The House Church Book: Rediscover the Dynamic, Organic, Relational, Viral Community Jesus Started [Hardcover]

Wolfgang Simson (Author), George Barna (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2009

In a world where the church is being ignored, it is time to bring the church to the people, and not the people to the church, says researcher and church strategy consultant Wolfgang Simson. His book Houses that Change the World (originally published in the UK) is widely recognized as a classic of the house church movement. Now revised as The House Church Book, this definitive work offers a comprehensive understanding of the past, present, and future of the house church movement—and the vital role of “ordinary” people in saturating the world with God’s truth.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: BarnaBooks (August 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414325525
• ISBN-13: 978-1414325521
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wolfgang Simson was born in Germany and has German, Jewish, and Hungarian roots. In the midst of beginning a political career, a number of supernatural experiences brought him to a confrontation with the reality of Christ.

After working as a social worker and taxi driver in Stuttgart, Germany, he graduated with a ThM from Free Evangelical Theological Academy (Basel, Switzerland), where he later taught courses on church growth and mission strategy and became the assistant of the Dean, late Prof. Samuel Külling. While pursuing a PhD at various academic institutions in Belgium and the US, doing postgraduate studies in missions and cultural anthropology, he found out that academia did not have the answers to the questions he was after--but God did. In yet another direct experience with God he was shown the purpose, direction, and path of his life, and he has been pursuing this ever since.

Since 1983 Wolfgang has been involved in the planting of several churches and in church-based leadership positions, while at the same time beginning a life of extensive global research on growing churches, church planting movements, and revival and mission breakthroughs.

Wolfgang worked for two decades as a church growth, evangelism, and strategy consultant, researcher, and journalist within various Christian networks and regional and global strategy think tanks in close to sixty nations. One of the founders of Dawn Europa, he has been a board member of both the British and the German Church Growth Associations, a member of the Lausanne Movement in Germany, editor of the well-known e-zines Fridayfax, Fridayfax2 (now merged into StarFish Fax) and The Mammon-Fax. He is the author of twelve books that have been translated into twenty languages. Wolfgang is married to Mercy, and they have three kids. After living in the United Kingdom and India, they now live in the south of Germany.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but description somewhat misleading January 6, 2010

By K. Geoffrey

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I purchased this book because I had already been interested in reading the author's Houses that Change the World. So when Barna came out with "The House Church Book," I bought that one instead, since the description reads, "Houses that Change the World (originally published in the UK) is... Now revised as The House Church Book." After I finished reading The House Church Book, I came to the "Recommended Reading" page, only to find listed, "Houses That Change the World -- If you wish to study the subject of house churches further, Houses That Change the World is the 'big brother' of the book you have just read."

I am now reading through Houses That Change the World, and what it appears Barna has done with The House Church Book is to simply make an abridged version of Houses That Change the World, polish the editing, and update some of the facts, figures and "dated" comments. In essence, The House Church Book is just a "leaner" version of Houses That Change the World. I think it is misleading to call it a revision. The content of the new book is virtually identical to that of the former, it just contains less of it. One might argue that Barna edited out some of the "unnecessary bulk," and it would certainly be a less threatening book for someone who is just getting their feet wet with the idea of house churches (it's under 175 pages, versus over 300 for the previous book), but, personally, I prefer the former book, so far (despite the occasional grammatical and editorial issues)....

I would recommend this book if you wanted to give it to someone else to introduce them to the topic of house churches, or if you want the most up-to-date facts and figures (though there are not enough of them, in my opinion, to make this a determining facor). Otherwise, I would go with Houses that Change the World for Mr. Simpson's full picture of house church (and to save a few dollars). Read more ›

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars If Only- another perspective on the NT house church June 7, 2011

By Stephen Hilby

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

First, I must say that I have been involved in the house church movement for about 10 years. That said, I wanted to like this book, and found that I could not. Like too many others who claim to know how the NT church operated, Simson is presenting his opinions as facts. He appears to believe that his own pre-conceived notions trump any other considerations. A good place to notice this is in his insistence that the NT church was not allowed to go beyond 20 members. If it got to that level, Simson insists that the church was required to break into 2 separate churches. This directly contradicts not only some other notable scholarship, such as Dr. Banks (Paul's Idea of Community) and that of Roger Gehring (House Church and Mission, probably the best book available on the NT house church). It also contradicts evidence found directly in the NT, such as the size of the gathering at the house of Mary in Acts 12, which is described as ikanoi, or Greek for a large amount, certainly not a good word usage for a house that was quite large and of wealth (Gehrig). The other problem with this understanding is the concept of the time of the household. It would have been inconceivable for a household, which incorporated not only the immediate family, but also expended family, those who were tied through commerce to the patriarch, as well as servants and even certain neighbors. A good example of this would have been the Philippian jailer, who's household came to the Lord through Paul's ministry. Surely there would have been more than 20 in this household according to definition, and by both custom and culture it would have been like a divorce to split this group up.

Another problem with Simson's treatment of the NT house church is his take on what is known as the 5-fold ministry.... By taking 3 scriptures which mention the 5 gifts of apostle, teacher, pastor, prophet, and evangelist, he has woven a tale of how these operated within the house church setting. His main thrust seems to be looking at the ministry of Paul and assuming that all apostles were like him. He further takes these gifts and weaves these into a narrative that has little or no basis in NT scholarship ( see Banks book, Gehring, as well as Meeks, The First Urban Christian. What seems good is in fact Simson's fanciful take on how the church operated.

As a house church practitioner, I was equally dismissive of Simson's multiplication theory. Unfortunately, most house church proponents, including Frank Viola, remind of that it is incredibly rare to find a house church that has existed for more than 4 years. My own research and experience has found this to be all too true. While there are a number of good reasons for this, Simson does not address this issue, but instead gives us a sweeping narrative on how, within a few decades, the house church will reach the planet for Christ.

I wish i could go on, however, I prefer to express the positive contributions of a book. Unfortunately, I could not find any. Simson simply lets us down with his fanciful rendering of what the original church was like, and how we need to get back to that fanciful state. As a house church member, I can only shake my head, and wait for a better treatise on this wonderful subject. In fact, there are many out there that are far more accurate and helpful. Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Passion for An Ancient Practice August 26, 2009

By James J. Kane VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

"...instead of getting people to the church it gets the church to the people," so says Wolfgang Simson. The `it' is a house church.
Born out of a multi-faceted view, that the there is too much "copyism" in the Christian faith today that leads to discouragement among church leaders, lay and clergy, when a `successful' ministry model does not take root; that the institutional needs of the larger congregation cause a siphoning off of a person's faith and joy in Christ; and that while there has been reformations of faith throughout history there has not been a suitable `structural' transformation, Simson argues that a simplification is needed and that simplification is the house church.
Written in an engaging and impassioned style, Simson argues from the point of history and modern cultural that for the Church to truly grow and be all that God has called it to be, it must grow "flatter" and "sideways."
Anticipating questions regard the issues of male and female leadership, Simson affirms the need for both and often uses the analogy of family to emphasize the point. The book also contains several practical outlines as to how house churches can and do function.
While respectful of the cell church and the traditional church, Simson passionately argues for the house church model that is less dependent on a single leader and less wieldy to adapt and multiply. But his vision is very challenging especially as it depicts a church that basically returns to a counter-culture perspective in which smaller is healthier and challenges the individualistic culture that has engulfed western society. (Tyndale)
A book worth reading and `chewing' on.