Planting Churches Among the City's Poor - Volume 2

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

4. “House churches are simple, easily reproducible, create platforms for gift identification and development, and are effective in showing forth the transforming power of Christ in our neighborhoods and our communities,” p. 11. 5. “HCNs focus on relationships, reaching the lost and raising spiritual fathers and mothers in-house who serve and care for their family,” p. 12 (seen as wonderfully “fluid and flexible”).

6. Over 1,600 house churches can be found on Web pages in the US alone, p. 12.

F. HCNs as new wineskins are emerging “New Reformation” (transforming the form and look of the current church today). How?

1. Church shifted to homes rather than buildings

2. Actual churches in the homes, not Bible studies or cell groups

3. House churches will have their own elders, collect tithes and offerings, and leadership will be responsive to the Lord for the people, p. 12. 4. House churches will be committed to network with other house churches in their city or region (keeping them from “pride, exclusiveness, and heresy”), p. 13 ( how? ).

5. House churches will rapidly reproduce themselves, with no need to buy property, construct churches, gain staff, etc., p. 13.

G. HCNs are a form of contextualization in American subculture , especially for the young people of Generation X.

1. Contextualization: “adapting our forms of communication and expression of the Gospel to the cultural norms of the receiving culture”

2. Gen X characteristics of church, p. 13

a. Less concerned about structure and hierarchy, disconnected from traditional churches