FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW TO REDEFINE THE EKKLESIA?

The Ekklesia is the Body of Messiah. She is His Bride. A bride does not need a holy house, a holy day, a holy leader, or a holy pulpit to enjoy intimacy with her Lord. Nor is a bride a registered society. The Bride can meet with her Groom anywhere, in houses, in huts, in the shade of a tree, or in farms and factories, in offices and workplaces, in marketplaces, in fact anywhere. She has 24x7 relationship so can meet with Him any day of the week, any time of the day or night, during working hours or lunch breaks. Even when the Groom is away, the Ekklesia remains His Bride. Just like a bride says no to her family and yes to her groom to start her own family, it is time for you to step out of organized religion and take a long walk with Yeshua and start your own Household of God. 

ARE ALL BELIEVERS A PRIEST TO THEIR COMMUNITY?

The Lord Yeshua, the founder of the Ekklesia (Matt.16:18-19), is her chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-22), her Head (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18) and her Savior (Eph. 5:23). He has bought us with His blood and made us priests who worship Him by offering up lost souls as a spiritual sacrifice (Rev. 5:9-10; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rom. 15:16).

The Ekklesia is a community of priests, whom the Lord has chosen and sent out to bind and banish evil spirits, and to heal the sick. They are to orchestrate encounters between Yeshua and the lost whom they bring to repentance, baptize, disciple, equip, and send them out (Luke 9:1-2; Matt. 28:16-20). Every believer is a priest to his community, workplace, and neighborhood, offering up the lost as a mincha (bloodless sacrifice) well pleasing to the Lord (Rom. 15:16).

HOW BIG SHOULD ASSEMBLIES BE?

Whenever and wherever two or three believers “congregate” in His name, there is a “congregation,” because the Lord Himself is present. A house Ekklesia can only be as big as the house can accommodate. Normally, only two or three families are required to constitute an Ekklesia. Two or three believers in their workplace constitute the Ekklesia assigned to plant the Kingdom of God there, however hostile the situation, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men” (Col. 3:23). They must know their identity and come up with a strategy to quietly implement Kingdom values, with the intension of starting another Household of God right there (Gal. 6:9,10).

Having lots of Christians in the city does not mean they are all righteous. Abraham interceded for the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah but could not muster ten righteous people in the city to save them from destruction. Lot’s family, on whom he was depending, also let him down. However, this is a good model to remember: if there are ten righteous people, they are enough to save their cities and towns (Gen. 18:32). If there are ten Jews in a city, they can form a minyan (minimum number) and can have a synagogue. In those days ten men from all nations and languages will grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you” (Zec. 8:23). “Fear not little flock, because it has pleased the Father to hand over the kingdom to you” (Luke 12:32).

WHAT DOES AN EKKLESIA DO WHEN IT GATHERS?

An Ekklesia consists of equippers and of those being equipped for a soul-saving ministry, the rest are spectators. Ekklesia is a Household of God on a mission to create a ripple effect beginning in its neighborhood, reaching to the ends of the earth. Members share meals, worship, pray, prophesy, help each other, and study the Scriptures and save souls. Their caring love for each other is an example to their community. Just as no executive committee is required to run a Household, so God’s family functions without any formal structure or program (Eph. 2:19).

SHOULD WE ATTEND A DENOMINATIONAL CHURCH?

A good farmer gathers the harvest into local barns because transporting it to the city would be wasteful. Similarly, the Lord is gathering His spiritual harvest into local house gatherings (Matt. 3:12) and transporting people to a weekly celebration would prove wasteful, because, apart from wasting a lot of money and time, no meaningful fellowship or mentoring takes place there. They can enjoy quality time in their own little fellowships, discipling seekers and newcomers. More importantly, people from a village community do not like to go to a city church, as no one extends them the hand of fellowship, much less invite them to their homes or provide them with food and the fundamentals of the faith. In any case, these churches rarely teach anything about the Great Commission, which can only be done effectively in the local house Ekklesia.

WHAT IS THE DEVIL’S AGENDA?

The Devil’s method is deceit. He introduces false beliefs and political systems, including communism, syncretism, materialism, racism, casteism, globalism and all the other “isms” along with New Age philosophy, to deceive the people. Most people are not Hindus, Muslims, Buddhist, Catholics or even Christians, but animists who believe in spirits that inhabit stones, shrines, rivers, mountains, even human and animals etc. There may be millions of gods and goddesses in the world, but only one deity behind them all, and that is the Dragon, the Devil. 

By deceit, he usurps our God-given dominion, thereby controlling the nations. Since he cannot destroy God, his priority is to destroy people sitting in the pews and then the rest of the humankind who are also created in the image of God, who the pew sitters should be saving (James 5:20). The Devil’s most effective strategy is to cause division among God’s people, for then he can destroy them with pleasure. Once there is division in the church, your city is at the Dragon’s mercy to do whatever he likes. Needless to add, this stronghold must be broken before we can win the city for Messiah. For this city church, to start with, needs to come up with a Common Minimum Agenda.

IS MULTIPLICATION NECESSARY?

An Ekklesia is a community of believers who worship God by multiplying disciples (Eph. 4:11-12). Every demon, like a lion, is genetically programmed to kill (1Pet. 5:8). For this reason, all Christians must be programmed to save souls (2 Tim. 4:17). Yeshua said, “The harvest is ready, but the laborers are few”. Therefore, the main task of the Ekklesia is to prepare laborers for the harvest fields. As the Ekklesia multiplies by opening new house gatherings in other areas, more laborers will be prepared. This endless process gives opportunity for other communities to hear the gospel. This is the only way in which the gospel can spread to the ends of the world. A big church has a negative effect, for it keeps too many laborers in bondage, with no laboring assignment. It is a fan club of noisy, non-productive hangers on. Just like it takes only two to produce a baby, in a small group, multiplication takes place rapidly, because they are very labor intensive.

WHAT ABOUT WEDDING CEREMONIES?

God conducted the wedding ceremony of Adam and Eve in a Garden. Isaac, son of an extra-ordinarily rich man, celebrated his wedding to Rebecca in a tent. Yeshua participated in a marriage ceremony in a house in Cana. Hindus do not celebrate weddings in temples, nor do Muslims in mosques. Christians, however, must get married in a church in Western custom and costume. A house Ekklesia wedding is scripturally sound and culturally appropriate. It is also inexpensive and simple to arrange. Marriage certificates can be obtained from the government Registrar or any licensed minister. In contrast, ostentatious, traditional weddings cost a fortune, resulting in a debt trap and dowry disputes.

WHAT IS A SUCCESSFUL EKKLESIA?

In the traditional church, success is measured by headcount and the money in collection bags. The larger the attendance and greater the collection, the sweeter-smelling savor to modern-day Levites. Traditionalists measure success in mission the number of evangelists employed nationally or internationally, whose skim off in terms of harvest of souls often remains miniscule or even zilch. While there is room in Scripture for finding favor with the people, there is no provision for glorification of leaders who strut on the stage. This annoys God and sends wrong signals to potential leaders who measure success with wrong parameters.

Other traditional signs of success include musical instruments, computers, buildings, sycophants, flatterers, parasites, sexy cheer leaders and hangers-on. All these gizmos seem important, because the pulpit is now a center for transfer of information rather than of transformation. The early Ekklesia did not indulge in glitzy “glamor ministries” with glossy brochures, TV shows, a Web presence, fancy clothes, dramatics and large crowds. In the NT, empowerment of the Holy Spirit was enough to turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6), while the Scriptural benchmark of success remains: “A man shall be known by his fruit (saved souls)” (Matt. 7:16, 20).

CAN AN EKKLESIA FUNCTION WITHOUT COMMITTEES?

Many NT Ekklesias functioned without elders. The rest had a plurality of leadership but no committees (Acts 13:1). The modern church would collapse without a pastor and his committees. These committees often violate the principle of the priesthood of all believers. Too many church officials have neither vision nor mission, and some are not even saved, while others are outright immoral and corrupt. Such do not qualify to be elders by biblical standards (Titus 1:5-9). Biblical elders chosen by the brethren (fraternity) serve as our advisors, teachers and counselors, being accountable to God for our souls (Heb.13:17).

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF DENOMINATIONS?

Some denominations were started under dubious circumstances. In the 16th century, English King Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife and marry his pregnant girlfriend. When he did not get permission from the Pope, he founded the Church of England. The NT identifies only one flock and not many flocks. All the shepherds in a city together shepherd the “one flock” in that city. Paul warned, “Wolves will arise from among you who will divide the flock to draw away the disciples for themselves” (Acts 20:28-31). He never wrote letters to an individual assembly, but to a citywide or regional Ekklesia.

Denominationalism is divisive and unscriptural. There should be no exclusive membership of any one Ekklesia. In the NT, the assemblies were named after their founder, Yeshua, and designated by their location, such as “The Ekklesia of Messiah in Corinth.” This brings unity to the city Ekklesia, which should not be named after saints, founders or funders. Titles such as Lutheran, Mennonite, Saint John, Saint Thomas, Baptist, Pentecostal etc., are unscriptural, because we are not redeemed by doctrines, by creeds or even by an Ekklesia, but by grace of God through faith in the shed blood of Yeshua. The best way to form an interdenominational Ekklesia is to gather believers from different backgrounds for apostolic teaching, fellowship, food and united prayer in your home or any other convenient place (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 1:12-13; Matt. 18:18-20).

IS THE HOUSE EKKLESIA RELEVANT IN TODAY’S WORLD?

When thousands of people were being added in the NT times, house Ekklesia was relevant. Today, across the global disciple-making movements, counts of new believers professing faith in Messiah amount to between 75,000 and 175,000 a day, or between 27 and 67 million a year, depending on whose statistics you follow. Even if they might be exaggerated, they show the trend. The Ekklesia has grown more in in the last couple of decades than in the previous 1900 years. 

Little house Ekklesias function as family clinics where sin-sick people find healing and wholeness. Many more sick people come into these clinics than into the big hospitals that cannot provide personal care. These simple, family clinics inject organic, reproductive DNA into these new believers, that act as steroids when it comes to making disciples. This is missing in traditional churches and in seminaries. This is because hot discussions in the seminaries gives them hot head and cold feet that go nowhere, whereas these simple family clinics cast vision to fulfil the missio dei (mission of God, or the sending of God). They go where no one goes, “How beautiful are those cracked and dirty feet that carry good news to the scum of the earth” (Rom. 10:12-15). 

Meanwhile, these highly interactive mini clinics intentionally reach those who cannot afford the luxury of going to a glitzy church in designer clothes in fancy cars to listen to a celebrity preacher. Instead, they meet as they are, where they are and share both physical and spiritual needs of the hurting people. They like the Corona virus, are mushrooming all over the world. (Luke 16:16; Matt. 9:11-13). Looks like we are already witnessing the domino effect of the pandemic, of shutting down of the Sunday holy huddles making tall claims, but low in action on the ground. They should stop preaching about Him as they have no intention of imitating Him. In the meanwhile, The Households of God are mutating all over the globe (Mal.1:11; Eph. 2:19,20).

HOW RELEVANT ARE HOUSE GATHERINGS FOR INDIA?

House Gatherings prove suitable in every country. There are over 600 thousand villages in India, and 400 thousand colonies in its cities. Nobody has the resources to construct a million religious buildings or to support an equal number of pastors, nor are they required, for believers’ houses are already available. Local mature Christians are the best answer. All they need is vision, equipping and encouragement.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH BUILDINGS AND PROPERTY?

Yeshua asked the rich young fool to go sell his property and follow Him which he rejected because he was very rich. He chose temporal property over his eternal soul (Matt. 16:224-26). Yeshua warned that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than the rich (churches included) to enter the Kingdom of God (Matt. 19:23,24). It would be Scriptural to sell the property of rich churches and apply the proceeds for saving perishing souls. Like the young rich fool, rich churches will probably reject this option (Luke 18:18-25). In China and Ethiopia, God had the Communist governments confiscate church properties and imprison pastors. Not surprisingly, afterwards, secret house gatherings blossomed dramatically, filled those countries with the gospel. This would never have been possible by traditional routes.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF FOREIGNERS AND FOREIGN AID?

Foreigners tend to be cerebral and prefer facts rather than emotions, even as love affair with Yeshua is more a matter of heart than head. They are good at vision casting and as movement catalysts that can kickstart and maximize DMM. Since many of them visit several other locations across the world, they bring a lot of insights to the table that can be most helpful for course correction. Foreigner or for that matter any outsider, are like the scaffolding. They support a structure while it is coming up but must leave as soon it able to take care of itself. 

Pandemic has already initiated a significant shift from the ‘colonial west to the rest’ to ‘from everywhere to everywhere’; from paternalism (doing for) to partnership (doing with); from full time pastors, evangelists and church planters to ‘tentmakers’; from seminary qualified to mentored in the harvest field and from attractional foreign church culture to insider movement. The working principle must be,” He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). Foreigners have many handicaps, for it takes time for them to master the language whilst they struggle to adapt to the community, cuisine, culture and context. Even after all that struggle the stigma of being an outsider remains, affirming that Christianity is a foreign implant.

Westerners are good at gathering data and information and providing systematic teaching. Research conducted with the “end in view,” and innovative, non-formal training for grass-root-level leaders to complete the task, should receive top priority. Guest experts’ key role is to connect with others who have resources, such as trainers and training materials, Bibles and literature etc. Forging strategic partnerships remains the way forward.

Hostile governments and communities often make it difficult for foreigners to function. Raising up hue and cry in international media to the plight of persecuted Christians remains an important part of advocacy. For restricted and hostile areas, they can broadcast on the internet and TV programs from a safe haven. Foreign funds can be used for training, but not to construct worship buildings or as a handout for creating dependency. Although house Ekklesias do not require external funding, kick starting a movement and leadership training etc. often do.

WHAT ABOUT CHILDREN AND YOUTH?

Yeshua said, “Let the little children come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom” (Matt. 19:14). He did not say to let only Jewish children come. All children of all faiths are invited to the Kingdom. It is only later that they degenerate because the church did nothing to save them. Sunday schools should be reorganized to be inclusive and take care of such children. Every Christian must find innovative ways to introduce Yeshua to them, so that they can be a blessing to their families. Opening your homes or taking them out for picnics are simple ways to do so.

The Church is experiencing an epic failure by not making disciples of the children of all faiths. We have failed to model, invest and transmit a passion for saving souls. No wonder the Church is imploding from within and in desperate need of restructuring. In the 20th century, the younger generation rebelled against the established church and became Hippies, who in turn produced the confused and directionless Generation X (2 Cor. 4:3-4). To the praise of God, thousands of hippies eventually became committed Christians.

Almost 98 percent of young people who come from traditional Christian families, who regularly attended weekly church school, learnt a lot of Bible stories, choruses and memory verses, but not how to share their faith. They cannot share their faith even with their best friends. Snake charmers teach their children how to handle poisonous snakes from their childhood. Likewise, with a little course correction, children can all be turned into a mighty evangelistic force. 

One teacher in a secular school gave a research assignment to his class to find out all the religious centers in the city. Withing a week he had detailed data. Later he taught his Youth Group, Prayer Walking and how to demolish strongholds and assigned them different locations of the city. Soon the city administration sent demolition squads who bulldozed all the illegal constructions and huge numbers of people started coming to Christ.

The youth need to be equipped to heal the sick, cast out evil spirits, adopt streets for prayer walking, and so demolish the gates of hell. Instead, they are watching their superheroes on the TV or reading Harry Potter, the son of a practicing witch and a warlock. While their parents are busy elsewhere, the Devil is brewing a huge army of children, through seduction and disinformation, who will eventually turn against their parents, the church, and the community.

God’s promise is that in the last days He will pour out His Spirit on all kids. That includes non-Christian kids. They are also God’s children, created in His image and in His likeness. There is no valid reason not to encourage them to prophesy, to fight spiritual warfare, prayer walking the neighborhood and making disciples. The Scripture commands us to teach our children while they are sitting, walking, playing or lying down, whenever there is an opportunity (Deut. 6:1-7, 20-21). Sadly, many children are more influenced from outside their home than inside. Weekly Sunday schools do very little to transform them to be a blessing to non-Christian children who cannot or will not attend such exclusive Sunday schools. Children are not only the promise of tomorrow, but a major resource, today (Acts 2:17-18; Psa. 8:2; Prov. 22:6).

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND NGO’S?

Yeshua fed the 5000 hungry people. Disciples distributed food to poor widows (Acts 6:1). Paul raised money for the saints in Jerusalem, after it was hit hard by famine as prophesied by Agabus (Acts 11:28; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). There is no such thing as a Parachurch. Either you are an Ekklesia, or you are not an Ekklesia. Whenever and wherever two or three flock in His name, they are an Ekklesia. Yeshua will decide between saints and sinners by their role in taking care of the least of this world (Matt. 25:31-46). Whether you are digging wells, curing diseases or teaching, provided you do so in the name of Yeshua, you are an Ekklesia with full authority to baptize, to make disciples, to serve the Lord’s Supper, etc. Not doing so would minimize you into a mere social worker (Gal. 2:10).

Many leaders are cowards who have not yet experienced regeneration. Peter and the other disciples proved cowards when they denied Yeshua until they received the Holy Spirit. Then they boldly proclaimed the gospel. Due to a lack of vision and boldness, despite many resources and plenty of opportunity, no solid disciple-making is done. Community development without a salvation message remains as meaningless as evangelism without community development. Christianity is Body life, not just soul winning; Christianity transforms every area of life: body, mind and spirit (3 John 1:2). The spiritual return on investment from resource-hungry NGOs is negligible, even as the potential to change the communities they serve is huge (Col. 1:10-11; Eph. 6:19).

HOW CAN WE FIND LOST SHEEP?

The Lord sent out 70 disciples, two by two, instructing them, “Do not go with noisy paraphernalia; go quietly, like lambs among wolves. Find a ‘person of peace,’ eat whatever is set before you, stay at his house and preach through signs and wonders. Do not go from house to house” (Luke 10:1-9). Persons of peace are usually influential in their community, as were Cornelius and Lydia (Acts 10:24). You should have no difficulty in finding lost sheep (2 Cor. 4:3-4), for the world is full of perishing souls. The harvest is ready, all you must do is to lift up your eyes and see it (Matt. 10:11-13; John 4:35).

WHAT ARE DISCIPLE MAKING MOVEMENTS?

DMM occurs when the whole Ekklesia proclaims the whole gospel to the whole world. We are the paradigm, the method, the model and the massagers. DMMs will be accomplished when Yeshua is worshipped in every human heart and habitation. DMMs takes place when a particular people group takes the driver’s seat, saturating their community with the gospel, shifting from the simple addition to multiplicative mode, without outside leadership. The secret of sparking a spontaneous DMM depends entirely on the quality, quantity, motivation and mobilization of disciples and their mentors.

IS IT NECESSARY FOR EVERYONE TO WIN SOULS?

In the OT, every Household had to bring a sacrifice to Jerusalem for their atonement, during the three annual feasts. There were no exceptions, not even Aaron the High Priest was exempted (Deut. 16:16). Similarly, in the Household of God everyone has a different role (gifts) but the objective is that the household must keep on growing and expanding. The reason why the Lord does not take us up to heaven, immediately after we are saved, is that we must save others. 

Souls are the most precious thing in God’s sight. Yeshua said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” The sole business of the Ekklesia is to save souls. Everything else is garbage. After Paul was saved, he immediately started saving souls. Soul winners will shine the stars forever (Dan. 12:3). The Scripture says that those who do not win souls remain blind, ignorant, dumb dogs etc. (Isa. 56:10-11). 

YOU HAVE A CHOICE! 

There is no middle path. 

• It’s Christ or Antichrist!
• It's either Heaven or Hell.
• It's either Light or Darkness.
• It''s either Truth or Lies. 
• It's either Eternal life or Eternal death for our souls.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH WEEKLY CHRISTIANS?

Sunday Christians are like the multicolored fish in a glass aquarium. They need to be fed, watered and oxygenated every week, lest they die. While in captivity, they do not multiply. They are useless to consumer because they are not edible. The best thing is to be generous and donate them to the nearest Pentecostal pastor. Thus, you will improve your friendship profile with your archrival, and at the same time, you can work with serious fishermen ready to go fishing every day.

GEMS:

• Biblical and scalable Ekklesias are those that equip, evangelize and establish Ecclesias that are biblical and scalable.
• A biblical Ekklesia is one which is reaching, empowering and sending.
• A scalable Ekklesia is one which utilizes local resources to kindle Ekklesia planting movement. 
• A mentoring Ekklesia is one which mentors believers to plant new Ekklesias where none exist.
• An empowering Ekklesia is one which equips, mentors and mobilizes local leadership to evangelize local areas.
• A sending Ekklesia is one which ignites believers to reach out to their neighbors, colleagues and friends.
• A holistic Ekklesia is one that gathers to break bread and share the whole gospel with the widows, orphans and the strangers.

Copyright © 2023 Dr. Victor Choudhrie

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