This manifesto can be adopted by anyone or a group of disciples who truly seek to be faithful to God and to be part of the authentic house church movement.
“A covenant protects unity, doctrine, and mission as house churches multiply. It keeps fire from becoming fragmentation.
HOUSE CHURCH NETWORK COVENANT “One Body. Many Homes. One Mission.” We affirm:
• Jesus Christ as the only Head of the Church • Scripture as our final authority
• The Holy Spirit as our present guide and empowerer
• The Great Commission as our shared mandate (Gospel of Matthew 28:19)
• We exist to make disciples who make disciples.
OUR SHARED DNA
Every house church in this network commits to: • Christ-centered teaching
• Participatory gatherings (not spectator-driven) • Devotion to prayer and the Word
• Intentional discipleship • Evangelistic mission
• Leadership development • Planned multiplication
Our model reflects the pattern seen in Acts of the Apostles 2:42, which is teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer. We agree on essential biblical truths, including The Trinity, salvation by grace through faith, the authority of Scripture, and the necessity of repentance; the transforming work of the Spirit; and the future return of Christ. We allow charitable diversity on secondary issues while maintaining unity in essentials.
OUR LEADERSHIP CULTURE We commit to:
• Servant leadership (Mark 10:45 principle) • Plural leadership where possible
• Accountability and transparency • Moral integrity
• Doctrinal soundness
• Humility and teachability
Leaders will not dominate, manipulate, or build personal empires. We reject personality-driven movements.
OUR MULTIPLICATION COMMITMENT We covenant that:
• Growth will lead to multiplication, not stagnation. • Emerging leaders will be trained before being sent.
• New house churches will be commissioned in unity. We will celebrate sending, not fear it.
We follow the generational vision of 2 Timothy 2:2. This is to entrust the truth to faithful people who will teach others also.
OUR RELATIONAL UNITY
Though meeting in different homes, we commit to: • Honouring one another publicly
• Resolving conflict biblically • Avoiding gossip and division
• Gathering periodically as a wider family • Supporting one another in crisis
We are not independent silos. We are one Body expressed in many homes.
OUR ACCOUNTABILITY STRUCTURE We agree that:
• Leaders meet regularly for prayer and oversight. • Doctrinal concerns are addressed collectively.
• Moral failure is handled with both truth and restoration.
• Major directional shifts are discerned together. • Isolation is not protection.
• Unity is protection.
OUR MISSIONAL OUTLOOK We will:
• Reach our neighbourhoods
• Disciple new believers immediately
• Encourage every member to share the Gospel • Serve our communities practically
• Raise up leaders from within
Our homes are not safe havens from the world. They are sending bases into it.
OUR DECLARATION
• We are one network. Many tables. One Lord. One Spirit. One mission.
• We choose unity over ego. Truth over preference. Multiplication over comfort.
• Servanthood over status.
We covenant together for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom.”
The House Church Blueprint was Written by Riaan Engelbrecht
