Mimos Small Church Network is a fellowship of intentionally small churches that primarily meet in homes.
Mimos is the Greek word for imitate or mimic and is found in Ephesians 5:1 which says “Imitate Christ and live a life of love.”
The mimos Small Church network currently has house churches meeting in the Eastern and Western Suburbs of Melbourne and in North West Tasmania.
What is a Church?
We define church as a family sized community of Jesus followers, encouraging each other and holding each other accountable to be fully committed to kingdom of God living.
“For the past seventeen centuries (since Constantine) church has been a place to attend. Most Christians go to a special building at a special time to watch special people perform. Once or twice a week, they sing songs, listen to a monologue, put money in the offering plate and go home.” (Small is Big, Tony and Felicity Dale, p.30)
But this is not what we see in the New Testament.
In the New Testament we see that the early Christians primarily met in smaller groups in people’s homes.
Romans 16:3-5 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. 4 In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. 5 Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home.
Colossians 4:15 Please give my greetings to our brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.
Philemon 1:1-2 I am writing to Philemon, our beloved co-worker, 2 and to our sister Apphia, and to our fellow soldier Archippus, and to the church that meets in your house.
“The Bible does not teach that an event on Sundays, where a passive crowd watches a religious performance, is a New Testament church.” (The House Church Book, Wolfgang Simson, p.13)
- Church is not a building
- Church is not a service to attend
- Church is not a time
An Intentional Small Church is a Spiritual Family
We are spiritual brothers and sisters. We do not “go to” family. It is not an event or a place. We are family. Families are connected by relationships and those relationships are strengthened as they gather together regularly. This is the same for the church. We seek genuine relationships and authentic fellowship where we can be real with each other.
“When a family gathers around the dinner table, the mother doesn’t say to the children. Now let’s all listen to what Dad has to say and then the father talks for forty minutes explaining something of little relevance to the kids… Healthy families are interactive, participatory and intensely relevant to the people in them.” (Small is Big p.78)
“In many ways a house church is like a spiritual extended family; it is relational, spontaneous, and organic. For its everyday life, a house church does not need any higher level of organisation, bureaucracy, or ceremony than an ordinary large family. In fact, house churches very much reflect the way relatives behave with one another.” (The House Church Book p.32)
Each church should not be bigger than a large extended family. When the group gets to 15 or up to 20 people, the group multiplies and additional small churches are formed.
An intentional small church:
- is not a mini version of a traditional church that happens to meet in a home.
- is not a cell group or a small group of a larger church
- Is not a Bible study – but we do study the Bible
- Is not a Prayer meeting – but we do pray
We define church as a family sized community of Jesus followers, encouraging each other and holding each other accountable to be fully committed to kingdom of God living.
Mimos Small Church Characteristics
Ministry by all and for all
Anyone can lead and facilitate a Mimos small church. Age, gender, social status and education are not barriers to leadership. Leadership is identified by calling, character and gifts. No single person is the “leader,” but we do have people appointed to facilitate or oversee our churches. We want to allow Christ to be the head of the church and the Holy Spirit to be our guide. We are all members of one body and we are each given gifts to help the church grow. (Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). All Christians are called to be kings and priests (1 Peter 2:9). There is no clergy/laity or pastor/congregation divide. We are all called to be fulltime Christians.
Mission Focused – Mimos small churches are focused on helping other people become Christ followers. Jesus never told his followers to plant churches, he told them to make disciples. When we focus on making disciples, new churches will be a natural outcome. We look for people of peace (Luke 10). We encourage each other to go and find people who are ready to find God and lead them to Him. We pray for opportunities. We encourage each other to be bold. We seek to be led by the Holy Spirit.
Relationship Oriented – Mimos small churches are oriented towards helping us grow closer to God and closer to each other. The New Testament has over 100 one another commands – these one another verses of the New Testament are difficult to follow without close connected relationships and these close connected relationships are most achievable in small gatherings of God’s people.
“The house church reflects God’s qualities and his character. This community lifestyle is moulded in the spirit of love, truth, forgiveness, faith, and grace. In house churches, we love each other, forgive each other, mourn with those who mourn, laugh with those who laugh, extend and receive grace, and constantly remain in touch with God’s truth and forgiveness. The house church is a place where all masks can be removed, and where we can be open to one another while still loving each other.” (The House Church Book p.33)
Multi-generational – Mimos small churches include all ages in their gatherings. There are not separate ministries for different age groups. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to all people. We can learn from each other no matter what age we are.
Easily Reproducible – Mimos small churches are intentionally small and the gathering is uncomplicated – this makes it easy to reproduce. The simpler something is, the easier it is to reproduce. The key elements of simple church are as basic as possible, the pattern for church gatherings are simple and easily replicated.
Financially Unburdened – Mimos small churches have low overheads. We do not own or maintain buildings, our small churches do not have paid “pastors.” Leaders and hosts volunteer their time and their homes to serve.
There are some costs associated with the Network including a small stipend for the co-ordinator, costs to maintain connection with the denomination, compliance costs like insurance and subscriptions. These costs are shared amongst the network churches.
This low cost base means that Mimos churches can support causes and needs within their own communities and those connected to their communities. The goal is that no more than 20% of money given to the church stays with the church to cover Network costs and that 80% is distributed to needs and causes outside the church.
Mimos Small Church Gatherings
Mimos small churches meet regularly. Our gatherings are based on a New Testament model of house church as described in Acts 2:42-47.
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
What does a Mimos Small Church gathering look like?
The Mimos Small Church Gathering involves everyone reading and learning from the Bible, sharing, praising, praying, and eating a meal together.
Acts 2:42 – All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
1 Corinthians 14:26 – Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.
Teaching
Simple interactive Bible study where everyone is involved in the learning process. Everyone teaches and everyone learns. The goal is not to have a few gifted teachers but to have a lot of hungry learners. We use simple methods of study – What does it say?, What does it mean?, What difference does it make in my life? We seek to listen to and be guided by the Holy Spirit. We also draw on the knowledge, experiences and wisdom of the whole group.
Sharing and Ministry
Each person is a teacher and each person is a learner. We disciple each other and help each other to more closely align ourselves with God’s purposes. God can speak through everyone through words, songs, revelation, prayers, or images to teach and encourage.
Fellowship – Sharing life and strengthening relationships. Sharing life with each other, being genuinely connected in relationship helps us to pray for each other and support each other.
Prayer – We mostly use short simple prayers. These may be planned times of prayer or spontaneous prayer as the Holy Spirit guides us.
Food – Food is an essential ingredient to our church gatherings. It was part of the New Testament church gathering and the meal facilitates discussion and creates an atmosphere where genuine, authentic relationships can develop and grow.
Lord’s Supper – we have a focused reflection on Christ’s death and resurrection as part of the shared meal.
WHAT IS A WESLEYAN?
We are a gathering of local churches and ministries from around Australia serving together under the umbrella of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia. We find our roots dating back to John Wesley who was a key component of 18th Century revivals in England. His desire was to spread the message of Scriptural Holiness around the world. This is our mandate today. From these beginnings came the ‘Holiness Movement’ and at its heart is the message of perfect love, which is to love God with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength and our neighbour as our self. (Mark 12:30-31 NIV)
We, the Wesleyan Methodists of Australia, are a part of a wider church that is connected together under the name, the Wesleyan Church. We are now found in over 80 nations. In 2011, worldwide Sunday morning worship attendance was 475,000 persons in more than 5,000 congregations. Worldwide total membership was 368,000.
In 1946, the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia was officially formed in Melbourne under the leadership of Kingsley Ridgway. While the initial beginnings were slow, we have now spread across the country with around 95 churches. Our people come from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and communities. While we do celebrate our diversity, we also acknowledge the values that hold us together – such as our love for the word of God, the bible, our commitment to Christlikeness, our passion for disciple-making, and our call to servant leadership.
The message we share is a message we are experiencing everyday.
It is a message of hope, it is the message of love, and it is the message of life.
It is the message of Christ and the Cross.
WHAT WESLEYANS BELIEVE
Wesleyans believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Saviour of all who put their faith in Him alone for eternal life.
We believe that those who are made new in Christ are called to be holy in character and conduct, and can only live this way by being filled with the Lord’s Spirit.
We believe in the Bible and its sufficiency to establish our faith and conduct.
We believe God wills for people everywhere to know Him and be made new in Christ.
We believe that the purpose of the Church is to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to reach a lost and fallen world with the gospel of Jesus Christ through its worship, witness, and loving deeds.
The following are terms descriptive of who Wesleyans are and why they do what they do. They describe the “soul of the Church”:
BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: The Bible is God’s holy Word. It uniquely and infallibly reveals God’s plan for His people and how to live out that plan, individually and corporately. Beliefs, practices, priorities, and our mission are to be anchored in clear biblical teachings.
CHRISTLIKENESS: Jesus Christ is the defining feature of God’s will and relationship with all humankind. In Christ is found both newness of life and the highest and clearest example for godliness. People made new in Christ find Him to be the source of faith, hope, and love in both the inner life and in our outward actions engaging a world desperate for hope and life.
DISCIPLE-MAKING: Making disciples is a clear mandate from Christ. This requires a strong missional focus on evangelism and training in spiritual growth and holy living. Done effectively, this will produce and promote growth and health in and among the churches.
LOCAL CHURCH CENTRED: The denomination exists to help local congregations grow and multiply, be more healthy, and more authentically reflect God’s plan. Local churches are the most fundamental and strategic points of evangelism and discipleship. The challenge of the denomination is to keep finding the best ways to serve, strengthen, and multiply congregations.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP: Wesleyans respect leadership that is placed over them, while realising that the authority and effectiveness of spiritual leadership is not primarily bestowed, but earned, and is characterised by a loving and willing heart of obedience that serves God and mankind gladly. Wesleyans desire to be leaders in serving.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY: There is intrinsic value in every person. Biblical unity becomes all the more important and beautiful in the light of the wide-ranging differences in personalities, cultures, races, languages, talents, and perspectives. Finding unity and mutual love in Christ eliminates devaluation and deprivation of life to one another.
