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House Fellowship |
1.0 BACKGROUND AND DEFINITION
WHAT IS A HOUSE FELLOWSHIP?
A House Fellowship is a basic unit of the congregation that would
usually meet in a member’s home.
1. HOME - the home of a church member during the week.
1.1 The PROMISE:
Jesus said, “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in
the midst of them” - Matt 18:20. Where better to gather together than in
a home?
1.2 The PAST:
The early church used homes for Christian gathering - Acts 2:46-47
e.g. The home of Justus Acts 18:7
The home of Priscilla and Aquila Rom 16:5
1.3 The PRESENT
¨ China - church growth through homes during persecution.
¨ Korea - the cell group system of Pastor Yonggi Cho’s church.
¨ Nigeria - The House Fellowship system of The Redeemed Christian Church
of God.
¨ 2.0 NAME: ‘House Fellowship’ can be used. CARE Fellowship can also be
adopted, as the word care is ‘user friendly’ for the new push of
evangelism of the church. The acronym CARE means:
CARE - Contact And Relate Everyone
RECOMMENDATION FOR A NAME:
CARE FELLOWSHIP IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL OF THE PASTOR AND OR
THIS MEETING.
3.0 THE VISION OF THE HOUSE FELLOWSHIP
CARE should be basically the Weekly House fellowship system of the
Redeemed Christian Church of God. Members would meet in small groups in
designated members’ houses weekly.
The original vision shared by Pastor at the institution of House
Fellowship was for it to be a platform for identifying leadership
potentials, initially among selected ministers; and later among other
workers of the church. There was to be a two-fold purpose attached to
it, namely to identify leadership materials for the work of the church
in the nations and for church planting in all countries where we have
churches.
A House fellowship system like CARE will be an appropriate platform for
direct evangelism focus of the church and for reaching out to people in
our neighbourhood, workplaces (professional and business colleagues) and
our other ‘catchment areas’ who may not otherwise attend church.
It should also serve as a major tool for achieving internal growth
(discipleship) in members of the congregation. and to serve as the
platform to sort out ‘the pastoral care’ of the congregation that may
not be effectively handled at the church office.
In practical terms, the idea is to ensure that as many members of the
congregation as possible belong to a smaller group (for internal growth
and the monitoring of such growth) in addition to being ‘members’ of the
Sunday and Digging Deep ‘fellowships’.
The vision of the House Fellowship System can thus be summarized as
being the platform for:
¨ EVANGELISM DRIVE
¨ LEADERSHIP TRAINING
¨ DISCIPLESHIP AND
¨ FELLOWSHIP
4. THE SUGGESTED STRUCTURE FOR CARE FELLOWSHIP
In line with the vision explained in Section 3, it is recommended that
the structure of each house fellowship center should be flexible.
Leaders can also make use of resources available from the Directorate of
Christian Education of the RCCG. For this purpose two recent manuals of
this directorate will be useful. They are:
The structure and thoughts outlined below are for guidance
4.0 HOMES - Advisable to provide a warm, friendly casual atmosphere,
which would enhance growth and edification.
4.1 MEMBERSHIP
4.1.1 Open to both Christian and interested non-Christian friends and
neighbours.
4.1.2 New members should be able to join at any time.
4.2 COMPOSITION
4.2.1 Usually from a particular geographic area of residence.
4.2.2 Sometimes involves areas of business or workplace.
4.2.3 Can even be arranged on professional basis
2.3 SIZE
2.3.1 The minimum size is between 8 and up
2.3.2 The group grows by drawing in new members / evangelism.
2.3.3 After 10 and before 20 the fellowship could divide subject to
pastoral counsel in line with the vision, earlier outlined.
2.3.4 The Fellowship should always be open to people, irrespective of
geographic location, age, sex or profession.
5.0 THE OPERATIONAL BASIS FOR CARE FELLOWSHIPS
As stated in Section 4 above, discretionary management and flexibility
at the instance of the Leadership, is encouraged. However, the following
should be noted:
5.1 EVERY ASPECT OF OPERATION TO BE SCRIPTURAL
The home was very important in the life of the church.
5.1.1 Jesus Mark 2:1,2; 9:33-37
5.1.2 The Early Church Acts 2:46; 12:12
5.1.3 Paul Acts 20:20
5.2 OPERATIONS TO BE MADE EFFECTIVE FOR EVANGELISM
5.2.1 For Evangelism - Cornelius Acts 10:22, 24 - Paul Acts 28:30,31 The
growth of the church should draw largely from such home meetings.
5.2.2 For Edification - they help believers grow to maturity in Christ -
Acts 2:42.
Both functions (5.2.1 and 5. 2.2) are linked inseparably - Acts 2:44-47
5.3 THE FOLLOWING ESSENTIAL OBJECTIVES TO BE RECOGNIZED:
5.3.1 For personal growth and equipping for ministry
a) Members can work together in evangelism, ministry and prayer.
b) Leadership training is part of the process to allow for
multiplication of groups and purposes outlined in the vision.
c) The congregation is organized into smaller units for closer
fellowship.
5.3.2 For church growth
a) Evangelism: a strategic base for evangelism in any specific area -
Matthew 5:14-16
b) Pastoral care: shared effectively among a larger number of leaders -
Exodus 18:13-26; Acts 6:1-7
c) Teaching: by the Pastor through the Leaders.
6.0 THE TRAINING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:
6.1 TRAINING
HOUSE FELLOWSHIP EVANGELISM GUIDELINES and Appendix B – HOUSE FELLOWSHIP
CARING AND SHARING GUIDELINES)
6.2 REPORTING
Reporting requirements will be on a monthly and quarterly basis.
Pre-designed forms should be made available for Leaders or their
designated members to fill in. You can use other methods of reporting as
well including the use of appropriate software and computers.
7.0 RESOURCE REQUIREMENT
7.1 PASTORAL SUPPORT BY PROMOTING HOUSE FELLOWSHIP MEMBERSHIP FROM THE
PULPIT.
7.2 MOTIVATING MEMBERSHIP THROUGH ‘ROUTING’ CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS OF
MEMBERS VIA ENDORSEMENT OF FELLOWSHIP LEADERS – e.g WATER BAPTISM,
HOUSE/BABY DEDICATION, and PASTORAL CARE.
7.3 PROVISION OF SECRETARIAL SUPPORT AT THE CHURCH OFFICE.
7.4 PRINTING OF HOUSE FELLOWSHIP DIRECTORIES THAT WOULD BE DISTRIBUTED
TO NEW GUESTS AND NEW CONVERTS.
7.5 PUSHING THE CONCEPT USING THE CHURCH BULLETIN.
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