House Church

It's funny, I never would have thought of us as the house church "type".

(Go with me here, I'm not trying to judge or label!)

What's a house church, you ask?

From Vine House Churches:

These are real churches that meet in homes, where believers gather at least once each week for prayer, fellowship, teaching, and to pray for the lost. House Churches can meet in homes, places of business, coffee shops-anywhere people meet. These are real churches, not just Bible studies or House groups. They have (pastor/shepherds), they collect tithes and offerings, and the leadership is responsible before the Lord for the souls of the people in the house church (Hebrews 13:17).

House Churches are local churches in which the church life and ministry to one another takes place mainly in House groups instead of in a "central service". Some house-churches do have a Sunday service, but the emphasis is on the Houses, where teaching, counseling, ministry, prayer and evangelism take place.

The important thing about a House Church is not the quality of the worship leader or how gifted the group leader is, but the tangible love of Christ between the members. People are drawn to Christ when they experience His love practically. Christianity is primarily relational. Jesus when he called his followers asking them to follow Him in relationship. Doctrine is essential but it must be realized in the context of people living out their lives in a way that looks Christ-like.

Yes, we look evil.  No, we are not! :)

 When we moved out of my Mom's house into our current home (remember, we are renting?), we found that not only did our back-door neighbors homeschool, their oldest child was in JMonster's class in our Classical Conversations group!  

And...they held a house church in their home!

Now we had been attending a great church here in town, with a pastor we loved and whose preaching was spot on, but we hungered for more.  We weren't connected in ways we wanted to be, and they started a capital campaign soon after we moved.  

I am NOT saying capital campaigns are bad, however our last 2 churches did HUGE capital campaigns toward the end of us being there and we were over them.  In our minds and hearts, that money could be used to directly help people who are in need!  Building more bricks and sticks, when there are SOOO many churches already here, just didn't make sense to us.

We visited the house church in November of 2011.  

WOW!  

We couldn't believe people actually churched like this!  

Where had this been all of our marriage?

Now that we have been attending for over a year, our thoughts are just the same.  

Church is good.  

Our church is good.  

House church isn't for everyone.  

It isn't better or worse than other churches, just different.

And we wouldn't change where we attend, right now, for anything.

At some point in the near future I will share about our community and just how it "works"!

Have you ever attended a house church?

Do you love the church you are in?

Are you being fed and getting to feed others?

 PLEASE SHARE!!!   

   

Mentally swimming through infertility

On a side note, I am utterly surprised this blog is still here!  

I would not have been shocked if it had been removed for inactivity.

Sorry!

Don't we need another one like this running around?

Sooo...

Lately my heart has been revisiting where we are with growing our family.  Which at this point is nowhere.

I did finally sit down with The Rev and let him know how hard this is for me.  How I feel like it is US holding the process back, not God.

And JMonster talks about having a baby sister or brother ALL. THE. TIME.

I checked into the whole foster to adopt process, which seems like the best thing for us, and am excited!

The Rev isn't quite there, yet.

I even found a sibling group of 3 adorable kids needing homes.

A 6 year old boy, a 5 year old girl, and a 4 year old girl.

In my heart they could be ours!

We need a home study.

We obviously had one when we lived in Atlanta, but it is way past expired.

(Anyone know how to get a FREE home study?  Message me!)

We have to go to some meetings and get training.

And all of this while I would still LOVE to have another of our own biological kiddos, and not doubting God, but also wondering if it will ever happen.

I am 40, remember?

PLEASE, PLEASE pray for us!