What do we do in Practice?

Our concept of Church

We believe that everyone who becomes a Christian automatically belongs to the wider church of Jesus Christ. We also believe that our belonging to the wider church needs to be expressed through belonging to a local church. Local church commitment is a basic requirement of every Christian.

It is obvious that there can be no real life in the one body without local church commitment. The church is built on our relationships with one another and with God. Genuine loving, giving, accountable family relationships cannot easily be built or expressed in large gatherings. Church needs to be reality in the few (two or three gathered in my Name) as well as the many.

If we do not live as part of a committed local fellowship we are in danger of spiritually withering away. If any local fellowship is not committed to all the other nearby congregations it too is in danger of damaging the one body of Christ. No individual and no Congregation can live the Christian life in isolation. There must be genuine commitment to the one body at every level.

We can see - both in the life of Jesus and in the early church - that New Testament believers worked their church / Christian commitment out in three complementary ways :­

1. Cell or small group - Jesus had twelve disciples and within that group there were three, Peter, James and John who were particularly close to Him. For NLCF, small groups are not only the building blocks of church, they are the central focus of us being church. If to be part of the church is to be in genuine committed, loving, giving and accountable relationships, small groups provide the focus and context for us as a church.

2. Congregation. Once a group exceeds twelve in number it is hard for everyone to know each other equally well. In groups from about twelve to two hundred, there remains a level of intimacy and everyone can know each others name and participate in some way. Groups of this size can be seen in Luke 10:1-20 and Acts 1:15 and most New Testament churches would have begun at this level.

More can be done with a large Congregation size group. It is big enough to be a visible presence in the local community but still small enough for individuals to contribute in worship along the lines of 1 Cor 14:26.

3. Celebration. Meetings become spectator orientated when groups are larger than two hundred but the New Testament contains several examples of very large groups of people gathering to hear God’s word -these are community celebrations.

Large gatherings have a special dynamic which establishes a strong corporate identity - even though very few can take part. People are encouraged by feeling part of a larger whole. There is also power in the unity and agreement, both in Spiritual and physical terms.

When people become part of NLCF we ask only two things of them:

1. They become an active part of their Housegroup.

2. They regularly attend the Sunday corporate worship times.

We also strongly encourage everyone to attend the various United Meetings as a tangible expression of our wider unity in the area.

NLCF Links and Affiliations

When you become a part of NLCF, you are not just joining a church in splendid isolation. Neither are you joining a particular denomination. The church believes in relationship at all levels.

Firstly:
NLCF is part of the Body of Christ in Fleckney. Local leaders meet weekly for prayer and fellowship and also to plan and participate in United Meetings. We are also involved in wider relationships and meetings with leaders in the City and in the East and South Midlands.

Secondly:
As a church we are linked to ICHTHUS in London, part of the ICHTHUS movement numbering nearly 200 churches both in the UK and overseas.

Thirdly:
We are a member of the Evangelical Alliance with a membership of 4,000 churches and organisations plus another 2000 affiliated throughout the UK.