The Way Church

We have structured The Way Church to build a culture of people spending time with God by reading the Bible. There is a set Bible reading plan we follow and each goes through the daily readings that give us a sense of being in one mind and one accord. As we meet throughout the week, we are able to discuss and ask questions knowing everyone is on the same page. We also encourage reading and studying other books of the Bible as the Holy Spirit leads. We’d like to retire the idea of only Sunday service feedings and incorporate personal daily feeding that will form a true relationship with Jesus Christ by making time to read the word and take it seriously by being devoted to the Scriptures.

Because of our values, meeting in homes are the best way to practice loving each other right now. Homes promote an environment and culture of worship, family, fellowship encouragement, and equipping each other to use spiritual gifts and making disciples. Homes are also very practical and keeps cost of our gatherings very low. Since we have no morgage payments or payroll on staff, we can use our finances to support those in need in our community and aid foreign missionaries as they spread the gospel across the world. 

Everyone is called to make disciples. We are all called to share the gospel with non-believers in hopes that they would follow Jesus. We are all called to take responsibility for the spiritual care of other believers. But discipleship is hard and messy. It involves intentionally getting to know someone, having hard conversations when sin is evident, working through conflict, and spending extra time with them when life gets hard.

Paul said “to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7). He goes on to list many different types of gifts that the Spirit gives to believers for the sake of the body. Then, he explains how every part of the body is needed and that we must be careful not to develop a mindset that some gifts are more necessary than others. But is that truly how we function in the church? Does every single believer in a church realize that they are just as needed and important as anyone else in the church? Or do they tend to think that the preacher and worship leader are more important?

So many churches begin small, relational, and discipleship-focused, but aren’t able to maintain those characteristics as numeric growth happens. Before they know it, they have become more and more of a machine rather than a healthy family. Meeting in homes sounds great, but what happens as the church grows? How does a church adapt as the Lord adds to their number? One word: Multiplication. The true fruit of an apple tree isn’t apples, but rather more apple trees. The true fruit of a strong leader is not followers, but more strong leaders. The true fruit of a healthy church is not congregants, but more healthy churches. God has designed the world to be one that reproduces and multiplies.

When things started getting out of control in Corinth, Paul reminded them of how he started the church. In 1 Corinthians 2 he states that he intentionally held back from using “eloquence,” “human wisdom,” and “wise and persuasive words” when starting and building the church. He didn’t want their walk with Jesus to be built on anything other than the power of the gospel. Likewise, Jesus was unwilling to draw people with anything other than Himself. Are we willing to do the same in our churches? Are we willing to strip everything away to make sure people are being drawn by Jesus and Jesus alone?