Those who followed Jesus originally were known as “the Way.” Later, in Antioch, these followers were called “Christians,” and the name stuck. Together, Christians are the “church.”
Buildings, cathedrals, denominations, doctrinal statements, programs, and campaigns all came later. At first, it was just the followers of Jesus gathering together in private and public to worship God, pray, hear His Word, baptize new believers, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
Put simply, the New Testament church is the people of Jesus, indwelled by His Spirit, gathering together whenever they could and telling the good news that through Jesus, people could receive eternal life.
Clusters Are the Church
“Clusters” is a word we use because many people confuse what it means to be the “church.” They go to church, which often includes membership, attendance, and programs to carry out the church's ministry to make disciples.
“Clusters” are the followers of Jesus without most of the add-ons. Clusters are people whose lives intersect regularly, who worship God, build one another up in love, and act as a showcase for Jesus’ love.
We use the term “clusters” because it reminds us of a heavy-laden grape vine all attached to the same person, Jesus, but every branch and every cluster is different. Yet, they are all grapes—they are all followers of Jesus. “Clusters” reminds us of the Vine and Branches imagery that Jesus used in John 15 to illustrate how people and groups are connected to Him.
“Clusters” are not souped-up small groups. Nor are they Bible studies, home groups, or life groups. They may be all the above, but at its heart, “Clusters” are the church.
They are not “church-lite” but effectively make disciples as the entire Body of Christ.
It’s a Messy Business
Being the church is a messy business because people are involved. People make friends and build groups over time because it takes time to know one another deeply.
Clusters are the church but do not always function as a “congregation.” And by “congregation,” we mean when people recognize themselves as connected to one another, where they function together to build up one another by their spiritual gifts, and when biblical leadership emerges. That takes time.
Clusters can become congregations over time, but they are always the church.
We have learned that as Clusters move toward becoming congregations (if they become congregations), they have different characteristics. So, we have come to call Clusters by different names depending on how they function.
Typical church plants always move toward an “opening Sunday.” Gatherings before opening Sunday gather enough people to form the necessary core to rent a building, hire staff, and begin running ministry programs.
Clusters meet at all times. There are no “opening Sundays” and no necessary critical mass. Instead, Clusters continually morph to reflect the people within them and how the Lord guides them. They don’t all become congregations, so we have given Clusters different names to help simplify.
The rest of this article is about these types of Clusters, which are always the church but not always congregations.
The “Bible Cluster”
“Bible Clusters” are groups of people who meet regularly. They focus on Jesus and His Word through prayer and His Spirit and are always wrapped in love and grace.
Bible Clusters allow a group of people to interact over the Word. It’s not a Bible study with a teacher but a group conversation led by a facilitator. They do not replace Bible studies but have a different purpose. Bible studies are for teaching. Bible Clusters are for discovery.
The power of the Bible Cluster is the reality of Scripture engagement where everyone who engages Scripture actually encounters God directly through His Word, and that encounter leaves no one unchanged.
Bible Clusters are highly evangelistic because they are non-threatening environments for people to encounter God through His Word and the love of His people.
Bible Clusters use a facilitation technique where people READ, TALK, PRAY. They READ the Bible, TALK about it, and then PRAY to close.
Bible Clusters focus around a meeting from which relationships develop. These Clusters may last for weeks or months, but the average life of a Bible Cluster is rarely more than nine months as relationships deepen and Cluster members become more involved in each other’s lives.
Bible Clusters sounds simple, but are NOT easy. Why? People.
“Multigenerational Clusters”
“Multigenerational Clusters” are like Bible Clusters but are geared toward younger generations. They allow for multi-generational influence and mentoring and tend not to be short-lived like Bible Clusters.
Multigenerational Clusters usually develop a core of older generations, while the younger generations change but overlap yearly as students move through high school, college, or early careers.
The power of Multigenerational Clusters is that they form environments where older and younger can benefit from each other’s perspectives and strengths.
“Congregation Clusters”
“Congregation Clusters” are fully functioning church congregations that typically meet in homes but sometimes in other public spaces. Clusters become “congregations” when (1) they regard themselves as a congregation, (2) spiritual gifts function to build the Body in love, and (3) biblical leadership emerges within the congregation.
Church Awake equips next-generation shepherds and helps connect these leaders across Clusters. As a cluster has many grapes and many clusters hang on a vine, Clusters have few members, but they remain interconnected to Clusters across the vine.
Other Thoughts
Not every Cluster becomes a congregation. Existing traditional church congregations can use the Cluster model to grow disciples and evangelize.
“Bible Clusters” are good vehicles for that kind of growth. “Multigenerational Clusters” are ideal for reaching Gen Z because they focus on authentically loving communities of believers.
Clusters are the New Testament church, and as such, they are organic, decentralized, and yet interconnected. Clusters create small networks of congregations. Church Awake is a catalyst, equipper, and resource provider for this next wave of church planting as the coming of the Lord draws closer.