Our Story: Pursuing the Early Church Model
“As I fell in love with Jesus, I fell in love with his Church.”
The Church we see in scripture was beautiful, powerful, simple, and available for all. It was an easily replicable movement. It was durable, outlasting and thriving through persecution and pandemic. From its start when 3,000 were saved, the Church met in large groups with organized leadership as well as in decentralized House Churches all throughout the city. However, as time went on, this structure of the Church changed.
The Church became Clergified, Centralized, and Costly.
The ‘priesthood of all believers’ and role of pastoring was limited to only a select and elevated few
Discipleship and pastoral functions became building and program dependent
Buildings became ‘sacred’, with a disproportionate dependence on staff and costly programs
In response and an over-reaction:
Churches then became Isolated, Unstructured, and Short-lived.
Isolated groups without any connectivity and no collective power
Unstructured lacking unified leadership and direction
Short-lived groups without years of proven longevity
Falling in love with the Church of the Bible, but convicted about the culture and structure of modern church, Church Project began in 2010.
A Biblical, Simple, and Relevant Pursuit of Church.
Church Project began in 2010 with 40 people and the conviction to be unashamedly biblical, irreducibly simple, understandably relevant, and radically generous. Since then, avoiding marketing strategies or typical growth models, the church would grow to over 5,000 people, help plant over 13 Church Projects and over 120 House Churches, and direct over $9 million dollars to church plants and ministry partners.
Sunday Gatherings
Jesus taught thousands on a mountainside. The early Church gathered by the thousands on the weekends. We gather on Sundays to sing songs to Jesus, read and study scripture, pray, give, and take communion together.
Ministry Partnerships
Jesus taught his disciples to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and take care of widows and orphans. The early church lived this out. We meet needs across our world and our city through ministry partnerships.
House Churches
Jesus lived life with people by the dozens. The early church followed his model by gathering by the dozens in House Churches. We gather weekly in cross-generational, diverse House Churches, led by an approved, qualified pastor.
Church Project Network
Church Project Network is focused on planting, resourcing, and restoring autonomous yet aligned Churches. If you are a church planter, learn more about the Chuch Project Network at churchprojectnetwork.com.
Are you a church planter interested in starting a Church Project?
Distinct from House Church Network, the Church Project Network is planting, resourcing, and restoring autonomous yet aligned churches.