Microchurch; Our Values

Microchurches are simple, missional, new-expressions of multiplying church.

We call them microchurches because they are just that; they are actual real churches that are, more often than not, small. We have a theological understanding that the Church, in its simplest form, must be a community of worshipping Jesus followers who commit to live lives on mission, together. Church can, of course, have many more things than this, with robust leadership structures, large gatherings or services, many teams etc. However, as good as these things may be, they are not essential for church to be church, and we often pursue these other things before dealing with the fundamentals of what it means to be the church - God’s people. Jesus sacrificed himself for His bride, His Church, His people… not for a Sunday gathering.

We believe all Jesus-followers can and should be empowered to live as missionaries, called-out ones, to lead the many different expressions of missional church which embraces their lifestyles where the Lord has placed them, and encourages every believer to share life and the love of Jesus with the people around them. That is, to be a Christian means to be a missionary, in whatever context the Lord has us.

The Gathering exists because of the many expressions of Microchurch. We are a network of Microchurches, prioritising the new and the small, saying yes to the dreams of people that want to see the world meet Jesus, linked together by a desire to see church done differently under the Lordship and guidance of Jesus Christ; supporting, celebrating, challenging and championing each other’s calling.

The network creates the framework for small, fledgling microchurches to be birthed, and to flourish. It provides encouragement, resources, and training for microchurches and microchurch leaders. It allows us to not feel alone, but to know that we are in this together - working towards the common goal of making disciples who make disciples - and praying for the Kingdom to come here, as it is in heaven.

What does this look like in practice? 

Microchurches are communities, it’s where the real day to day life of living as God’s people happens. It’s our primary expression of Church. Each microchurch is different, they meet at different times, they do different things, but each microchurch is autonomous, submitted to the lordship of Jesus, committed to each other, and living life on mission. Most meet at least weekly officially (not counting day-to-day organic times together) some more often than that, and all of them incorporate some element of living outwardly on mission together.

We meet together as a Network once a month on a Sunday for testimony, encouragement, worship, teaching and prayer. We also pray together regularly as a Network, which includes early morning prayer and also fasting / breaking fast together. The times we spend all together are for encouragement and training and we worship together once a fortnight too.

If you feel the call to live your life as a missionary, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, and you would like to know more about The Gathering Network - please use the email link at the bottom of the page to contact us.