Persecution follows suit as the church in Iran multiplies

As the church in Iran multiplies, persecution follows suit. Over the last few months, Open Doors has learned about arrests of numerous Christians in Iran.

The crackdown on house churches continues to intensify, as officials search for and arrest anyone involved in these typically tiny fellowships. Prison sentences of varying lengths are inevitable outcomes for anyone who defies Iran’s “no house church” law.
Open Doors has reported numerous atrocities against Christians in Iranian prisons, infamous for their treatment of political prisoners.

In 2019, at least 37 Christians have been arrested: eight in Bushehr, nine in Rasht, 12 in Amol, two in Ahvaz, and one each in Hamedan, Shiraz and Isfahan.

On July 1, in the southwestern city of Bushehr, eight Christian converts, mostly in their 30s, were arrested, including five members of one family. Seven are still in prison, most likely in solitary confinement. Their homes were raided and Bibles confiscated, as well as Christian literature, wooden crosses and pictures with Christian symbols. Authorities also took laptops, phones, identity cards and bank cards. The officers are reported to have treated the Christians harshly, even though small children were present during the arrests.

Also in Bushehr, in April, 16 other converts from Bushehr reportedly lost their appeals against prison sentences for “propaganda activities against the regime through the formation of house churches.”
Another five converts submitted themselves to the central detention center in Karaj in July 2019 to begin their jail sentences for “propaganda against the state.” Manoto News broadcast footage of the Christians, four of whom have young children, waving goodbye to their loved ones.
After their arrests, the five were released in early 2018 after each posted a bail of 30 million tomans(around $7,000).
In March 2019, Milad, Yaghoob, Shahebedin and Alireza were sentenced to four months in prison. Amin, who has already spent a year in prison for his religious activities, was given 14 months. Their appeals were rejected last month.

Pray with us by name for all of these believers, recognizing that they represent only a handful of thousands of our brothers and sisters in Iran who have been threatened, arrested or imprisoned for turning to Jesus and following Him.

Your part in this expanding story

Writing in a time of great persecution for Christ followers who had lost property, been thrown into prison, were ostracized from their Jewish community, etc., the author of Hebrews offers a clear call to prayer for those who are suffering for the gospel:

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Heb. 13:3).

And in Matthew 25:34-36, Jesus is clear that when we enter into the suffering of others, we are answering His call:

“Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”

Jesus is strategically building His church and exhorts us to stand with and encourage our brothers and sisters as they live out the gospel.

Christianity to be enshrined

In a letter to The Telegraph, eight leading thinkers including Prof Roger Scruton, the philosopher and writer, insist that the moderate brand of Christianity “enshrined” in the British constitution actively protects those of other faiths and none.

The letter was published as Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, who is himself an atheist, said it was “flamingly obvious” that Britain is founded on Christian values.

David Robertson in the course of a 90 second talk had used the words "Britain's Christian traditions". It was enough to get him excluded by a particular member of the BBC's thought police. One wonders if the Prime Minister, David Cameron will be allowed to say his latest remarks on the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Many object to the British Prime Minister his characterisation of Britain as a “Christian country” and the negative consequences for politics and society that this engenders.

"In his call for more evangelism, Mr Cameron is exclusively tying himself to one faith group, inevitably to the exclusion of others," opined Elizabeth O'Casey, Policy and Research Office at the National Secular Society. She also warned the British people that we are moving away from the concept of all of us being "rights-bearing citizens first and foremost, with democratic autonomy and equality, regardless of which faith they happen to have, or not have".

At a social level, Britain has been shaped like many other European countries for the better by many pre-Christian, non-Christian, and post-Christian forces. They are a plural society with citizens with a range of perspectives. To call it religious is taking the religious element out of proportion. I do know many call Belgium also a Catholic country, but if you would question the citicens about their beliefs, wou would get a total different opinion. They mix Catholic and Christian as if it is the same, because they do not know the diffenrence and most of them do not know what Catholicisim enhales.

Most citicens donot want to recognise they have gone far away form religion and certainly far away for m the reall Christian and Jewish values.

The inhabitants of the West European countries should come to realize that they are a largely non-religious society.

I would agree with more than 55 signatories:

Constantly to claim otherwise fosters alienation and division in our society. Although it is right to recognise the contribution made by many Christians to social action, it is wrong to try to exceptionalise their contribution when it is equalled by British people of different beliefs. This needlessly fuels enervating sectarian debates that are by and large absent from the lives of most British people, who do not want religions or religious identities to be actively prioritised by their elected government.

Gavin Littaur reacts also:

David Cameron should be more careful when pontificating about Christianity, given that he does not speak for those (such as myself, a Jew), who are not necessarily of his faith and beliefs.

The Prime Minister’s urging of Britons to be “more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there” is particularly unfortunate. It is at best tactless and at worst an exemplification of the zealous proselytising of extremists.

The commentator finds the letter against David Cameron just the latest expression of an infantile multi-culturalism that has done terrible damage to social cohesion precisely because it is too weak to create any substantial bonds of identity.

The Church of England is the established church and the Queen is the head of it for reasons which are deeply bound up with the country's political, religious and cultural inheritance.

Neither does the fact that most people don't nowadays go to church on a Sunday mean that Christian values and symbols do not play a vital role in national life. Whenever there's a national tragedy -- the death of Diana for example -- watch how quickly Christianity moves back into centre stage.

says The commentator.

As in Belgium the Catholic church may be the main church, the Church of England is the established church in England, but that does not mean that most British citizens would adhere to that church or believe in the God of that church.
It is not because when we go from place to place, where we may find everywhere in any town or village across the country a local church, that we may find religious people coming to that church aor that it is functional or not. It tells more about the past than about the present. In most countries those village churches are most of the time empty buildings.

More than anything else the church buildings may define the local landscape and the visual community of which we are all a part, but that does not tell us that they and we are from the same religious community, nor believing in the same things.

Read more about this story in:

Christian Britain? Make way for the thought police

Atheists should show 'liberal tolerance' to Britain's status as a Christian country

Britain accommodates people of all faiths because Christianity encourages society to be tolerant

Cameron's Christianity in a multi-culti Britain

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• More Than 50 British Intellectuals Say to Prime Minister David Cameron: "Britain is Not a 'Christian Country'"
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• Welby rounds on critics of Cameron's Christian Britain'
• PM right on Christianity, says Welby
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Small churches of the few Christadelphians

The big difficulty we do encounter in Belgium is that when people do ask where we meet with how many, they hesitate to come to our meetings because we are not with enough people attending a service.
they all prefer to come to a church where they can hide in the massa's of people. When there are many people they can just be an unnoticed onlooker; but when there are just a handful of people present they shall be noticed by the others, and that is something what they do not like so much.

Today we also do hear about the empty Roman Catholic Churches but the growing attendance in the Pentecostal churches. On television people also can find many mega churches where enough entertainment is given to enjoy the show.

Most people have their instinctive opinions about “big church.”  Some may prefer to be a nobody in the amount of people present at a service, others may not like the feeling to be swallowed up in such a congregation.

We wonder if there are enough people who have a dislike for “big church,” because it seems so impersonal and also perhaps because in those churches the accent is not always on the right things. It is not the amount of people , the quantity in church, but should be more of the quality in church.

Those who do not want to come to our services because we are not with enough people should reconsider what they like to see in church and what would be that "Big church".

Don’t critique or judge getting big. Look the “bigness” right in the face. And ask, “What does big really mean?”

English: Jesus, followed by Simon Peter and Andrew (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Matthew 16:16-18 (NIV) says, “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”"

Well, if you are wanting to see a "Big Church" or going to go big, go really big!
When you accept that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God … you better also look at him as the one building his church!

Church of the Primacy of St. Peter on the Sea of Galilee. Traditional site where Jesus Christ appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and, according to Catholic tradition, established Peter's supreme jurisdiction over the Christian church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus is the one who makes church. Jesus is the church. Church is not a specific 'church-building' with a tower and a cross shape directed to the east.

It is also not the construction of people. Though we would like it, it is not us building the church. It’s not the pastor on the stage or the priest in the pulpit.  It is Jesus, the Son of the living God, who is building His Church.

The Church is a big idea. Because Jesus is a big idea. And because Jesus gives his disciples a big task.

All those who call themselves Christians, should be followers of Christ. they should not only be name Christians, but doers of the Word. In Acts, Jesus describes how big of a task he is giving the disciples.  Acts 1:7-8 (MSG) states,

 “He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”

Imagine if Jesus came to us and said,

 “…you will be my witness in Leefdaal, all over Flemish Brabant and the Low countries, even to the ends of the world.”

 Yeah, that’s pretty big too.   The church is a big idea, and it will expand. It started with 12 disciples and it has grown across the world to nations with more than 100 different languages.

In Acts 2:21 (NIV), it says, ”Everyone who calls on the name of The Lord will be saved.”

That saving should we proclaim and we should bring the hearts into fire for the name of Jesus. Christians should bring forwards the Gospel of the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.  Every person coming to believe in Jesus as the saviour send by the Most High Saviour Jehovah God, would have to become partaker of the body of Christ and as such being a member of the Church of God, which has Christ Jesus as its High priest.

All those believing individuals in their own houses, who believe in the offer Jesus made and accept him as their saviour, willing to become part of that Body of Christ, are part of the church.

Here is another example of ‘big church’ in the Bible.
  In Acts 2:41-47 is the story of the 3,000 who were baptized… imagine that in present day. How many kids rooms would we need from one week to the next? How many new greeters? How many overflow rooms? How many extra chairs? The Church basically went from meeting in a living room to needing a stadium! And that was just one day.

Now to transition just a little bit, it is one thing to agree and say, yes, we agree with you, Jesus that the church should probably be big. But what does is truly mean to be a disciple? Great question.
In John 13:34-35 (MSG) Jesus states,

 ““Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples — when they see the love you have for each other.”

Well, that sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Love one another, cool! I’ve got it. But what does it really mean to live out your love for each other?

The first part of loving one another is building relationships with one another.  The church is not just based out of a building or a temple, it is based out of homes. Faith is centered on two places: temple and homes.
To love one another in the old church knew they needed to meet and know each other in their homes. Meeting at the temple was important, but they had to eat with each other and know each other in order to love each other like Jesus loved.  This is such a critical part of today’s church as well! That is also the reason why we meet in houses, cafetaria's, parks, have something to eat or drink with each other and not sit on benches or ordered chairs in a row.

We need our small groups and relationships to truly know each other and love each other.

It’s a great first step to agree with Jesus. But how do we actually Do what Jesus said? How do we love one another despite the chaos of life? Despite our differences?
 Jesus directs us to do the following:

Submit to one another. Honor one another. Bear with one another. Forgive one another. Accept one another. Care for one another. Encourage one another. Restore one another. Love one another.

Most of this cannot happen on Sunday morning. We have to be in each other’s lives daily.

“We, the church family, want to get bigger for the sake of eternity and smaller for the value of each individual.”

We all should feel like brothers and sisters in Christ.

As brethren and sisters we do have to help each other to grow spiritually. It is by sharing ideas that we can help each other to see other things or to think about other things or to think in another way. As such we can grow and get more strength, because others share their messes, and we share our messes, yet we are still there for each other, serving one another and loving one another despite the chaos of life.

“Let’s share our messes so that we can see grace move in each other as light is shed on our mess.”

“Is big church healthy?

Size doesn’t have anything to do with health. Health has everything to do with our relationships.”

When we want to become good Christians, this shall not only become by becoming 'churchgoers'. We do need to make church, but making church happens in the own heart. It is the willingness to become part of the Body of Christ and willing to share that feeling with others, in love, by taking their bad and good elements, overlooking their peculiarities. Willing to take every person like he or she is, and considering him or her as your brother or sister.

This brotherly love is what makes the church, not the building or the presence of just material bodies in one specific place.

The Christadelphians may gather with not so many people, but the love of those people for each other and their love for God is what binds them all over the world. In one specific place they are perhaps not with many, but they do feel connected with others in many different countries, speaking many different languages, which we even not always understand. But we understand each other in the love of God, and that is what binds us forever.

Next time when you are looking for a church, question what you are looking for. Are you looking to find a place where you can find some nice entertainment? Are you looking for some enjoyable socialising? Or are you looking for the genuine love Christ has given mankind?

Are you submitting to one another? Are you letting others go first? Are we honoring one another in how we speak to each other? Are we caring for one another? 

When was the last time we went out of our way to appreciate and love on someone else? How are you loving each other as Jesus loves?

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(With respect to a sermon and writing by Beau Johnson)

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• New Wine Skins
• Jesus Contains Community; Community does not Contain Jesus.
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Intentions of an Ecclesia

Full Dutch article / Uitvoerig Nederlands artikel: Intenties van de ecclesia

The Greek word for “church” is “ekklesia” which simply refers to those who were "called out" for an assembly or meeting. It was a non-religious word. It just referred to a group of people. In this case, the group of people who were followers of Jesus.

In several of our articles you shall be able to find that Church is not an organization, building, or meeting of any kind. In the real sense of the word it should be simply a group of people who follow Christ.
When Jesus said "I will build my church." it simply meant that he was going to form a called out group, or crowd, or fellowship, or assembly.

Language is something which changes in time, so naturally we do have tot follow it and take the word 'church' in the meanings how people look at it today. But we also have to show them that it means more then just one meaning they want to select.
It’s very helpful to define “church” clearly. We do have to make it clear it does not mean only the sort of building specially made for worship. We can also use the word fellowship, or gathering, or brethren, or saints, or disciples.

At the beginning of our Contemporary Time table (or Common Era = CE) Jesus gathered with his followers in the open nature and in synagogues. In the first century CE ther was no formal membership, just a love-commitment to God and each other that brought people gathering together.
The purpose of those who wanted to follow Jesus and became believers was to find same-minded people and to go with the message of the Hope which was given to them by Jesus Christ the Saviour. Sometimes apostles were present, many times not. Sometimes elders were present, many times not.
The church really is the followers of Jesus who engaged in gathering and going.

The disciples of Christ and their followers came together to experience God in their midst and that is what we still have to do today. They sit not back and wait for a pastor to preach them a sermon or for a music leader to sing them a song, or just for elders to pray. they came together to enjoy the presence of each other and to participate in an assembly to praise the Lord. they knew how Jesus went everywhere proclaiming and demonstrating the reality, love, and power of the Kingdom (healing the broken-hearted, setting captives free, proclaiming God’s acceptance, etc.) and were aware what sort of task their Master Teacher had given them.

Jesus took the Gospel to the streets and told everybody to go out in the world and to spread the Good News.

To be able to spread that news we do not stay 'binnenkamers' (or) inside the room. We have to bring the word outside. This means that church, first of all, needs to transition from being a “come and see” place to a “go and be with the lost” movement. We need to go where people are already hanging out and be prepared to have conversations with them about the great love of our lives.

A meeting for brothers and sisters in Christ can take place everywhere other people are. so you can come together in pubs, shopping malls, restaurants, parks. You could say we need church where people are already hanging out. We need a church in every mall, every Carrefour, Bijkorf, Sainsbury or Tesco. Churches can go where the people are, churches can start quickly anywhere and reproduce rapidly. In this way, the church becomes what it is meant to be: a “going” movement.

The homosapiens is created not to be on his own. People were designed to need each other and rely on each other. People were designed to learn and grow from loving interaction with other people.

That should also be the intention of gathering: being together under the wings of Christ Jesus. Coming with like-minded people together to find ourselves in a loving relationship with other believers enabling each other to begin to live life in a new way, a more freeing way.

Having small groups of people coming together in formations at public or private places you could call them house-churches but we would prefer them to call ecclesiae (the plural form of ecclesia/ekklesia). Coming together they all should have the same intention, showing each other their love for God and their believe in the son who was willing to die for us. Gathering they should share the love for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Ecclesia then can become the place where we have people to encourage us when we need it and  have people to build us up. It should be the place where we have the awesome gift of having a support structure to rely on when things get tough.

The one ecclesia does not have to be an exact copy of the other ecclesia. Everybody is different so every ecclesia may be different as well. Every situation is different so every service may be different.
We do not need a set of Common Prayers or a missal to follow a strict order of service.
Creating community that is safe and that reflects God’s own love does not just happen. Someone has to risk being vulnerable and saying, “This is who I really am.” We are spiritual and human, both.
As a family we should feel life around us and be aware of what is going on in the world but also in the brotherhood. We should recognise the differences of character and the differences of situations. Our humanness should be shared in common with all. Sharing our humanness does not make us weak—it makes us close to other humans. It allows us to fulfil the biblical command to “accept one another as Christ has accepted you.” Someone has to be deliberate about taking the risk to take the masks off. In this environment of acceptance, others will do the same and true community will develop.

We should be making room for people to share. And by creating a nice atmosphere we can help each other to come loose.
There needs to be times during meals, gatherings, get-togethers where people have space to share their lives. Daring to share your live with other is one aspect of accepting the others as your brother or sister.
Good relationships are built on the inevitability of conflicts that are faced and resolved to the point where the relationship is even stronger. Relationships are made to grow us. We must deal with the real issues of hurt, pride, anger, communication, and forgiveness.

Making an ecclesia is opening yourself up to other whatever their position in life or what their interests are. Being interested in what they do, read, watch on television, etc. makes part of the togetherness. In it we do have to accept that we can be close to someone or closer to somebody else. But we also should be aware that not all relationships are going to continue to be close, even when they are good. Being part of a transformational family should be at the heart and soul of what it means to “be” the church.

It are the gatherings of believers who “are” the church and reach out to bless their neighbours and restore neighbourhoods. Each ecclesia should be a little heart of a community. the blood cells of the Parish which supports the oxygen.

Together we do have to try to work together so that we get clean fresh blood every day of the week a whole year through.

Which food, the quality and quantity depends on choices, but in every community the most precious food and main dish should be the Word of God. Everything should be centred around the Bible.

We can encounter many different ecclesiae but for all of them the highest priority should be the Love for the One and Only Elohim God Almighty Jehovah/Yahweh and His Word, plus the spreading of the Gospel, the Good News of the Saviour Jesus/Yeshua, the Messiah, his return and the Kingdom of God.


How and what 'you can eat' to get the best intentions you can read in:
An Organic Church in the line of what God wants
What to expect from a Christadelphian meeting?


Please do find more about the Ecclesia in:

• Several articles concerning the essence of an Ecclesia
• What and why ecclesia
• The Ecclesia in the churchsystem
• Reasons to come to gether
• Love for each other attracting others
• What makes a consecrated Christian
• and look out for the coming articles on the difference between church and ecclesia on 'Christadelphian Ecclesia'.
• The Truth
• Love for each other attracting others
• What makes a consecrated Christian
• Jesus Christ being dispatched as the Figurehead of a Religion

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In Dutch you can find / In het Nederlands:

Aangeraden lectuur: Wat en waarom ecclesia

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• Omtrent bijeenkomen en vergaderen
• Opbouw van een ecclesia
• Tonen elkaar lief te hebben en zo anderen aantrekken
• Opbouw van een ecclesia en verbonden kosten
• Een moment voor jouw en God
• Essentie van dit christendom van mij
• Trouw blijven aan de leer van je kerk
• Jezus Christus weggezet als de leider van een religie
• Een richtlijn om zich van het verkeerde af te houden

Lees meer over Ecclesia in de artikelen van de Christadelphian Ecclesia.

An ecclesia in your neighborhood

Sometimes you hear people complaining that they do not have a church nearby.
But then you could wonder why they do not bring the church in their village. God is everywhere and you can reach Him at any place all over the world. He is not limited to a certain building.
So those who would like to have an ecclesia nearby could start to create that place in their home town.

The Brothers in Christ prefer to use the term ecclesia (ekklesia in the Greek) meaning ‘gathering’ and historically refers to any gathering in any context, secular or otherwise. The word implies people not buildings or programs. All of God’s people make up the church. We are the church together. ‘Church’ is people. That is the view the earliest Christians had of themselves.‘Church’ is loaded with so many connotations. We wish we didn’t have to use it! One easily thinks of buildings with pointy roofs, stained glass windows, pews, pulpits, shrines and statues, priests and pastors. People think of it as ‘where you go’ and ‘what you do’. This is a far cry from the view the earliest Christians had of themselves.

The basic unit of the church in the first three centuries was the ‘household’ or ‘oikos’ (Gr). Oikos refers to the ‘household’ rather than just the building. Households in New Testament times included wider family, slaves, servants, clients and in fact one’s ‘sphere of influence’. We as brothers and sisters in Christ should feel bounded together and should not feel that there are any differences between us in rank, colour, age. Everybody in the community should have the same value. Our binding element should be Christ Jesus, who died for us all. As his followers we should be like being his brother or sister and should share the love with others as he showed his love for all those around him.  Jesus went into different houses and showed in them how people could come to his Father. In one upper room he also showed the apostles how they should continue his work and have a meal together with other believers. Around the table he asked them to do in remembrance of him a breaking of the bread and a sharing of the cup of the New Covenant. Jesus did not do that in the temple, but in a hired room in a normal house. We also can either hire a room, use an open or public space or better still, use a living or other room in some ones house. Jesus was reared in a home in a family and as a family man he loved also the atmosphere and fulfilled his ministry often in homes. The house was, as today, the place where the basic unit of society lives – the family. Note the many times we read of Jesus eating with His disciples and with others – in homes.
Disciples were sent out on a door-to-door mission and Jesus also told them to continue their way in case they were not welcome at a certain place. After Pentecost, Christians met in houses. In Romans 16:3-5 and in several other places in the New Testament, reference is made to the church that meets in a home. Work and ministry in homes was part of Paul’s mission journeys.


Start with two or three friends - have a meal together, and share your vision.  Plan to encourage one another, share you lives, pray together to seek God's way forward to be and to do what He wants for you as a gathering and for the community around you.  It's as simple as that!

In our small community it is important to be open to new comers. But we always do have to be aware that we all come from many different experiences in our Christian journey. the ecclesia does not have to have many people, it is more important that those who are present are people who want to share the Good News and want to serve God. However small it is important that they are willing to encourage one another, share life, pray together, read the Bible together, and enjoy God and one another.

You could ask if there has to be a strict order of the gathering. Except that there should be a welcoming moment, an opening, a centre part  with lots of time to be taken for the Word of God with Bible reading and exhortation, the Breaking of the Bread and then a closure, there should be no strict format you have to follow or for everyone to agree on minor matters of doctrine for this to happen. It just can be inspiring to have every time a different service. Also we should avoid any regular uttering of preformed repeating texts. You do not have to be afraid to create prayers or moments of meditation on the spur of the moment, or to be afraid that the texts would not be brought fluently enough when it is not a set text. Members of the community should be sympathetic to anybody who dares to open his or her mouth. Understanding has to go out to all those who bring something into the service. Spoken or sang anything is welcome. A worship service has to be one of action and everybody in the ecclesia should be part of that action. All, young or old can contribute.

The experience of the Risen Lord was an ever-present vibrant reality within the individual and amongst the followers of Christ as they encouraged, blessed, taught and enabled one another, and as they joyously spread the Good News of the Gospel from household to household. Today is should not be different. We all should spread the word and that beautiful message of the Good News the New Covenant and the coming of the Kingdom of God.
By coming together in one place or other we can give each other a moment of blessed time.  for us it can create an opportunity to built one another from the teaching we received from the time we could have free to read in the Bible. We should be aware that not everybody has the same chances to spend the same amount on reading the Word of God. Also not everybody has the same gifts to read and understand easily. So we all should help each other to see the light. We should give each other the possibility to bring forward some questions on all sorts of matters. All the questions brought forward can then be answered in the light of Gods Word. By bringing forwards different interpretations every body can see  and hear how others think and understand certain phrases in the Bible. Everybody can also share the experience of the ways of God in each person. Very grassroots and alive. Teaching and admonishing one another all can look at and share prophecy, tongues and other gifts.

We should not be afraid that every worshipping service is different. What happens arises from the experience of God that each member has. Growth happens as the encouraging and enabling one to another takes us further on the journey as individuals and as a group. In the ecclesia we should enable and encourage the gifts of one another for the building of the Body. And this is easier to do in a smaller community, so it may not bother us that we are such a few.