When micro-churches multiply and start a new church, should new believers lead the new church?

There are people who have been Christians for decades, and yet they’ve never grown up in their faith. There are those who’ve been Christians for a few months, and yet they’re well on their way to becoming sold-out followers of Jesus. The normal thing to do with new Christians in American churches is to teach them to death before letting them serve, and when they serve, it won’t be according to their talents and gifts—and thus they’ll likely burn out on “service.”

It’s interesting to see how Jesus interacted with new believers. He never sheltered them or protected them or required them to go through some sort of “New Believers” class before sending them out to get their hands dirty in Kingdom work. Jesus sent a man from whom He had cast out multiple demons back to his home region to tell the people what Jesus had done for him. The man did it and everyone was amazed (Mark 5:1-20). And he did it without a 4 year Bible college degree or years of classroom training. Most, if not all, of the churches Paul planted were planted with new believers (in one instance, he could only stay with the churches he planted for three weeks). There were problems—some lifestyle problems, some theological problems—but Paul dealt with them with the letters of the New Testament, personal visits, and visits by some of his church planting partners.

One of the main reasons God is calling us to this model is because He is using our groups to help transform new believers into sold-out followers of Jesus Christ. In this model, because it requires everyone to serve each other, new believers get hands-on experience and modeling for how to host a church in their home, which is one of the best ways to learn. Those who go start new churches will be accountable to their churches and to the Leadership Team. As problems arise, they can be dealt with.

Will we turn a brand new believer loose to start a new church immediately? No, but we recognize that new believers are the best workers in the kingdom—they’re enthusiastic, passionate, and even barbaric in their faith! Our leaders have the responsibility of encouraging these traits to be used for God’s work, and the best way to do it is on-the-field training. In a micro-church, they’ll have accountability, they’ll be encouraged to serve their church, and they’ll learn how to host and develop a house church at the same time as they’re developing into sold-out followers of Jesus.