We have completed the 958th Seminar in God’s grace. Thanks to everyone who laboured for the seminar, both in seen and unseen places, it was a time of great grace and commitment. I would like to share a summary of part of a reflection that was posted on our church homepage.
“I spent 33 years of my Christian life in a church in Korea, and since retiring I have been settling in Australia. I spent all 33 years in just one church in Korea, and because the church I served there was not a House Church, I did not really know what it meant. I attended the Lay Leaders’ Seminar at the senior pastor’s recommendation, but honestly, I did not expect much.
However, this seminar made me throw off the fixed ideas I had about the church, and I came to realise that it is about returning to the New Testament church. It is about building a community of people who, like the New Testament church, break bread together in their homes and live according to the Lord’s will, so that the church can fulfil the purpose of its existence: saving souls and making disciples, the Lord’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
By seeing and learning it firsthand, I came to understand that it is a journey of faith: like one family, building trust through closeness, warmth, comfort and mutual encouragement, becoming one in heart, and within this, nurturing and growing souls who do not know the Lord until they become disciples.
I also came to realise that this journey would have been utterly impossible without the Lord-given heart of devotion, eager to give generously, of the pastor and the whole community, and without the Lord’s work among them. What especially moved me was the Olive Blessing at the house church meeting, where parents prayed blessings over their children. It was such a beautiful sight.
If I were to sum up my experience of the seminar in one phrase, it would be ‘warmth like a rich bone broth, simmered for a long time.’ A heart-stirring warmth in which the Lord’s love has completely melted, surely the love of the Lord himself. I could feel the whole church, of one heart and one mind, longing for everyone attending the seminar to see and learn exactly the church, the community, that the Lord wants to build, and I felt the Lord’s presence powerfully in those who served.
Through this seminar, it was also a time of grace in which I clearly discovered how complacent I had become and how I had fallen into a rut over my long life of faith. And it was a short but truly precious time to properly see and learn what the House Church is.”
Word of the week
Applications are open for 2027 children’s shepherds and assistant shepherds. Children in Year 4 and above can serve. House churches needing a children’s shepherd, please apply by today.
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이동주 2026.10.10 16:16
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We have completed the 958th Seminar in God’s grace. Thanks to everyone who laboured for the seminar, both in seen and unseen places, it was a time of great grace and commitment. I would like to share a summary of part of a reflection that was posted on our church homepage.
“I spent 33 years of my Christian life in a church in Korea, and since retiring I have been settling in Australia. I spent all 33 years in just one church in Korea, and because the church I served there was not a House Church, I did not really know what it meant. I attended the Lay Leaders’ Seminar at the senior pastor’s recommendation, but honestly, I did not expect much.
However, this seminar made me throw off the fixed ideas I had about the church, and I came to realise that it is about returning to the New Testament church. It is about building a community of people who, like the New Testament church, break bread together in their homes and live according to the Lord’s will, so that the church can fulfil the purpose of its existence: saving souls and making disciples, the Lord’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).
By seeing and learning it firsthand, I came to understand that it is a journey of faith: like one family, building trust through closeness, warmth, comfort and mutual encouragement, becoming one in heart, and within this, nurturing and growing souls who do not know the Lord until they become disciples.
I also came to realise that this journey would have been utterly impossible without the Lord-given heart of devotion, eager to give generously, of the pastor and the whole community, and without the Lord’s work among them. What especially moved me was the Olive Blessing at the house church meeting, where parents prayed blessings over their children. It was such a beautiful sight.
If I were to sum up my experience of the seminar in one phrase, it would be ‘warmth like a rich bone broth, simmered for a long time.’ A heart-stirring warmth in which the Lord’s love has completely melted, surely the love of the Lord himself. I could feel the whole church, of one heart and one mind, longing for everyone attending the seminar to see and learn exactly the church, the community, that the Lord wants to build, and I felt the Lord’s presence powerfully in those who served.
Through this seminar, it was also a time of grace in which I clearly discovered how complacent I had become and how I had fallen into a rut over my long life of faith. And it was a short but truly precious time to properly see and learn what the House Church is.”
Word of the week
Applications are open for 2027 children’s shepherds and assistant shepherds. Children in Year 4 and above can serve. House churches needing a children’s shepherd, please apply by today.