Simple church looks very different depending on which simple church you are a part of! For Perimeter Pointe, it even looks different depending on what house church you are a part of! However, there are some foundational things that are common with all our house churches that make up the network we call Perimeter Pointe!
Initially we have planted two house churches. Each church has its own pastor and decides how each gathering looks and feels. Each home church pastor is mentored and discipled by Pastor Mark, the Lead Pastor who functions in a role like Paul did for Timothy and Titus. In the future, groups could meet in homes or places like coffee shops or restaurants.
During each gathering all the elements of the New Testament church exist. Each group worships together through prayer and music, studies the Bible together, eats together, and prays together. How this is done in each home church varies.
Even though each home church has a pastor, no one person leads the gathering. Reflecting what we find in the New Testament, everyone involved in each home church brings their gifts and perspectives to the table. While the pastor may facilitate the time, he is not "in charge" of the gathering--that is Jesus' job! Everyone has been given the full allotment of the Holy Spirit and is capable of teaching the rest of the group.
Simple church is about much more than a once-a-week gathering! The ecclesia does real life together! That means that if someone in the group wants to go to a ballgame, they call another person in their home church to go with them! That means that if someone has a need, they call someone in their homechurch first! Each group functions like a family! It aslo means that people are involved in Life Transformation Groups in addition to their weekly gathering. Above all, it means that living out what it means to be the church, including reaching out to the lost, hurting, and searching all around us!
At Perimeter Pointe, the different home groups gather together monthly at a borrowed facility. Just as the church in Jerusalem gathered at Solomon's Porch occassionaly, we will gather for fellowship and celebration of what God is doing!