Concerning the birth of The Home Fellowship by Faber McMullen III Background God works in wondrous and mysterious ways!
I am a descendent of some of the first Christian converts who were among a band of pagan tribes along the Southwestern coast of Scotland (500 AD). My family emigrated to Ireland for several hundred years before emigrating to America in 1759. My grandfather McMullen was raised in Western Pennsylvania as a devout Catholic. The McMullen family eventually ended up near Brethren communities, and some married into those communities. I would later meet some of those Brethren cousins, and their faith influenced me greatly. My parents were both raised in main-line denominational churches. Shortly after they married, they heard several Bible teachers from Bible churches, and they decided to raise their children in such a tradition.
In 2000, my wife and I moved with our children to our farm outside of Navasota, in rural South Central Texas. It had been a subconscious desire of my heart from childhood to live in the country. I love working with animals, working the land, and seeing God’s evident creation around me. Soon after moving to the farm, we followed our children to a local denominational church, as there were no Bible churches close by. We ministered in that church, and met many saints of God who will forever be heart-felt friends and co-laborers in the Kingdom. In time, that church lost both of its pastors and needed to sort through some denominational issues before finding a new pastor.
We happened to have friends at Brenham Bible Church with whom we had fellowship while living back in Houston. We drove over to Brenham (a 45-minute drive) and within a short period of time we were serving on the Worship team and ministering in other ways. Brenham Bible Church is part of an association of churches called the Evangelical Free Church of America (Originally a Swedish Free Church). Many Bible churches are affiliated with this association as it holds to a set of beliefs common to most Bible churches. It has been the most blessed church experience of my life. Upon arriving in Brenham, our Pastor Woody Woodward kept urging us to “start a church in your own neighborhood”. We had neither the energy nor the knowledge to embark on such an undertaking. Our time in Brenham replenished our energy and gave us the knowledge to lead worship, organize services, etc. Birth of The Home Fellowship
On January 1, 2007, Sandy (my wife) and I drove through our rural community and visited various friends. Some had been in our home Bible study a few years before. They urged us to open our house again, and to host a home Bible study. We realized that many Christians are out “on the edge” and are not being fed the Word or experiencing Christian fellowship. As we drove towards our own home, Sandy said that she felt perhaps this was God’s timing, and that we should do this. I felt the same urgings as we drove home.
When we arrived home, we wrote down our Core Beliefs and a list of “Distinctives” which are the customs and practices upon which we would like to see a fellowship founded. They are somewhat of a hybrid between Bible Church practices and Brethren practices. I admired some of the customs I observed while visiting my Brethren cousins in Pennsylvania. We mentioned these things to our friend, Michael Havens, who has felt drawn to be a part of it, and the three of us (Michael, Sandy, and me) filed the papers to be a legal non-profit entity called “The Home Fellowship”. At this same time, we notified the elders of our home church, Brenham Bible Church, of our desire to start a ministry in our home, and we asked them to find a replacement for us in our ministry as worship leaders.
Brenham Bible was joyful over the news, and Dougal Cameron, one of the elders, helped me fine tune the Core Beliefs and Distinctives. The start day was determined to be April 1, 2007. Sandy and I needed time to get some things repaired in our home, and to prepare for this. The day was moved forward when several people approached me the week prior to February 4th urging us to get started with this ministry as soon as possible. On February 4th, we met at 10:00 am and The Home Fellowship was born. The day prior to our first meeting, God led us to Russell Cushman (one of the three elders) and wife Linda with whom we shared the vision of the Fellowship. They were with us on the first morning with their daughter, Raegan who played guitar. That first morning we prayed together, sang praises together, took communion together, and we examined Acts 2:42 together. It was a beautiful cold crisp morning. The wood stove was burning and it all felt so right.
On February 11, 2007 the elders of Brenham Bible laid hands on us, and committed us to this work. The rest is history. So, What Now? Where is this thing headed? We intend to host this Fellowship for the long run. When and if we outgrow the Living room, we will move to the pavilion by our swimming pool. When and if we outgrow the pavilion, we ask the Lord to provide something larger. If we remain a small group of 10 families or so who grow in the Lord and serve Him in our community, then we will rejoice in that. We have no plans to acquire land, store up assets, or spend a lot of money. God is providing all that we need through His people right where we are, right now. Isn’t God good? Doesn’t He surprise? What a blessing to see this farm used for His glory! Someone asked me “if they were invited?”. I said, “All are welcome and God will invite and bring those whom He desires to be here; either to minister or to be ministered to”. We will try to inform everyone about what we’re doing, but this is His house, His table, so we trust that He’ll do the inviting. Feel free to visit us, and if you feel God inviting you, bring a pillow and find a piece of floor to call your own (if we run out of chairs). What a blessing to get to have a part in all of this. Doesn’t God work in wondrous and mysterious ways? Let us praise His name together!
