If you were to hear the following, would you imagine it would be at (a) a church leadership meeting or (b) with the congregation itself?
- Let’s review what we learned at our last gathering.
- Let’s celebrate obedience by asking where you were able to share a gospel this past week.
- Let’s learn a new story or passage from the Bible.
- Let’s apply it by discussing what it says about God, people and how we’re to live.
- Now let’s practice by closing our Bibles and summarizing the story as a fill-in-the-blank.
You might be surprised to discover this discussion is not for leadership only—at least where God is at work in certain rural areas of the Philippines. In literally hundreds of villages, this weekly hour of engagement is what everyone experiences in their microchurch (also known as a house church), along with worship, prayer, Communion, giving and other practices.
“Our goal is to get everyone involved, soaking in the Word of God along the way,” notes Rolly Del Monte, who serves as co-regional director, along with Max Beloso, for NewThing church multiplication network in East and Southeast Asia. “This approach engages people to learn the Word, connect with it and apply it to their lives. It’s also a simple process to learn and reproduce, involving eight specific steps. People quickly decide, It’s easy, and I can lead a group through it.”
And they do. When I interviewed Del Monte, who has been serving in rural mountainous areas for many years, he shared about a man who in recent months had become a Christian through the microchurch that meets in Del Monte’s home. This young adult had not only started his own microchurch already, but he was also mentoring someone else in the process.
In fact, since 2020, more than 10,000 new disciples have been made on the three major islands of the Philippines. Between 2020 and December 1, 2024, this Filipino-led region of the NewThing network (which was birthed through Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois) has trained 2,892 leaders and planted 2,923 microchurches. Almost all of these microchurch leaders are volunteers—farmers or blue-collar workers who open their homes to host a church and who, in turn, train others to start similar microchurches.
Roughly half the population of the Philippines lives in rural areas, many in mountainous regions with few transportation options. Traveling to a larger town for a large regional Sunday celebration service is difficult, and while encouraged, few can make it weekly. For most, the hub of their growth and development as a believer occurs in the microchurch.
The Church Has Left the Building
Del Monte’s mother was the first known believer in his family. After she got saved, she brought him to her church’s Sunday school where he too became a believer. The other children in the family, strongly resistant at first, eventually all became Christians. For them, the church building served as the central hub for spiritual growth.
While that model worked for them in their city, Del Monte sees the house-based model as both scripturally grounded and more effective for the communities they’re trying to reach. Del Monte’s mother, who is 86, now leads a weekly microchurch of 20–30 people in her home, and Del Monte and his wife have led numerous microchurches in their homes over the years.
“House-based ministry is all over the Book of Acts,” he says. “We believe Jesus started the church the way that he wanted it, and now he wants it the way that he started it. Microchurches are a good platform for people to understand what the church is all about—and especially that it’s not dependent on a building.”
In Del Monte’s work to catalyze reproducing disciples, leaders, churches, networks and movements—all birthed out of a passion for evangelism and rooted in a commitment to the Great Commission—he has seen far more church growth outside of church buildings than inside them.
“With God’s grace, we have left the church building,” he says. “We are bringing ‘church’ to every house that the Lord will open, as well as to railroad yards, under trees, in slum areas and more.
“We coach people in our organization—Frontline Worship Center—and our networks, that when somebody asks, ‘Where’s your church?’ your response will be your microchurch that meets between Monday and Saturday. That’s your first identity and the first place to invite them, rather than starting with the regional Sunday celebration at Frontline.”
Building Trust
In Filipino culture, according to Del Monte, trust isn’t given automatically—it must be earned. People need to see that you genuinely care about and love them before they are open to deeper conversations about faith. Being intentional in building relationships creates the foundation for trust and transformation.
A core focus of house churches is doing life together. They are not just gatherings but communities where people share their joys, struggles and everyday lives. This authentic relational environment fosters spiritual growth and creates a strong sense of belonging.
Microchurches are typically 10–15 people, and at most 30 people. While each has a designated leader and usually an apprentice leader, the genius of the structure is that everybody is involved in leadership training.
The eight-step process everyone experiences is summarized with these words: 1) Personal Update, 2) Worship, 3) Review, 4) Celebrate, 5) Bible Discussion, 6) Practice, 7) Plan and 8) Pray. Using this process, microchurches are not launched from the regional Sunday celebrations (though they could be), nor even from a class such as a Bible study (though they could be). Instead, one microchurch can quickly birth one or more other microchurches, each volunteer-led and all under the overall oversight of Frontline Worship Center.
Multiplication Simplified
The eight-step process was adapted from training and mentoring materials created by a ministry called No Place Left. “They designed it for Asian-context microchurches, which are tribal in having so many family connections,” Del Monte explains. “It’s also a simple and reproducible process.
“Even new believers actually do this,” he adds, describing the way he took a new believer with him on a series of recent outings. “The first time, he just watched, but the second time he did some of the steps with me. Soon he was doing many of the steps alone with me at his side. The last time he did all the steps, and then we debriefed, as we always do.”
In short, he says, it can work anywhere because all people need relationships. “Simple is the most reproducible,” he says. “God can use ordinary people for extraordinary work. House-based microchurches empower believers from all walks of life to take ownership of the mission, stepping into leadership roles they might never have imagined.” And, as evidenced by the tremendous volunteer-driven growth, they do.