What Defines a Church?

When you hear that the 1400 church planters of HBI have planted 16,500 churches in India, what goes through your mind? No matter how you look at it, it is a miraculous movement of multiplication church planting.  But the one thing that it is not, is “complicated.”  In fact, the simplicity of it may be the secret. There are many aspects to discuss, but let’s start with, “What is a church?”  Simply put, it is an assembly of people gathered for worship. Acts 2:40-47 is generally seen as the Early Church model of “church.”  In the villages of India, the description is quite similar.  Many of them meet from house to house and sometimes together in a larger context.  This is not just a strategy; it is a necessity.

A church is not defined by its size or by the kind of facility in which it meets. Though the average church size is not just a handful of people, it may start out that way. Basically, a church is a gathering of believers where there is worship, the word of God, fellowship, evangelism, discipleship, and leadership. A healthy church will have healthy leadership submitted to Christ, the head of the church, and to other leaders who are submitted to Christ, a divine yet practical connectivity and accountability within the body of Christ. The pastors and church leaders of HBI are connected to an organizational network called INEC, India National Evangelical Churches. INEC is the church planting arm of HBI, though it is its own NGO (non-government organization).

In the Indian village context, a pastor (leader) who has been and is being discipled (trained) may plant and oversee many churches in different villages that meet in a smaller context. They are led from week to week by approved elders who have been and are being discipled (trained). The more discipleship (training), the more leaders you have to do the work, and the more effective the growth. You may be a businessman or schoolteacher who has been trained to lead a church that meets in someone’s home. You are under the leadership of a pastor (elder) who oversees a number of these smaller local churches. He is also under the leadership of regional leaders who lead him.

But when it comes right down to it, the success is not just based on the structure. It is about the heart. It is the Holy Spirit-filled heart of these simple, sacrificial leaders that is the motivation behind this miraculous movement.

“Oh Lord, that we might learn from what You are doing on the other side of the world.”