Home Fellowship

In the two weeks or so since we launched our little 'home church fellowship,' we have had 13 additional people, including their kids, asking about attending. That is without recruiting anyone, just in casual conversation.

Over summer, our new California friends joined us for lunch/dinner after church most Sundays and we ended up hanging around here, swimming or going skating, just kicking back together till suppertime. At around five o'clock we rustled up whatever was left over from dinner.

This got to be a habit. One evening, before parting, we joined hands by the back door and prayed, reluctantly saying good-bye until the next Sunday. Then we stopped again and prayed that God would lead us regarding formalizing some kind of Sunday evening fellowship for anyone else wanting even more community than at their regular Sunday morning church service. This would not replace church services, but simply be another facet of 'church,' which in reality is hard to "go to" anyway, when you already ARE the Church.

Two weeks ago we had our first 'home fellowship', just our two families. Then last Sunday a family of five and a single lady joined us. Two days ago a woman at Curves asked if she and her husband could come, and yesterday another lady and man who Sherry knows with five boys asked if there was a home fellowship they could be a part of. So...

We have an idea of what God is doing here because we were in a home church up north. However, one never quite knows with God. He is not a tame Lion, and we dare not plan too hard. Once someone told me all you need to do to have a home group is get some people together and invite the Holy Spirit.

True, and what worked up north was for us to regularly read I Corinthians 14:26 which describes how a church gathering can look. "When you come together every one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying." In other words everyone bring something God has shown them this past week which they'd like to share. We have also included food to that list. So based on that plan, Sherry and I brought supper, and we all brought a Bible verse with our age in the reference.

It worked well for the kids as well as us adults. We started with prayer and then our self-taught guitarist accompanied us with a few familiar worship songs. That was great. This past Sunday Sherry brought a lovely worship CD and Bob did a relaxed teaching on I Corinthians 1, which he will continue chapter by chapter. Eventually others may want to take turns leading the teaching part.

This week Peter is practising his drum, a painted coffee, which James put a string through. The two of them are happily being little boys, marching around the property like drummer boys in the War for Independence. As I write Peter is accompanying a Michael W. Smith worship CD. Maybe he will 'perform' for us at 'church.' Who knows? It is always supposed to be a fun surprise.