How to Get a Micro-Church Going

A blog by Philip Parnham

That’s one of the burning questions currently on my mind. I’ve been in and around churches all my life and, as you might expect, I’ve come across many a way of  “doing church.”

The Creed-First Approach

In evangelical circles, one popular method is to start with the Evangelical Alliance’s basis of faith and then to get as many signatories as you can. Next, you clarify the leadership structure and off you go.

That may work for some, but to me it feels too top-down and propositional. This is essentially a creed-first approach. In contrast to that, I find myself increasingly drawn to the worldview of observant Jews for whom faith is more deed than creed.

Church as Family, Not Organisation

Stripped back to its fundamentals, a Christian church is simply a group of people coming together under the lordship of Christ. Jesus said: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20).

To be honest, I’ve had enough of church-as-organisation with its dominant (and all too often male) professional Christian leader bent on world domination through branding, tithing, and bums on seats.

If a micro-church wants my involvement, yes, I know there needs to be some structure and organisation. But — and this is all-important — it must major on church-as-family and prioritise genuine friendships. Otherwise, quite frankly, I’m not interested.

Avoiding the Other Extreme

At the other end of the spectrum lies consumerist individualism which amounts to a pick ’n’ mix Christianity that blends all sorts of beliefs and practices without ever testing them. The unspoken rule seems to be: I connect with you as long as it’s convenient for me or you don’t offend me; but once it gets tough, I’ll opt out and you might never see me again.

Both top-down control and self-centred individualism are dead ends.

Starting with Jesus and Friendship

So, what do you do if you want to avoid both extremes?

Perhaps begin with three simple commitments:

1. Jesus’ lordship, 
2. The Bible as your authority in faith and practice and
3. Genuine friendship.

From there, you can begin a conversation about shared practices such as regular table fellowship, wild church in the great outdoors, knitting, football, soul friendships, or a joint reading plan. Those are the sorts of things we are exploring in our micro-church. The possibilities are endless. As a result, an “ecology” of overlapping groups begins to emerge with its own distinctives. 

The key is that shared practices must be collectively owned and shaped. Over time, these rhythms create a shared culture. Common practices cross-fertilise shared beliefs; a sense of belonging becomes palpable, there is a growing clarity about your group’s “red lines” and contributions are made – to the local community and maybe even to society at large.

Mike Breen’s Five Vs Revisited

Mike Breen talks about the five Vs: Vision, Values, Vehicles, Vocabulary, and Valuation. For me, a healthy micro-church should begin with “the vehicles” which I interpret as the shared practices that move the group forward. Where relationships with God and each other run deep, those vehicles will naturally shape values and vision as they go. In short: practice first, and through love, obedience and prayer – clarity will come.

A Simple Starting Practice: Reading Acts Together

If any of this resonates, I’d love to invite you to join a small group of us as we read two or three chapters of Acts each week until the end of the year.

The idea is inspired by practising Jews, who follow an annual Torah reading plan that builds shared identity both locally and globally. Not only do members of the synagogue follow the same annual lection, but as I understand it, their method of chavruta (i.e.  studying in pairs through dialogue and debate) deepens their understanding of the biblical text and allows pious Jews to form meaningful relationships.

As Christians, we can do something similar today by blending ancient wisdom with modern tools: WhatsApp study groups, a prayer walk, face-to-face coffees, or small workshops. There is no end to the creative ways we humans can interact.

I do believe that these reading plans could become a powerfully transformative shared practice. Speaking for our group at least, we certainly want to be rooted in Jesus and God’s Word, shaped by friendship, and sustained by shared rhythms of life.

For anyone else who might be interested in this, here is our reading plan. We will be using Tom Wright’s The Challenge of Acts (2024) as our study guide.

Here’s a reading guide. If you wish to join in, let us know.  

 

Week	Date	Reading
42	19/10/2025	Acts 1–2
43	26/10/2025	Acts 3–5
44	02/11/2025	Acts 6–7
45	09/11/2025	Acts 8–9
46	16/11/2025	Acts 10–11
47	23/11/2025	Acts 12–13
48	30/11/2025	Acts 14–16
49	07/12/2025	Acts 17–19
50	14/12/2025	Acts 20–22
51	21/12/2025	Acts 23–25
52	28/12/2025	Acts 26–28