Just Another Simple Church In A House 

 Jasciah Fellowship

You can contact us 

by email on   jasciah.fellowship@googlemail.com 

or by snailmail at  "Jasciah", 5 Councillors Walk, Elgin, Moray, IV30 6JL

 How did we get here ?

This is a long story best told face to face over a meal as we compare notes and testimonies, share food and encouragement, bless and love each other whilst recognising that if it were not for Jesus we wouldn't be the people we are today and tomorrow.

Until we can fit each other into our respective social calendars, read some thoughts below and prayerfully decide if Jasciah seems good to you.

Jasciah was born out of a desire to 'be' as we felt the Lord intended, free of any constraint other than that of the love of Christ { 2.Cor 5:14 } as well as free of the pressure to conform or be conformed to anything but Him { Rom 8:29 } which would allow us to love much { Matt 22. 36:40 } as often as possible - since this seems to be the most important thing above all else.

Jasciah is an attempt to be 'simple church' but without any strident de-constructionist language directed at the Institutional or Legacy church[es]. We believe that the fields are white unto the harvest and that there is more than enough labour to keep us all occupied. We covet no other man's fields, furrows or sheep believing that as we go along we will meet those who will be added {Acts 2:47 } and that He will send along to us those to whom we will be reconciled {Isa 11:12  ;  Luk 15: 11-32 } with no hint of the elder brother about us.

Jasciah is about exploring the freedom of the Kingdom { Joh 8:36  ; Rom 7:6  ; Gal 5:1  ; 1 Cor 8:9  ; 1 Cor 10:1 -33 ; 2 Cor 6:1-3  } and seeking to live it in all it's richness, intensity, passion and power under the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit.

Jasciah seeks to hold onto the good things and let the bad fall by the wayside in order that the glory of the Lord is not only heard and understood but also seen and felt. That we may walk by faith and not by sight in some seasons but also we would also know experientially ( ginosko ) { Eph 3:19 } the love of Jesus and His fulness.

Because of the steps of our journey, we have accumulated souvenirs and reminders of the places we have visited and the people with whom we've supped. These souvenirs are the thoughts and words that have encouraged, exhorted and edified us. They've also inspired us and guided us. 

So with no apology for my plagiarism but with every acknowledgment of my sources, I am reproducing the statement of beliefs of one stream of the Third Day Church movement as written by Gary Goodell. 

If it irritates you, perhaps you might prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to show you why.

We are a small but autonomous part of the Third Day Churches movement 

[ http://www.thirddaychurches.com/ ] 

and enjoy both conformity with them and submission to them out of reverence for Christ.

Jasciah - A Statement of Faith 

Jasciah is basically a part of the evangelical theological stream of Protestant Christianity. We adhere to the Nicene Creed, and to the core values of the Protestant Reformation, namely the ultimate and essential authority of the Scriptures for Christian faith and practice, justification by faith, and the priesthood of all believers.

1) We believe that the God of the Bible is wild and free, safe but not tame, unfathomable, uncontainable, and unpredictable, and yet able to be known intimately.

2) We believe that conversion is the consummate God-encounter, and that divine encounters and Holy Spirit sightings are an ongoing part of a person's spiritual journey.

3) We believe in the full vesting and gifting of God's people by the Holy Spirit, and that all the gifts of the Spirit are for today and are to be eagerly desired and used by faith.

4) We believe in the priesthood of all believers, and that every believer is called to do the work of the ministry as part of the body of Christ.

5) We believe "that permission has been granted to do church differently in the 21st Century," and commit to helping believers to "be the church" wherever they go.

6) We believe that radical worship is a lifestyle, and is to be extravagant in its many expressions.

7) We believe that love, servanthood and generosity define all aspects of church life.

8) We believe the central theme of the New Testament, both taught and demonstrated by Jesus, is the message of the Kingdom of God.

9) We believe that the Regional Church is in fact a series or network of smaller Simple Churches that can gather within the given locale for worship and equipping.

1) The simpler the structure, the better.

2) When we gather, it should be enjoyable as much as it is important. We should be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit when 'fun' is inappropriate.

3) Our worship gatherings are for God, not for us, or the people we are trying to attract.

4) We endeavor to model a fail-safe environment that gives room for people to make mistakes as they grow in the things of the Spirit. And that the flow of the Spirit often is as messy and unpredictable as it is powerful.

5) We embrace children and youth as part of the believing community, and include them in our gatherings as fellow worshippers and ministers.

6) We believe that the Local Church does not "do" small groups, but that the Local Church "is" a small group where everyone participates.

7) We are called to discern the times and seasons, and catch how to minister "in the moment."

8) We understand the "changing of the guard" in this current move of the Holy Spirit, and that true apostolic fathers and mothers are noted by their cry that their sons and daughters will overtake them.

9) We recognize that the more we pursue God as a prophetic people; the less our lives will be explainable.

 

A More Definitive Biblical Statement

 

Section 1. We believe that only the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, and therefore inerrant, Word of God. The Bible is the final authority for all we believe and how we are to live. [Matthew 5:18; John 10:35 and 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21]

Section 2. We believe that the one true God exists eternally in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power and glory. We believe that God not only created the world but also now upholds, sustains, governs and providentially directs all that exists and that He will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of His name. [Psalm 104; Psalm 139; Matthew 10:29-31 and 28:19; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:9-12 and 4:4-6; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6]

Section 3. We believe that Satan, originally the great and good angel Lucifer, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of God's presence and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness, evil and unrest on Earth. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ and will, at the end of the age, be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels. [Isaiah 14:10-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Matthew 12:25-29 and 25:41; John 12:31 and 16:11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Colossians 2:15; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9 and 20:10]

Section 4. We believe that Adam was originally created in the image of God, righteous and without sin. In consequence of his disobedience, Adam's posterity are born subject to both imputed and inherent sin, and are therefore by nature and choice the children of wrath, justly condemned in the sight of God, wholly unable to save themselves or to contribute in any way to their acceptance with God. [Genesis 1-3; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:9-18 and 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-3]

Section 5. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, that He was conceived and born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered Himself as a penal, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. By the blood of His cross, He obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints forever. [Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-18; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-23; Hebrews 7:25 and 9:13-15 and 10:19; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 1 John 2:1-2]

Section 6. We believe that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No ordinance, ritual, work or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God's sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. [John 1:12-13 and 6:37-44 and 10:25-30; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 3-4 and 8:1-17, 31-39 and 10:8-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7, 9]

Section 7. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit, in whom we are also sealed for the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells, and graciously equips the Christian for godly living and service. The Spirit desires to fill, empower and anoint believers for ministry and witness. We also believe that signs and wonders, as well as all the gifts of the Spirit described in the New Testament, are operative today and are designed to testify to the presence of the Kingdom and to empower and edify the Church to fulfill its calling and mission. [Matthew 3:11; John 1:12-13 and 3:1-15; Acts 4:29-30; Romans 8:9 and 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14 and 5:18]

Section 8. We believe that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinances of the Church to be observed until the time of Christ's return. They are not a means of salvation, but are channels of God's sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. [Matthew 26:26-29 and 28:19; Romans 6:3-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; 1 Peter 3:21]

Section 9. We believe that the kingdom of God is the central theme of the New Testament, and as such the church or body of Christ is one of God's primary instruments through which He is fulfilling His redemptive purposes in the earth. God has given the body of Christ apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors who teach and equip the body of Christ for ministry. We affirm the priesthood of all believers and the importance of every Christian being joined with and actively involved in a local community of the saints. We believe that women and children, no less than men, are called and gifted to proclaim the Gospel and do all the works of the Kingdom. [Matthew 16:17-19; Acts 2:17-18, 42; Ephesians 3:14-21 and 4:11-16; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5 and 9-10]

Section 10. We believe that God has called the church to preach the Gospel to all nations, tribes and peoples and especially to remember the poor and to minister to their needs through sacrificial giving and practical service. This ministry is an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ and is an essential part of the Kingdom of God. [Isaiah 58:6-12 and 61:1; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 4:18 and 21:1-4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:8]

Section 11. We believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ at the end of the age when He will return to earth personally and visibly to consummate His Kingdom. We also believe in and are praying for a great end-time harvest of souls and the emergence of a victorious Church that will experience an unprecedented unity, purity and power in the Holy Spirit. [Psalms 2:7-9 and 22:27-28; John 14:12 and 17:20-26; Romans 11:25-32; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 50-58; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12; Revelation 7:9-14]

Section 12. We believe that when the Christian dies they pass immediately into the blessed presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. The saved will then forever dwell in blissful fellowship with their great triune God. We also believe that when the unbeliever dies they are consigned to Hell, there to await the Day of Judgment when they shall be punished with eternal, conscious and tormented separation from the presence of God in the lake of fire. [Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John 5:25-29; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:19-26 and 3:20-21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 20:11-15 and 21:1-22:15]

How do we do church and when do we do it?

Again, the bulk of this material has been snatched from Third Day Churches Inc ( note the plural - it's important ) and the work of Gary Goodell - to whom I owe a debt of love and gratitude for teaching me so much so quickly about being permissional to myself and to those around me. However,if you choose to explore any links titled "Third Day Church" generically, you need to understand that these sites contains much material to which I cannot subscribe especially the extrapolation of the phrase "....the third day ..." into many doctrinal stances and meanings.  I DO find the model of simple/house/church in a home described by Gary to be biblical, exciting, challenging, comforting and stimulating. I commend it to you as a fresh use for your own dining table and meal times.

Here's the relevant excerpt :-

HOW! 

" The number of Christians still attending traditional, legacy-type weekend churches as their only expression of faith is rapidly declining. Followers of Jesus in the US who do not attend a local traditional church will grow from 30% to approximately 70% in the next twenty years.

Alternative, organic fellowship forms (house churches/simple churches/restaurant churches/park churches/apartment churches/office churches/pub churches) currently home to 5% of US Christians will grow to make up 30% - 35%; another 30% - 35% will live out their faith in the fields of media, arts and culture; with the remaining Christians attending non-traditional forms of church living out a family-based spiritual life. The participants in this revolution are not anti-Church! In fact, their desire to return to New Testament Christianity makes these experimenters and journeyers some of the more pro-Church people around.


The Problem of Wineskins

As early as the mid-1970s, this whole idea of doing church differently had begun. With books like The Problem of Wineskins by Howard Snyder, many were becoming more and more adamant that the classic small group of a dozen believers meeting in homes around a meal was the backbone of New Testament church life, and that this modality needed to be restored to church life today.

It was also during that some were calling, the Jethro II Principle, was introduced. It refers to the counsel given by Jethro to Moses, his son-in-law, in order to help facilitate the gathering of Israel in different-sized groupings for maximum administration and care.

In Exodus 18:21, Jethro gives counsel to Moses to administrate the people of God in groups of tens, groups of fifties, groups of hundreds, and groups of thousands. It is also interesting that Jesus Himself used some of these ranks in Mark 6:40, when feeding the five thousand.

Over the years, having experimented more and more with these different-sized groups some rather startling conclusions were discovered. Mainly, that each group carries a different dynamic, and unique outcome.

In drawing any conclusions regarding Church: Simple and Regional it is helpful to examine the ethos of each of these groups, as they vary in Form, Focus, and Frequency.

Groups of Tens

The word eser is the Hebrew word for the number ten and represents the smallest division into which Moses put the people of God for the purposes of wise administration. This is the group where everyone talks.

These smaller groups are home-based, intergenerational meetings, where we share our lives on a regular basis, make our needs known to each other, and bear each other’s burdens. This dynamic is experienced through a weekly meeting in our homes around the joy of a shared common meal and the restored richness of the Lord’s Supper, (Acts 2:46).

These groups are not cell groups, or even just Home Groups. They are real churches, complete and autonomous. They have leaders; they receive offerings for missions, the poor, and needy. They evangelize the lost, baptize the converts, dedicate the babies, marry the wed, bury the dead, and obviously celebrate the sacrament of communion. These smaller groups are not just extensions of the “mother ship” local community church that has a central campus around which all life swirls. They are the church.

Some Even Call This Simple Church

By “simple church,” we mean a way of doing and being church that is so simple that any believer would respond by saying, "I could do that!"

By “simple church,” we mean the kind of church that is described in the New Testament. Not constrained by structure but by the needs of the extended family, and a desire to extend the Kingdom of God.

By “simple church,” we mean a church that listens to God, follows His leading and obeys His commands.

By “simple church,” we mean spiritual parents raising spiritual sons and daughters to establish their own families.

And by ‘simple church,’ we do not mean a lower quality of church life. Just the opposite! No structure or format can guarantee quality. Smaller, participatory, family-like environments are ideally suited for today’s culture and will assist greatly is helping people to become passionate disciples of Jesus Christ.

All of this requires a new kind of training for a new kind of church. Years of sitting in traditional church has not prepared us to do church in the manner described in the New Testament.

We have been taught to come, to sit, to watch, and to listen to what others have prepared. (Someone described it as “sit, soak and sour.”) This is Spectator Church. And is no way to train believers to be priests.

By contrast, the church described in the Bible invites us to engage in a kind of Participatory Church, where everybody talks, laughs, eats, worships, in an atmosphere where all learn, all minister, and all grow.

Apart from the intimacy of lovers, there are few human actions that bind people to one-another more closely than what the Romans called, a convivium, their word for a banquet that literally means “living together.” Defenses are dropped, and believers feel grateful to be with friends around the meal. We argue and discuss and quarrel and tease and laugh. In Simple Church children watch their parents and learn about living. From the marriage feast of Cana, to the Last Supper, to His post-resurrection breakfast on the shore of the lake, Jesus loved to eat and drink with His friends. He used the imagery of the banquet for the Eucharist in which He leaves us His abiding presence. Jesus, Himself, was even known as someone who came, “eating and drinking” (Matthew 11:19).

“You must sit down, says love, and taste my meat. So I did sit and eat.”

“Shared meals construct and sustain human relationships. Inviting someone to share a meal powerfully symbolizes solidarity. Indeed, the word companionship comes from the Latin cum + panis, meaning, "breading together." Meals are social realites of great importance. Because meals express the very texture of human associations, they often exhibit social boundaries that divide human communities. We make decisions about not only what we will eat but with whom we will eat. Patterns of table-sharing reveal a great deal about the way of life, and the norms and commitments of a particular community. The kind of meal is summarized in two words: Eating and Blessing. Both activities are designed to "spur one another to love and good deeds.” Both of these prophetic acts are designed to strengthen, edify, and encourage the church.

Eating the Lord's Supper: "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad (exuberant joy) and sincere (uncluttered simplicity) hearts," (Acts 2:46). Church takes place around the dinner table. The meal is the time to talk about what God is doing in our lives. It's the time to remember Jesus (I Corinthians 11:24). Some Eating/Blessing principles might include:

• Tell how God blessed you in the last week.
• Tell what you are learning from God's word.
• Tell how God used a brother or sister to encourage you.
• Tell about God sightings.
• Tell Holy Ghost stories.
• "Forget none of His benefits" (Psalm 103:1 – 2).

As you bless God, then you continue speak blessings to one another over, through, and in the meal. Blessing others about their God-given identity (who they are) and about their destiny (what God created them to do). Toasting one another by sharing how Jesus is seen in them. Endeavor to strengthen one another through the meal.

Consider blessing one another in the following ways:

• Friends to friends.
• Husbands to wives.
• Wives to husbands.
• Parents to children.
• Every believer to every other believer.
• Use passages of Scripture (Colossians 3:16).
• Use all types of prayer.
• Use song(Ephesians 5:19).
• Use prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:3).
• Use the laying on of hands.
• Do all at the direction of the Spirit.

Ultimately, The goal of New Testament Church gathering is the building up of one another. That is the main reason we gather. Not worship, not evangelism and not teaching. The main reason the church gathers is for the mutual edification of one another.

To really spur/motivate one another to love and good deeds requires forethought and sincere preparation katanoeo, which means “thinking deeply about each other.” One must learn to listen to God on their behalf in order to bless, edify, and encourage them. This is the stated New Testament purpose of church!

Again,only two activities are necessary: Eating and Blessing.Other things may flow out of these acts of Eating and Blessing, but this is the starting place.

The worship of an early Christian house church was centered on the dinner table. They didn’t all sit facing forward like in the typical church building we think of today. Rather, they were at someone's table, and the center of their activity was the fellowship/communal meal.

In this size group of the Law of Anyone/Everyone comes into play. The Anyone/Everyone Law works like this. Whenever everyone in the group can no longer do what anyone in the group can do the dynamic changes. So, if you bring a component into a small group that cannot allow full participation by everyone in that small group, you are no longer honoring the dynamic of small groups and are trying to make it something else.

Here we have to learn to discipline ourselves and resist the importation of those larger-group components to the small group. This smaller-type gathering around a meal is not the only meeting we will have as believers. There will be much time and much energy for all kinds of other types of meetings, but in this one we honor the potential of everyone potentially sharing, and everyone potentially participating. This is done as we learn to honor the DNA of this smaller group where we all can eat and we all can bless.

As people start blessing each other while they are eating; even the newer ones to the group will begin to catch the principle of blessing. And as they watch others do this and then learn to listen to the Lord for themselves about others, they quickly give their blessings to strengthen and encourage each other in the Lord.

Form

The Lord's Supper originated at the "last supper" (Luke 22:7-38), which itself was a Passover feast. Have you ever looked up the word "feast" in the dictionary? A feast is an elaborate meal, a banquet, associated with abundant heaps of food. So it was with the Passover feast.

Luke wrote that at the last "supper" (22:20), Jesus took the cup and said that it was "the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you." The Greek word Luke used for "supper" is from the root noun deipnon. As you might expect, it means "dinner, supper, the main meal toward evening." It can also mean "formal dinner, banquet." This same word is used in Luke 14:15-24, where the NIV renders it a "great banquet" (14:16).

Notice that when Jesus passed the cup around after the supper (Luke 22:20), He had already taken the bread and said, "This is My body and will be given up for you" while the supper was in progress (See 22:19; Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22). The point to be observed is that the newly initiated Lord's Supper occurred in the midst of a full banquet, a full meal.

The Passover meal was transformed into something new: the Lord's meal. Would the Twelve have deduced from this that the Lord's Supper was somehow no longer to be a true meal?

Focus

Since the form of the Lord's Supper seems to be the full meal, perhaps a rethinking of the focus of the Supper is in order. Typically, people focus exclusively on the death of Christ during the snack-style memorial. Everyone is quiet and somber, with heads bowed. Often an organ is being softly played in the background. This is based in part on Jesus' command to "do this in remembrance of Me," (Luke 22:19). A funeral atmosphere would seem to be in order.

Dining with others is, in the Bible, symbolic of fellowship and acceptance. Thus Jesus said to the church in Laodicea that, "if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in a sup with him, and he with Me."

Frequency

How often should we come to the Lord's Table? I Corinthians 11:18 onward mentions, "When you come together as a church," and launches into directives concerning the Lord's Supper. This clearly indicates that every time the church gathered, it celebrated the Lord's Supper.

All of this stuff about eating, about the table, about the Lord’s Supper comes as a warning from a riveting comment I heard years ago, that any gathering of believers without celebrating the Lord’s Supper was a “torso service.”

Amazingly, the single purpose given for a church meeting occurs in Acts 20:7. It says, "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread." The phrase "to break bread" is, in Greek, a telic infinitive, denoting a goal or purpose. Why did the church come together on the first day of the week? In order to observe the Lord's Supper, (see also I Corinthians 11:33).

Thus, it seems the primary objective for the weekly gathering of the saints is to break bread. This allows God's people to enjoy fellowship, to mutually encourage and exhort each other, to share prayer requests, to tell what God is doing in their lives, to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, to be reminded of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, to remind Jesus of His promise to return, and to be made into one body through the one loaf. This truth bears repeating.

The primary activity seems to be that the church is to engage in a gathering where they consistently are experiencing the “finding of Christ” in the meal. All else is secondary to this and is therefore optional. This means that we do not assemble weekly to hold a worship service, nor to hear preaching, nor to have a praise meeting, nor for an evangelistic outreach, nor for any other reason. All of these other types of meetings can happen, but the core gathering of the church if around this concept of Christ in the meal.

Evangelism will happen around this kind of “open” table. In the Lord's Supper the followers of Jesus Christ are called to practice eating as He ate, to be a people of gratitude and generosity, of openness and acceptance, and this becomes extremely attractive to those of our friends we invite to these meals.

We are summoned to be a small community of amazingly diverse people who allow themselves to be formed by one Lord into one body around one common table. The lost will see this, the world will take notice and come. because when our table is less than the fullness of Christ's invitation, we eat and drink judgment, (I Corinthians 11:29).

Groups of Fifties

The Hebrew word missim is the number fifty, again taken directly from Exodus 18:21, and is the second administrative grouping of the people of God. This is the group where everyone worships.

It possibly represents one of the best ways, if understood geographically, to gather several smaller groups together in a given area for the effective expression of cooperation and participation. These groups are not meant to replace the whole body, but rather make possible a type of meeting in which all ages, including children, can participate.

Form

The central principle behind this meeting seems to be best defined as “a spirit of prophecy,” (Revelation 19:10). Even before the advent of the Holy Spirit, when prophecy rested on a choice few, Moses yearned and longed for the coming day of maturity when all God’s people would become ministers and speak on God’s behalf. “Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them,” (Numbers 11:29).

Focus

Here are some distinctions of the missim group;

• This gathering is based upon the full priesthood of all believers with mutual edification and mutual upbuilding for the purpose of personal strengthening, similar to the model that is found in I Corinthians 14:26.

• This gathering is centered on interactive and creative worship through prayers, songs, dance, mime, drama, art, exhortation, etc., (Ephesians 5:19).

• In this gathering, even the children might have a “song,” with these meetings not having to be led by a set worship team of musicians or singers.

When the word worship is mentioned, please keep in mind that it is not referring to just singing songs with lyrics and music.

Worship must become more than the music that fills our meetings, or only the musicians or composers or singers will be released. What about the artists, the poets, the mimes, the stand-up comics, the actors or even the chefs and the inventors?

• In this gathering, each one could have an appropriate word to share, and the reading of the Scripture and the sharing of truth could be both planned and/or spontaneous.

And in these gatherings all of these relational contexts can be fulfilled.

• Love one another (John 13:34, 35).
• Be devoted to one another (Romans 12:10).
• Honor one another above yourselves (Romans 12:10).
• Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16).
• Stop passing judgment on one another (Romans 14:13).
• Edify one another (Romans 14:19).
• Instruct (admonish) one another. (Romans 15:14)
• Accept one another (Romans 15:7).
• Have concern for one another (I Corinthians 12:25).
• Carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
• Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32).
• Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21).
• Agree with one another (Philippians 4:2).
• Teach one another (Colossians 3:16).
• Encourage one another (I Thessalonians 4:18).
• Build each other up (I Thessalonians 5:11).
• Live in peace with one another (I Thessalonians 5:13).
• Be kind to each other (I Thessalonians 5:15).
• Spur one another to good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).
• Confess sins to one another (James 5:16).
• Offer hospitality to one another (I Peter 4:9).
• Serve each other (I Peter 4:10).
• Show humility to one another (I Peter 5:5).
• Have fellowship with one another (I John 1:7).

Frequency

This expression can be done by gathering several smaller house churches into a larger setting, a bigger home, a large backyard, park, beach, and celebrating a child-like party with believers who already enjoy a weekly gathering in their homes literally as often as the time, energy and weather permits.

Groups of Hundreds

Mea, the word for a number of hundreds in Hebrew, once again shows the prudent administrative potential available as a group reaches this size. This is a gathering with a larger expression than that of tens or fifties. This is the group where everyone listens and learns.

This is where group dynamics have to shift. If everyone in a group cannot potentially do what a single member does, the group dynamic changes. The larger the group meeting then, regardless of the actual size, requires a different set of dynamics to make that meeting the most meaningful.

Form

In these larger meetings the emphasis is on the direction of church in the Region or the network of churches in the Region (Acts 13:15-41; I Timothy 4:13). In these larger gatherings, the gifting of the apostolic and prophetic leaders is essential. The regional apostolic team cast the vision for the benefit and the equipping of the whole region.

These larger meetings are not usually led by a single leader, but by regional teams, generally formed by the collabration of the local five-fold ministries in the region.

Apostolic/Prophetic leaders, as hinted in I Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 2:20, tend to be very successful in linking those Christians within a geographic region, a distinct locale, or a specific county.

Focus

Each meeting then, has its own optimum style and works to release a certain size-directed effect or dynamic. Experimenting with these or hybrids, or combinations, or mixtures of these meetings, really does catch the heart of God for doing church differently.

The Ten-sized group meeting best allows for the church to keep its foundation as relationship-centered. A Fifty-sized group meeting best allows for a gift-centered emphasis. And a Hundred-sized group meeting best allows for a vision-centered emphasis.

The small group is about home, about fellowship, and the dynamic of family. It feels like the family where everyone matters, and everyone is a part. Any time it feels bigger than that (that sense of family) it automatically shifts into more the gift-centered dynamic where the multiple imput of others must be facilitated as the size grows. Many times the shift is so automatic it moves on its own Q & A format, and can no longer linger in the home-style, face-to-face fellowship that a family enjoys around a meal.

Frequency

Actually, these meetings are more about how they each feel, and how that dynamic changes as numbers go up or down. You literally have to sense the way the group is going, and the shifts, rather than concentrate on a fixed ratio or size. You will also know through the regional network the timing and/or the need for the smaller, the larger, the medium-sized groupings. Even the frequency of these gatherings comes out of the needs of the growing Regional Church rather than just a preset schedule.

As gatherings continue to grow in size, they automatically require more of a strategic adjustment moving away from the individual-focus of the small group, shifting into the gift-focus of the medium-sized group, or to more of an apostolic/vision-focus as the team facilitates the larger-sized gathering.

Adapted from Permission Granted to Do Church Differently in the 21st Century by Graham Cooke and Gary Goodell. Special thanks to John White, www.housechurchchronicles.typepad.com and Tony and Felicity Dale, www.house2house.net for their information on Simple Church. "

Some interesting reading material

Permission Granted to Do Church Differently in the 21st Century
     by Graham Cooke (Author), Gary Goodell (Author)

"Houses that change the world" Wolfgang Simson

"An army of ordinary people" by Felicity Dale

"So you don't want to go to church anymore" by Jake Colsen

"Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola & George Barna  - in fact I'd recommend anything and everything by Frank, check out his blog here

"The Community Life of God" by Milt Rodriguez  in fact anything by Milt too - find his blog here

The last two recommendations have been added in early 2011. I started this page in 2008 and have not up-dated it for a couple of years. I've just read so many wonderful and inspiring books. Some of them I've listed on my own rather sparse blog's bibliography section which just might be updated sometime too.

Lastly -  watch this video .

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-7123183301346031857

Please remember that we love the church in all it's aspects and we are not de-constructionists.

We really believe that Jasciah can operate alongside and between the institutions in a 

complementary manner and all to the Glory of the Father.

When?

The whole point about simple church, Jasciah style, is that you meet as often as suits your group. Every group will be as different as the people who meet in it. The group will be a beautiful blend of what each of you brings to it and the frequency of your meeting will reflect your desire to be together as well as your love for the Lord Jesus and His church.

Liberty means Permission. The Lord of grace has given us much we can share with each other and the needy all around us. Let our liberty be the manifestation of His love through us and to us.

Currently there is one group, meeting in Elgin. Please email or text to the address/number below to either get details or to arrange a meeting or meal in your area.

Footnote 1

Even if you don't decide to join us but do decide to try out this model of meeting, please write to us and let us know how you get on, what testimonies arise out of your time spent with the Lord in this way and what suggestions you might have to improve your experience of being church.

With love in Him,

Dave & Louise Ellerby

July 2008

Footnote 2 :  Aug 2011.

Since the original posting of this web-page, Jasciah has been through some interesting times and expressions. No-one knows how journies will progress but simply set out with a destination in mind. So far we have seen some variation come in as various aspects of the above format have been tried, set aside, picked up and laid down again. The common factor in all of these things has been Jesus. He has never left us nor forsaken us. He has been in the midst of our joys and our woes. He has been definite in our uncertainties. He is increasingly becoming our all in all, and always has been. It's just taken us quite a time to recognise His unfailing love. He is beautiful. He is the head and we are delighted to be His body. He is the groom and we are loving being His bride.