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We had the opportunity to live in another country for four years.
We had not (unfortunately) yet caught the House Church vision. BUT what we experienced because of having a "tentmaking" vision (being like Paul, supporting ourselves in the workplace and sharing the gospel as much as possible)resulted in us "accidentally" discovering the truths contained in the simple church vision: that the greatest impact we had as believers was NOT on the people we "tricked" into going to church, but on the people we LOVED in our home.
Some examples: One woman said, "I never wanted to believe in God before, but seeing your family makes me want to believe in God." She had been getting to know us for three years, and had been a real "connecting person" for us with others -- yet previously, she had read Shirley MacLain's "Out on a Limb" and believed in that vision of reality. Just for her to become open was a real breakthrough. Another said, "I didn't want to get married and have a family, because my family was so terrible. But your family has given me hope that it can be different." Several Christian families experimented with home schooling because of our example. One continues to homeschool now, three years later. Very radical there! Several people from my husband's workplace chose to follow Jesus, or returned to the Lord, because of his workplace testimony. Quite a few families got connected with believers because our family acted as a catalyst between people who would not normally meet one another. We bridged social gaps by inviting people of many kinds into our home together.
Our "family life" on the field WAS our ministry!
We have been total immersion now into trying to fill in the gaps in our understanding so that in the future we might be used the same way again -- but more effectively!
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