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You Have Questions. The Bible Has Answers. |
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| How to Start and Run a Local Church |
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| Start It Simple |
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When a large group splits, they may have major financial and physical issues to deal with right away. It may be essential to start with formal documents, bank account, etc. But small new groups do not need to start this way at all.
You can start a new congregation with a prayer of faith, a temporary location, a time to meet, songs to sing, Scripture to read and people willing to discuss them. Do not let anyone convince you that you must have more than that. You can let the spending of money and the development of more complex plans and policies wait until you know what you need. Do not start a new group by collecting money, writing a "doctrinal statement", printing stationery, instituting various programs or by designating people for various "offices". If the heart and core of your congregation is not spiritual group worship, praise, prayer, fellowship and study, no amount of documentation will produce the fruit of the spirit. If you start by setting up a board and officers, you may create something that will be hard to undo. Even if you start by recognizing biblical spiritual gifts, appointing elders and other biblical concepts, you may have an "establishment of religion", but not a group of people sharing the love of Christ. Let everyone get to know each other and recognize each other's gifts before committing everything to paper.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:19–20).
The USA and most other countries do not require a name, registration or incorporation in order for a religious group to meet. (A minority of countries may attempt to require some form of registration or licensing before any meetings take place. Believers should prayerfully consider the Biblical and historical examples of where men of God cooperated with human governments and when they defied them. It is beyond the scope of this paper to cover the specifics of countries outside the USA.)
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You can start a weekly service simply by having a meeting with most of the people and deciding where and when services will be and what will be done there. Sometimes, there is great unity in the spirit and everything just falls into place. In other such meetings, there may be one or more strong personalities who want to do almost everything "their way". These people are well-meaning and should be a part of the group, but they are sometimes just difficult to work with. One solution for this is to ask an elder from another established non-denominational congregation to come help the group get started. This guest leader must understand that he is just helping the new group get started—not expanding his congregation. Asking for help can be a difficult thing to do, but it is the right thing to do if it is obviously needed. As meetings continue, many physical and procedural questions will be raised and they can be dealt with as necessary. Most people who have started congregations in this manner are amazed at how many things that they thought would need much attention at the beginning simply never became problems. As an example, it is easy to spend a lot of time looking for a meeting place, but many groups meet effectively in a member's home. Similarly, it is easy to spend a lot of time scheduling and structuring all the functions of a group, but some have worked effectively for years with volunteers for each task. |
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THE Bible Study Web Site at BibleStudy.org |
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