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Chigwell Christian Fellowship - London (Epping)
We meet on Sunday afternoons at 3pm at various houses in, or near, Epping in Essex. The gathering starts with an hour or so (occasionally up to one and a half hours) of corporate worship, prayer and sharing together, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12-14. As such there is freedom for everyone to participate as they feel led. It is not a 'church service' (the New Testament knows of no such thing), and no-one 'leads' the proceedings. However, this is not a 'free for all' and any participation must be according to the ground rules laid down for us in the New Testament. We therefore encourage visitors to feel as free as the rest of us to participate, but to nevertheless be aware that there are limits concerning what can be said or done.
During the worship and sharing time everything should be done for the edification of all present, and with only one person speaking at a time. It is not an opportunity for people to push their pet doctrines or to get a platform for any theological 'bees in their bonnet.' Any usage of the gifts of the Spirit is on the understanding that whatever is said will be tested according to scripture. Also, anyone using the open forum as an opportunity to share anything which the church would consider to fall into the category of serious false teaching will be asked to stop. We also take seriously the teaching of scripture concerning God's order for family and church: that men are the heads of their households and the spiritual leaders of their families, and this should be reflected in every aspect of corporate church life. We therefore observe the commands in scripture that such things as church leadership, and the task of bringing doctrinal teaching to the church, is for the guys.
After this corporate time of worship and sharing together, the focus shifts to that of fun and fellowship together as an extended family of God's people. We have the Lord's Supper as our evening meal and all bring food to share together. It's just about the best meal of the week and the atmosphere is that of feasting and fellow-shipping with the non-stop hubbub of background conversations. Once the eating is over (and it takes a while) people leave or stay according to their circumstances, but all are welcome to stay for as long as is is reasonable to the host family.
Our understanding of the New Testament is that children are actually part of the church and therefore we do not have a Sunday School or creche or anything similar. During the worship and sharing time the younger ones are quite free to play quietly on the floor, or bring books for reading or colouring, but should remain under the supervision of at least one parent at all times. Any unruliness should be taken care of by a parent so as to keep distraction of others to a minimum. This does not mean we don't expect the children to have fun (the adults in the church want to have fun too) but simply that there does have to be a measure of calm and control, and that the noisier aspects of childhood need to wait until, weather permitting, they can spill out into the garden.
Anyone wanting to come and visit is more than welcome (and we regularly get visitors from all over the world), and you can contact us through our web-site at www.house-church.org
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