Acts 20:20 says, “I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes.”

Paul’s ministry in Ephesus exuded boldness in telling the truth. The mention of homes may refer to house churches. Paul had one message for all. Both Jews and Gentiles alike were included in his mission, and both needed the central message of turning from sin and turning to God.
In this day of growing complexity, the church often falls prey to the temptation to become sophisticated and complicated, to fit into the culture. Born-Again Christian believers must never let the message get lost in the trappings of the ministry (buildings, programs, schedules, calendars) or the ever-present busyness of church activities.

The Home Fellowship Churches is committed to achieve the three main purposes: ENCOURAGE, ENLIGHTEN, and EMPOWER families to share the Great Commission, preach and teach the Gospel – the Good News – the love and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ, our loving Savior and merciful Mighty God.

First, the Home Fellowship Churches’ purpose is to “ENCOURAGE” Born-Again Christian and spiritual matured believers to bring the church and/or fellowship (not the building or temple) that meets in every homes/houses, gives the families a future focus, a sense of hope, a sense of deep meaningful purpose. This sense of the future becomes more impactful, more powerful than the sense of the past, than what is often called baggage: past traumas, social injuries, past failures, and even the grasp of present circumstances. We will need to work basically on two things: vision – our sense of the future, and purpose driven life – those principles we want to live by so that we value them.

Second, the Home Fellowship Churches’ purpose is to “ENLIGHTEN” the members of the family at home through our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Light of the world. We could begin with the end in mind with a common purpose, a common vision, which is what gets expressed in a family mission statement within the Home Fellowship Churches. We may call it a purpose statement. The most important thing is the collective effort by all in the family to develop a clear sense of what that family is about and values by which it operates. A family’s vision, purpose, and values are more powerful, more significant, and more influential than the baggage of the past or even the accumulated noise of the present. The power of a mission statement lies in the family vision and in a commitment to that vision, to that purpose, and to those principle-centered values.

Third, the Home Fellowship Churches’ purpose is to “EMPOWER” families with the help of the HOLY SPIRIT to create family’s mission statement, a nurturing place of faith, hope and love that will direct and lead our families’ destination guided by our leadership skills with the wisdom comes from God. We received the guidance of the Holy Spirit and God’s Words, and the core values we want to live our lives by walking by faith in God according to His perfect will, hope from His promises, don’t give up, and envision together what lies down the road the way to live in eternity.

The Home Fellowship Churches’ ultimate purpose, vision, and mission is to establish church and/or fellowship in every home with the support and further of family’s mission statement. The family’s mission statement is to propagate the Gospel – The Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ to our loved ones, friends, and neighbors. It is also merely an extension of statement that is based on Habit Two of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People called “Begin with the End in Mind.” It focuses us on the principles of what we want to be in terms of character, and what we want to do about contributions and achievements. It is based upon self-chosen values and principles. This is the supreme value of the process of long-term thinking, long term planning in building powerful family mission statement that surround the accomplishment of worthy purposes for all God’s glory.

Published by Elias A Busuego Jr PhD DTM

Elias A. Busuego, Jr., PhD, DTM is self-described as “proud of the only two women in my life – my wife and my daughter (with her husband and one grandson & one granddaughter). I am also proud of my three sons: John and his family (two sons & 1 daughter); Christopher and his family (with his wife and one grandson & one daughter); and Elias Jr. IV and his family (with his wife and one son & one daughter), who are all serving in the U.S. military.” The author states that he read the Bible back-to-back, and learned the history behind it, but did not understand its deeper spiritual perspective until he experienced of being Born-Again, born in spirit. Since he was Born-Again on March 17, 1972, he started understanding the Passage and/or Scripture on John 3:3-7 NLT. These are most of his favorite verses. In John 3:3-7 NLT says, “3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again? "Jesus replied, “I assure you; no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ In John 3:5 – This statement has perplexed and divided commentators for many centuries. Some traditions have taught that the water denotes physical birth (referring to the “water” of amniotic fluid or even semen) and Spirit to spiritual birth – in which case our Lord Jesus Christ would be saying that a person has to have two births: one physical and the second, spiritual. This view builds upon the preceding context when Nicodemus referred to physical birth. It also points to the parallel our Lord Jesus Christ makes in verse 6. According to this position, our Lord Jesus Christ would have been granting the Pharisee’s point in order to highlight the nature of the second birth as spiritual. Two strengths of this interpretation are that it avoids making the physical act of water baptism a necessity and that it avoids bringing almost a “third birth” idea into the discussion. If water doesn’t refer to natural birth, say its defenders, then our Lord Jesus Christ seems to be saying that a person must be born of their parents, born of water, and born of the Spirit. Other traditions have taught that the water refers to baptism and the Spirit to spiritual regeneration – thus, our Lord Jesus Christ would have been saying that a person must both be baptized and receive the Spirit in order to enter the Kingdom of God. This view is at times influenced by the belief that the sacrament of baptism is itself a requirement for salvation. A parallel view makes water refer to baptism but places the emphasis on teaching two steps of baptism; one by water, the other by the Spirit. For support, these views point to the larger context in John where John the Baptist and water baptism are mentioned just preceding the events in Cana and following this encounter with Nicodemus. They also rely on the tendency of previous generations of Christians to equate the mention of water with baptism. But in the first seven chapters of John, water appears in some way (naturally or symbolically) in each chapter. To associate water and baptism too closely makes baptism a higher priority than the Scriptures give it. Here, for instance, if our Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of two completely separate acts, two baptisms, it is odd that the rest of the discussion between our Lord Jesus Christ and Nicodemus never again refers to the subject but revolves entirely around the work of God’s Spirit. Still other traditions have taught that our Lord Jesus’ reference to water is not physical in either the sense of birth or baptism. The term water is simply another description of the Spirit – or the Spirit’s activity of cleansing and giving life (see John 7:37-39). In John 3:6 – Humans can produce only more human beings; this answers Nicodemus’s question in verse 4. Only God the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. At the same time God puts His Spirit into us, we are given a new regenerated human spirit. It is God’s Spirit, not our effort, that makes us children of God (John 1:12). Our Lord Jesus’ description corrects human hopes that we might somehow inherit goodness from parents or earn it by good behavior, church background, or correct associations. At some point we must be able to answer the question: Have I been born of the Spirit? In John 3:7 – Our Lord Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus that evening has been heralded to all the world ever since. Both Jew and Gentile have heard the divine mandate: You must be born again. Without the new birth, one cannot see or enter into the Kingdom of God. In those words, millions have heard our Lord Jesus Christ speaking directly to their hearts and our hearts. Behind our Lord Jesus’ challenge is His invitation to each of us –” You must be born again; allow me to do that for you.” Since he was born again on March 17, 1972, he started also understanding his other favorite Passage on Romans 12:2 NLT. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” When Elias offered his entire self to God, a change happened in his relation to the world. As one of Born-Again Christians, he believes we are called to a different lifestyle than what the world offers with its behavior and customs, which are usually selfish and often corrupting (Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:14). He commented that Born-Again Christians are to live as citizens of a future world. There will be pressure to conform, to continue living according to the script written by the world, but Born-Again Christian believers are forbidden to give in to that pressure. But refusing to conform to this world’s values must go even deeper than the level of behavior and customs – it must go to the transforming of the way we think. In Elias testimonies as a Born-Again Christian believer, he emphasized that born-again is an experience and he experienced a complete transformation from the inside out. And the change must begin in the mind, where all thoughts and actions begin. Much of the work is done by God’s Spirit in us, and the tool most frequently used is God’s Word. As we memorize and meditate upon God’s Word, our way of thinking changes. Our minds become first informed, and then conformed to the pattern of God, the pattern for which we were originally designed. When we as Born-Again Christian believers have had our minds transformed and are becoming more like our Lord Jesus Christ, we will know what God wants and we will want to do it for it is good, pleasing to God, and perfect for us. It is from those gleanings that he was able to write this book.