House Church Seminar for Lay Leaders

October 2, 2026 – October 4, 2026

Are you a lay leader at a local church that is trying to implement house church ministry? Or are you a current or potential shepherd at a local church that has already started to implement house church ministry but you want to know how to be a great shepherd? If you are in any of these positions, then we invite you to attend the House Church Seminar for Lay Shepherds to:

• Learn the biblical reasons for and principles of doing house church ministry
• Learn the practical steps of implementing house church ministry in your local church
• Experience our House Church ministry first hand
• Hear from Pastors, Shepherds, Shepherdsʼ wives, and congregation members about how House Church has transformed their lives

House Church Seminar Objectives

• We help churches and pastors who share the common dream to establish their house church ministry well.
• We provide coaching to pastors so that they can build God’s church through their lay leaders.
• We help churches regardless of their denominations or differences.
• We actively support churches in strategic locations for planting of house church or converting to house church.
• We assist churches that have already adopted house church by providing them with analysis, evaluation, and consultation.

Cost

The cost of the seminar, including food and lodging, is a registration deposit of $100 per individual. However, we will return your deposit to you upon completion of the seminar. We are committed to House Church ministries.

Registration – Easy as 1, 2, 3!

There are three steps for our seminar registration.  First, you will complete an online registration form that is reviewed and then approved. Second, once your registration has been approved you will receive notification to submit your security deposit of $100. (We will fully refund the deposit at the completion of the seminar.). Finally, you will submit your travel itinerary.

REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON JULY 25, 2026 at 9AM CST.

Step 1: Click here to register!

Participants should each register individually.  Provide completed information so that we can review and approve your registrations in a timely manner.  Our one prerequisite is that your senior pastor should have already attended the House Church Seminar.

• We recommend that couples attend the seminar together.  Each couple must submit a separate registration per person.
• Each church is asked to limit their number of participants being sent to the seminar to 10 members only.
• Space is limited and registration will close when full or by August 14, 2026 at 6PM CST.

Step 2:  Deposit Submission

Approved seminar attendees will receive an email notification with instructions to submit your seminar deposit fee.  You will have 5 business days from the date of the email notification to submit your deposit.  If we do not receive it within 5 days then you risk losing your seat at the seminar.

• From US locations (Domestic Participants): You will submit your $100 deposit online via the Church Center app (where you initially registered).
• From non-US locations*(International Participants):  You can secure your spot via a confirmed/purchased air travel ticket to Houston. Please send a copy of your booked travel itinerary showing that your flight has been purchased and secured.

We will email you a confirmation notice after we receive your deposit. Please do not purchase an airline ticket until you receive the confirmation notice (*except international participants whose registrations have been approved via receipt of their confirmed travel).

Step 3:  Travel Info

Once you’ve submitted your deposit, you can proceed with book air travel (if needed) and then upload your travel itinerary. This step will help prepare your hosting shepherd who will provide your transportation and lodging in Houston for the seminar.

• West Coast participants are strongly encouraged to arrive by Thursday evening to avoid being late on Friday
• Attending Sunday worship is the final part of the seminar. Please make your departure flight after 3PM Sunday.
• If you are traveling internationally, please consider jetlag and allow an extra arrival day to give you time to adjust for the start of the seminar.

Questions

• For more information about House Church Seminar, please contact our House Church Seminar Coordinator at seminar@nlfhouston.org.

Important Notes about the House Church Seminar for Lay Leaders – Please Read

1. Only members of churches where the senior pastor has attended a House Church Seminar in the past are allowed to attend. If the Senior Pastor does not know anything about House Church ministry but the members become excited about it, this can create major problems for the church.
2. The seminar starts sharply on Friday at 2PM. Please arrive in Houston either Thursday afternoon or on Friday before 12PM.  Lunch will be served first at 12:30PM on Friday.
3. Sunday worship is an important part of the seminar. You need to experience Spirit-filled Sunday worship in order to succeed in the house church implementation. Therefore, please register only if you can attend Sunday worship. Please make your departure flight after 3PM Sunday.
4. Please refrain from accepting any speaking engagements or visiting relatives until the completion of the seminar in order for you to be able to focus on the seminar.
5. Lodging will be provided by a hosting house church shepherd to which you will be assigned. Since each house church shepherd will be assigned two seminar attendees, there is a possibility that one may need to sleep on the floor. Your host will contact you to discuss details.
6. Your hosting house church will pick you up and drop you off at the airport. Since you will be contacted by your hosting house church shepherd, please share all your information in regards to your trip itinerary with him or her.
7. Participants will be prayerfully assigned to a New Life Fellowship House Church Shepherd that will host you for the duration of the seminar (Thursday/Friday through Sunday).  We only assign married couples to the same house church shepherd.  Members of the same church are hosted by different shepherds to get a more diverse and full experience of house churches.
8. Please read “House Church” by Young G. Chai with Daniel Chai. You can order one from New Life Fellowship by contacting our church administrative assistant at 713.896.7755. You can also order here.

House Church Seminar for Lay Leaders – Sample Schedule