Theological background

Christians have always met together and, from the earliest beginnings of the Church, we can see that members of the community of faith have gathered in both small and large groups in many different settings.

In the New Testament, Paul speaks of local churches, such as the Galatian churches or the churches in the province of Asia:

“Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do” (1 Cor 16:1).

“The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house” (1 Cor 16:19).

These churches broke down into smaller gatherings that met in homes:

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house” (Rom 16:3-5).

“Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house” (Col 4:15).

The New Testament scholar, Craig de Vos, has suggested that the churches in Thessalonica, Corinth and Philippi consisted of several medium-sized congregations, meeting regularly in people’s homes, while the whole community met together less frequently, perhaps in a purpose-built venue (Church and Community Conflicts, pp 203-205).

In effect, there seems to have been four types of gathering in the Bible: the huge, the large, the medium-sized and the small. Writers and analysts on church growth have termed these the festival, the celebration, the congregation and the cell group.

• The festival – Israel celebrated festivals several times a year, national feasts like Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. Today many thousands come together for festivals and conferences such as Soul Survivor, New Wine, Greenbelt, Spring Harvest, etc.
• The celebration – a large gathering of Christians: a big church or a group of smaller churches coming together to recapture a vision of God’s greatness and to enjoy a profound sense of worship; normally, anything over 100 people, depending on the size of the meeting place. At present, we operate as two celebrations at church every week on Sundays.
• The congregation – a medium-sized gathering: its size makes it possible to know and be known by most people, normally 20-35 people. This is a Pastorate.
• The cell group – consists of 2-12 people who gather to study the Bible, share their lives and pray together. Small groups meet on alternate weeks.

These Pastorate groups are the church. The Pastorates are not one programme amongst many that the church supports. They are the heart of the church. Pastorates allow every member to engage in ministry. The focus of each Pastorate is outward and the goal is to relate authentically to God, self and others.

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Last updated: 19/5/2005