The heart’s cry of the older generation must be to release the younger generation to fulfill the Lord’s call on their lives,” p. 5. 5. Back to the Future, church style: “Perhaps we should take a step back in time to learn from the NT church to help us solve problems for some of our modern-day church dilemmas. House churches in the western world are really in their infancy stage. We have a lot to learn, but we have an excellent pattern to follow from the NT,” p. 7. a. Connection with their peers b. Significant interaction with the older generations

D. How “cell churches” function

1. Cell churches as a new wineskin more than 20 years ago in response to the lack of vitality in the traditional church

a. Traditional church problems: building-bound, clergy centered, isolated, ineffective witness, “spectator mentality”

b. Evolution from small groups as centers for every-person ministry (“on-the-job training for leadership through hands-on experiences”), p. 9.