If you want to cultivate a community that is less around a stage and more around a table…less around a sermon and more around a dialogue in the Scriptures, the best place to start is in fasting and prayer. Ask the Spirit to highlight faces or names or places where he wants you to invest. Then invite them to share a simple meal together (think potluck, paper plates) and use The Gathering Guide as a basis for your times together. Choose a passage of Scripture to focus on, anywhere from a few verses to a chapter.

When you gather, circle up and consider putting an empty chair in a central space to symbolize the presence of Jesus being among you. Simply lead through the five steps of The Gathering Guide and quickly establish a culture of participation and alternating of leadership.

The steps of this guide are inspired by the Bible study method (DBS) used in the church in the global south, where Christianity is growing the fastest. These steps are so easy that someone else can easily lead through them the next time you are together, and before long you won’t need to even look at this guide. After a season, you can pray about how your community needs to grow next, and you can add tools from the Pathway Toolbox - one new tool a quarter tends to be a great rhythm.

Even if you are planning on becoming a house church, starting by cultivating a simple but transformative community using The Gathering Guide is often a great place to start, until you’re sure you’re ready to move to Step Two.