When considering the topic of house churches, a common question people ask is about an external institutional affiliation, such as a denomination or similar organization, network, or umbrella/covering body.

We have heard of multiple house church movements in America and Europe that have come and gone over the past few decades. In several cases, there were as many as two dozen churches connected as a network in a region. When we meet people who were involved in a movement like this, they are nostalgic about the glory days when things seemed to be thriving, but eventually, they tell us, it all fizzled out quite quickly ...