OUR MISSION: We help people cultivate communities around the presence of Jesus.

OUR VISION: We are contending for renewal in the Western church.

Our heart: This vision has developed because of a collaboration of members of a house church community in Little Rock, Arkansas and Northern Ireland, and a collection of “common” house church participants around the world. We are not an organizational network, but a growing relational network of like-minded friends, who share inspiring ideas and resources so we can together cultivate communities the way that Jesus did.

We greatly desire that Jesus will recapture the heart of the Church in our day. We are inviting his presence to invade small spaces outside the church walls in big ways. We also have a heart to be connected to the established church, and participate in strengthening her. We do not view any form in itself as “better” or more sacred, but believe the small spaces could be a new wineskin that can hold what the Spirit wants to pour out in our day.

We are practicing spiritual community by gathering in a living room or free location, knowing big moves of God have often started with common people in unsuspecting places. Jesus himself chose ordinary men and women to carry out his mission. We are praying common spaces everywhere can transform into dwelling places for his presence. Stripping back to a more primitive way of gathering can help us remember the simplicity of our faith and get back to the core of knowing Jesus.

While today the small is often overlooked, Jesus continues to tell us that the potent, mustard-seed-like kingdom investment is often a place of great return.

Our aim is to help Kingdom-minded but ordinary people launch small expressions that make space for the presence of Jesus – in living rooms, churches, schools, offices, neighborhoods, or other places. This form is not new, but the oldest form of Jesus’s church that exists. It is also the most common form of church in the world, especially in the corners of the world where Christianity is growing most quickly. We are sensitive to those on the fringes in society or the church– those who are not plugged into Christian community. We can invite them to come into a sort of  “side door” of the church when they might not be comfortable entering the front door. 

We are responding to a hunger for a form that feels simple and involves everyone– an expression reminiscent of the early church. We are more primitive than groundbreaking. We aren’t trying to build a brand or have control- in fact, please contextualize or make changes to anything offered here. Our encouragement is that even in this freedom we would all prayerfully stay within the bounds of Scripture and in the safety of community and wise mentors.

We are expectant because we believe that in the upside-down way of the Kingdom, big things often happen in small spaces– with common people.  We are praying that as you invite his presence into your homes and other spaces- that you would be filled with great faith and courage for the journey ahead. Read about the three shifts we are making as we gather communities around the presence of Jesus.

  • There are many lonely people, outside the church but also within. We don’t think we can change the whole world at once, but we can follow Jesus’s method of investing deeply in a small group of people. We believe that tight-knit and authentic spiritual family is an important remedy to the individualism and loneliness of today. We invite isolated people into our living rooms and our lives. We engage with the lost and the poor in our communities, desiring to extend the spiritual family. We gather adults and children together, involving everyone in conversations and discipleship. We multiply into additional, small expressions as we grow, retaining relational connection. We promote unity with the broader church family.

  • In a world with access to all kinds of teaching and information, we recognize we can learn it all and still not know God. We are devoted to learning the Scriptures, but we intentionally invite the Spirit to bring life and power to the Word so that our lives might be transformed. We are not content with gaining second hand knowledge; instead, we want to experience God’s presence first hand, through the Word and Spirit, so that our lives actually look more like Jesus’s life. We commit to living out the primary issues of Scripture according to the way of Jesus rather than arguing over secondary issues of our faith.

  • In a church culture that tends to lean on a few professionals to lead, we want to activate the ordinary person. We help identify gifts in people, knowing we experience the presence of God more tangibly when the gifts are on display. We follow Jesus’s strategy of involving his disciples in conversation-based and practiced-based learning. We keep our forms and practices simple so that anyone can replicate them. We create spaces that encourage active participation - through dialogue and serving one another - because we value all in the body of Christ.

“The meetings were held in private houses, or in any rooms that could be obtained, or in the open air, no special buildings were required. This drawing of all the members into the service, this mobility and unorganized unity, permitting variety which only emphasized the bond of a common life in Christ and the indwelling of the same Holy Spirit, fitted the churches to survive persecution and to carry out their commission of bringing to the whole world the message of salvation.

…Although each church was independent of any organization or association of churches, yet intimate connection with other churches was maintained, a connection continually refreshed by frequent visits of brethren ministering the Word.” (Acts 15:36)

A description of the early Church from The Pilgrim Church, EH Broadbent

  • We hold to the historic teachings of Christian orthodoxy as stated in the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the more recent statements in the Lausanne Covenant. In a world and church that tend to be divided, our heart is to find common ground, as much as possible, with other Christian brothers and sisters. We aim to stay centered on the primary things stated in these creeds.

    We recognize that the Lord is using many denominations and ministries to bring beauty and variety to his bride, the Church.