We had breakfast with Jon Dale and his friend David, talking about the National House Church Conference and starting a discussion about financing house church planters. Mike and I continued the discussion later, both wanting to conclude that we should not – after all, isn’t one of the advantages of house churches that they do not need full-time workers or financing? Our discussion led us to another conclusion, though; looking at our experience with the movement so far, we had to admit that the people who had been most effective and had the most influence were those who could devote the most time to it. So there is an argument for full-time house church workers. We then have to ask what these people do, how many of them we need, and where the money should come from.
Well, what do these people do? Currently, the people working most effectively full-time on house churches seem to be those who bring the right people together and encourage and support them: regional coordinators for house church planters and networks, who help people on their journey to simple church. How many of them do we need? At the moment, probably about as many as we can get! And where does the money come from? Ideally, of course, from the house churches and networks they are helping, but realistically, they need some startup assistance from people who will send them. If you are interested in helping with that, drop me a line and I will put you in contact with the right people.