Walter Oetting on Church

"If you had asked, 'Where is the church?' in any important city of the ancient world where Christianity had penetrated in the first century, you would have been directed to a group of worshiping people gathered in a house. There was no special building or other tangible wealth with which to associate 'church', only people!"

Walter Oetting, The church of the catacombs: The introduction to the surging life of the early church from the apostles to A.D. 250, based on firsthand accounts

NBC on Micro Church

Here is an interesting take on simple church (micro in the piece) from NBC news. It is interesting to note that the small house church they highlight is conducting a 'service' very similar to a large church. There is music and teaching from up front and it seems a bit formal compared to the stories I have heard (and my own, limited personal experience). Still, it is an interesting feature you can check out here.

Five Developments WorldWide

Acccording to research from Joel News - here are 5 key things developing around the world.

1. An unprecedented growth of the prayer movement worldwide;
2. God's Spirit being poured out in many places, marked by conversion and miracles;
3. Many new partnerships and networks are being formed on a city-, nation- and even continental level, linking prayer, saturation church planting and frontline missions;
4. More and more Christians, churches and ministries are engaging in a transformational process to bring godly change to their societies;
5. Radically simple and innovative forms of church are springing up in many places, reaching the unreached.

#5 is particularly intriguing. The simpler church gets, the easier it is to multiply churches. Nothing has more radical implications on movements everywhere than a simple and rapidly expanding form of church. I look forward to watching developments in this area.