I have presently been looking into the House church idea. As far as I can tell, the largest difference between a House Church and Cell Church is how centralized it is. The House Church seeks to be as decentralized as possible. Each house church functions as its own independent body. There is no group or organization over them. The leadership heirarchy is flat. They hold that the Holy Spirit is the one who leads. For the most part I think that such ideals are wonderful but impracticle.
The Cells in a cell church has a lot of similarity with a House Churches except that they have a Centralized leadership component. These cells will meet and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and experience deep fellowship wit those in their cell. They will also meet together with other cells together in a larger "celebration" service. Each cell is aware of its connection to the others.
I like the individuality of the House Church but it seems that when these form a Network of House Churches they in essence act like a cell church but without the permanence of a centralized structure. Even though leadership is downplayed...it is centralized when there is Networking. I think that no matter how you deal with the matter centralizing is inevitable.
I think that most of the people involved in the strictly house church movement are so put off by "institutionalism" that they fail to see some of the benefits that they have benefited through them.
I like the individuality of the House Church but it seems that when these form a Network of House Churches they in essence act like a cell church but without the permanence of a centralized structure. Even though leadership is downplayed...it is centralized when there is Networking. I think that no matter how you deal with the matter centralizing is inevitable.
I think that most of the people involved in the strictly house church movement are so put off by "institutionalism" that they fail to see some of the benefits that they have benefited through them.
How would a single house church care for the complex ministry needs of its community? I am talking about needs like feeding and clothing the poor, providing job training and placement, funerals, weddings, and other such ministries. I know that they probably have their methods of doing such ministries to those who are in their own group. Yet I wonder if they get phone calls from oustiders who need gas, their rent paid, counseling or a place to stay for the night. Do they get calls from people outside their group?
How about a soup kitchen? Such ministries require some kind of centralized leadership structure or partnership with someone else.
Again, I think that some kind of organization and structure is inevitable unless the small group wants to stay the same. Therefore I believe that the Cell Church Model is the one that enjoys the best of both worlds.
