Micro-Churches

Sundays are normally the most important days for Christians, and though we believe that Sundays are important, we have found that much of what we observe in the Bible can’t happen in a typical Sunday gathering. That’s why we put such a high value on Micro-Churches.  Micro-Churches give all of us the opportunity to live out what it means to be the Church.

A Micro-Church is a group of anywhere from 8 to 20 or more adults plus kids, whose lives greatly overlap, with a strong value on life together. We like to say our Micro-Churches are our specific groups of “Ordinary People living Ordinary Lives with Gospel Intentionality.” They can often be found serving a particular neighborhood or network of relationships. The result will often be that the group will grow and ultimately multiply into further Micro-Churches. Our Micro-Churches are networked within the larger church community of Neighborhood Church. In the midst of doing life together, these mid-sized communities usually plan to gather three to four times per month on a weeknight in one of their respective homes.

The following are our five values for Micro-Churches: 

Sharing Stories
One of the best ways that we share life with one another is by sharing our stories with one another.  When we hear how God has worked in the past, we can better understand and encourage what God wants to do in the present.

Sharing Prayer
Often prayer functions as bookends (an opening and closing prayer), but it’s our hope that it becomes so much more.  In a micro-church, if someone is struggling with something, it’s quite likely that you’ll see everyone stop what’s going on and pray for that person.  But it gets better than that.  Because you’ve been sharing life with these people, when someone is going through something, you pray during the week for that person.  You might send them an email or give them a call to check on them.

Sharing Scripture
Though a micro-church is more than a Bible study, the Bible is evident during our time together.  Our desire is for Scripture to be a normative part of our lives every day of the week, and micro-churches gives us an opportunity to read Scripture, dialog about Scripture together, and then be challenged to live out Scripture in a tangible way.

Sharing Mission
Ask someone about their best experience of “church”, and you’ll often hear a story about a mission trip.  There is something powerful when we serve together.  Every micro-church takes on some type of mission.  It may be something as simple as cleaning a house or yard of a neighbor of one of the group members.  The important thing is that we take part in God’s mission by serving and blessing, and that we do it together.

Sharing Life
A micro-church is where we practice the “one another’s” found in the New Testament:
* Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing
honor  (Romans 12:10, ESV)
* Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory
of God  (Romans 15:7, ESV)
* Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in
love  (Ephesians 4:2, NIV)
* Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ forgave you  (Ephesians 4:32, ESV)
* Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ  (Ephesians 5:21, NIV)
* Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you
are doing  (1 Thessalonians 5:11, ESV)
* And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works
(Hebrews 10:24, ESV)
* Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,
that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great
power as it is working  (James 5:16, ESV)

We currently have four micro-churches throughout Midtown.

Overton  |  Peabody  |  Cooper  |  Young