Church You Can Do With Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE GATHER?

BASIC CHURCH GUIDE

Fellowship: Take care to connect personally with one another.

Begin with just chatting over some simple food and drinks.

For where two or three come together in my name,

there I am with them (Matthew 18:20).

Praise: If the setting allows it, have 10-20 minutes of singing praises.
Sing along with a worship CD if there is no accompaniment. If you
cannot sing praise God by reading psalms or hymns, sharing prayers
and testimonies that lift up the Lord.

Church isnt a building, organization or meeting. The Bible

teaches that church is a relationship between people who are
following Christ together. They are the family of God, friends who
walk together as disciples of Christ, spreading the gospel, praying,
serving, and building up one another.
Our life of faith together in a Basic Church is not limited to a
weekly meeting, but gathering about once a week is important to
accomplishing our purpose. We keep this gathering simple in order to
allow easy multiplication of new Basic Churches as new people come
into the group and are saved.

WHO? WHEN? WHERE?

Its usually best to start with only 2 or 3 believers. Or an
individual Christian can begin an outreach Bible study with 1 or 2
seekers, and a Basic Church is born as they decide to follow Christ.
We should seek to birth a new daughter Basic Church when a group
grows larger than 6 to 8 participants. Ministry by an official
clergyman like a pastor or missionary is not needed in a usual
gathering. In fact the involvement of a religious professional can
actually interfere with a groups growth and multiplication.
Every person who trusts in Jesus Christ and follows Him is a
temple of Gods Holy Spirit, and a priest in the service of God and
others. So a Basic Church can meet anywhere. If we examine the
book of Acts we find the early churches gathering daily in smallgroups in the temple (the town square of the day) and in one
anothers homes. In modern society a Basic Church might meet in a
home, a dormitory, a student center, an office conference room, a
rental classroom or a karaoke room.

Scripture: Generally we do not passively listen to someone preach or

teach in a Basic Church meeting. Instead we receive the Word of God
through involving the group in interactive study. Even if there is a
prepared message or teaching or video presentation, limit it to 15 to
25 minutes in order to allow time for discussion. Or you can just read
a Bible passage and discuss its meaning and application to life. The
following questions might be helpful.
(1) What in todays passage particularly speaks to you?
(2) What do you find hard to understand in the passage?
(3) What can we learn here about people, their nature and ways?
(4) What can we learn about God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)?
(5) What does it teach you about how you should live?
Prayer: Simply put, prayer is talking to God. In a Basic Church
meeting we pray for one anothers needs, and for not-yet-believing
family and friends who need Jesus.
The Lords Supper & Baptism: Following the example and teaching
of Jesus, Basic Churches observe these two ordinances. The Lords
Supper can be done weekly, or at least monthly. Those who are led to
a salvation decision through our prayers and witness should be
baptized in obedience to the authoritative command of Jesus
(Matthew 28:18-20).
Please feel free to contact us if you want to learn more
or receive coaching about Basic Churches.
ImpactJapan mail@impactjapan.org www.hereshope.com/impact