Christian Community & Biblical Zionism

Hello Friends,

In early 2026, we are preparing to move forward with our plans to begin a home fellowship in Burnett County, WI. If you or someone you know is interested, please pass this along and reach out via the contact info below.

I have been involved in many various forms of church and ministry over my 25+ years of following Jesus. Like many Christians, there are valid reasons why we do not participate in traditional church settings. What we are seeking to provide to the community is a means of Christian fellowship and discipleship that exists outside the mold of the physical, institutional, and corporate church.

Please see below for more information regarding our home meetings and what we believe.

To get involved, please email: blessed.pilgrim375@gmail.com

Where: 22364 County Rd. Y, Grantsburg, WI 54840

When: Sunday 9:30AM

What to Expect: We begin with a fellowship brunch, followed by a time of worship & prayer. Reading of Scripture and a ministry time will follow.

Fellowship Brunch: Coffee, tea, potluck breakfast. The host family will always provide one main course breakfast item to share.

Worship & Prayer: A time of simple worship (mix of Psalms, traditional hymns, and modern worship songs) with prayer.

Reading of Scripture & Ministry Time: Rotationally led by the congregation, we will have a time of Scripture reading followed by ministry time. The ministry time will vary based upon who is leading, and will sometimes include teaching or preaching with an emphasis on discussion.

After ministry time, the house will be open for continued fellowship. A light lunch will be available for anyone who sticks around.

Children: Children’s ministry is led by older children and/or teens who have made a commitment to follow Jesus and have been baptized. Children are encouraged to participate with the adults during fellowship and worship times. They are welcome to join the adults during the scripture reading and ministry if they prefer, otherwise, children’s ministry and craft time is available as an alternative to the general ministry time.

Read Below for a Summary of Our Beliefs

The Essentials

“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity” – Rupertus Meldenius

This is a summary of our core beliefs. An in-depth description of each statement is explained in more detail further below.

Messiah’s identity: Jesus is fully God and fully man—the promised Messiah, Savior, Lord, High Priest, and Davidic King.

The Trinity: There is one Creator God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Incarnation & Lineage: Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, incarnate God, fulfilling the Abrahamic, Judahite, and Davidic covenantal promises.

Atonement & Future Hope: Jesus lived sinlessly, died once for sins, rose bodily, ascended, intercedes as High Priest, and will return to reign from Jerusalem.

Gift of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit was given to indwell believers, convict of truth, and empower righteous living and witness.

Equal Access to the Spirit: Every believer has direct access to the Holy Spirit without human intermediaries.

Salvation: Entry into God’s family is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Messiah alone, apart from human merit.

Sanctification: Though saved apart from works, believers are called to grow in obedience and righteous living.

Discipleship & Good Works: Making disciples is the primary work of believers, expressed through love, service, mercy, and witness.

The Body of Messiah as Family: All believers are called to ministry, mutual care, and life together as God’s spiritual family.

Communion: The Lord’s Supper remembers Jesus’ sacrifice and anticipates the coming kingdom.

Baptism: Water Baptism is a public declaration of cleansing, belonging, and lifelong commitment to Jesus.

Hope for the Kingdom: Believers anticipate Jesus’ return, Israel’s salvation, and God’s kingdom established from Jerusalem over the earth.

Covenant with Israel: God’s covenant with Israel remains irrevocable, and biblical Zionism reflects God’s redemptive plan for all nations beginning “first to the Jew”.

One Gospel: There is one unified plan of salvation for Jew and Gentile through Jesus, proclaimed to all the world.

Assurance: All who place their hope in Jesus will not be put to shame.

Explanation of the Essential Beliefs

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity:

We are called to unity in core beliefs, freedom in disputable matters, and love in all things (John 17:20–23; Romans 14:1–4; Ephesians 4:1–6; 1 Corinthians 13:1–7).

Essential Christian Confessions
(Beliefs Shared almost universally with the historic Church)

Jesus of Nazareth is fully God and fully man (John 1:1–3, 14; Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:6–8); the promised Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures (Luke 24:25–27, 44; Acts 3:18). He is Savior and Lord (Luke 2:11; Acts 2:36; Romans 10:9), our Great High Priest who intercedes for us (Hebrews 4:14–16; 7:23–28), and the Son of David who will reign forever on David’s throne (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Luke 1:32–33; Revelation 22:16).

There is one God who created the whole universe. He exists in three distinct persons which are revealed in the Scriptures as The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

Jesus of Nazareth was born of the virgin Mary, from the tribe of Judah. He is the incarnation of the one true God in human flesh. This fulfills the promise of the Hebrew prophets, that the deliverer would be the descendant of Abraham, through Judah, and through David (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:1–23; Luke 3:23–34; Genesis 49:10).

Jesus lived a sinless life and became a once-for-all sacrifice for humanity’s sins when He gave up His life for crucifixion on a Roman cross. After His death and burial, Jesus rose from the dead and testified of His resurrection to the disciples. He ascended into the heavens after 40 days of giving testimony. He now sits at the right hand of the Father, serving as Great High Priest. In the future, Jesus will return to the earth to reign from Jerusalem on the throne of David, establishing a kingdom of righteousness on the earth (Psalm 110; Hebrews 4:15; 10:10–14; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8; Acts 1:9–11; Hebrews 8:1; Revelation 20:4–6).

After Jesus’ ascension, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to His disciples as a pledge, that we might know He is with us even to the end of the age. The Holy Spirit dwells within the believer, to aid our conscience and instruct us regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to follow in the way of Jesus’ righteousness, and to accomplish the work of God to make the name of Jesus known among all peoples under heaven (John 14:16–17; 16:7–11; Romans 8:9–14; Acts 1:8).

All who believe in and follow Jesus have the same access to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We do not need a medium, minister, or intermediary of any sort to experience the pledge of faith provided by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38–39; Romans 8:15–16; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 2:5, 9).

Acceptance into the family of God (the Body of Messiah) is by faith alone, through grace alone, in Messiah alone. Human effort or merit cannot accomplish the work of God’s saving grace. Jesus saves us because He loves us and is capable of doing what we cannot do on our own. (Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 3:28; Titus 3:5–7)

Our acceptance into the family of God is the work of God “that no one may boast”. We were brought into the family of God so that we can accomplish the righteous works which Jesus prepared for us before we were saved. Though our acceptance into the family of God is not based on human merit, our participation with the family of God requires us to learn and grow in works of righteousness. The Scriptures refer to this discipleship and sanctification (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:12–13; Hebrews 12:14).

Essential Convictions of Our Home Fellowship

Some of the beliefs noted below will differentiate us from particular denominations. We consider these essential not because they are salvific, but because they are foundational to our mission.

The primary righteous work of the believer is to make disciples. This is the command which Jesus gave to His disciples before ascending into the heavens. Our righteous works can take many forms and are to be guided by the love of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Whether it be through serving one another, extending mercy and forgiveness, through hospitality, or informing people about Jesus and His teaching, there are many ways in which we can participate the ministry of making disciples (Matthew 28:18–20; John 13:34–35; Galatians 5:13–14). 

All of Jesus’ followers, both young and old, male and female, are called to be ministers of the gospel of Jesus, to serve, to love, to make disciples. We are called to be a spiritual family, uplifting one another and caring for one another’s needs (1 Corinthians 12:12–27; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 4:11–16).

During the final Passover prior to Jesus’ death, He broke bread with the disciples and drank the Passover cup with them. This is the Holy Communion which Jesus gave to us that we would remember Him, His sacrifice for our sins, and to look forward to the day when He will once again share the bread and the wine with us in the age to come (Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

Just as the believer shares Communion with one another as an act of remembrance, we also immerse the new believer in the waters of baptism. Baptism is a public testimony to the community of faith that your sins are washed away, you are a member of God’s family, and you are committed to following in the way of Jesus for the remainder of your life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3–4).

We fully expect the return of Jesus, the salvation of Israel, and the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth from Jerusalem. For this reason, we continue to pray for the gospel of our Lord Jesus to reach the nations of the earth as well as to the Jewish people (Acts 1:6–7; Romans 11:25–29; Zechariah 14:4, 9).

The New Covenant was first given to Israel and Judah. After the New Covenant was given to Israel, it was extended to Gentiles through faith in Jesus. The Gentiles were joined into God’s redemption plan for Israel. Just as the Gentiles do not replace Israel, neither does the church. Like the apostle Paul, we believe the “gifts and callings of God are irrevocable”. God made a covenantal promise to Israel that He intends to keep. We believe in biblical Zionism, meaning that the Jews have a divine right to inherit their covenantal lands. The Jewish hope, Zionism, is hope for all the world. When Jesus comes to restore the kingdom to Israel it means that the nations will finally reap the reward of their salvation and the family of God will finally inherit the promise of the resurrection from the dead to eternal life (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Genesis 17:7–8; Romans 11:28–29; Isaiah 2:2–4; Ephesians 3:2-6).

We believe that this gospel of the Kingdom is to be preached to all people throughout the earth. We believe that whether Jew or Gentile, God has one plan of salvation through Jesus. There are not multiple programs, dispensations, or versions of the gospel (Romans 1:16; Ephesians 2:11–22; Galatians 3:28).

All who put their hope in the Lord Jesus will not be put to shame (Romans 10:11-13; Isaiah 28:16; Acts 4:12).

Amen.

Congregational Governance (Polity)

We are a home-based congregation that is not affiliated with a denomination or ministry organization. We are not organized as a 501c3 religious organization.

We affirm the 66 books of the Bible as our authority for life and doctrine. Through the direction of the Scriptures we seek to model Christian faith and community as best as we are able.

Each home that participates in the fellowship is viewed as an autonomous body. This is how we endeavor to encourage community growth without becoming a new denomination.

Congregational governance/leadership is not vocational or positional. The local body of Messiah is delegated to elders (individuals recognized for their devotion to Jesus and experience in the faith). In occasional instances where the fellowship’s governing authority must be recognized, please see the statement below regarding elders. As noted below, authority is episodic, consensus-based, and dissolved after use.

Elders are not rulers or congregation leaders in the same manner as traditional “elder-led” churches. An elder is someone recognized as being reputable and mature in the faith. When matters of great importance are being weighed that require human participation to discuss, debate, and judge according to what the Scriptures teach, a “board of elders” will be elected on a one-time basis to convene and make a decision. 1 elder per every 12 baptized believers will be elected if a convening is required. A decision can only be made when there is a unanimous consensus among the elders. If there is no unanimous consensus, the majority decision will be documented and added to a list of “non-essential” elder majority conclusions. Without unanimous consensus, a decision cannot become an “essential belief” or “congregational law”. After the convening is completed, the elected board of elders will be dissolved.

Spiritual gifts that are often viewed as vocational in most churches (Pastor, Evangelist, Prophet, Bishop, etc.) are simply understood as spiritual gifts/functions in our congregation(s). We have no recognized clergy.

Those who host fellowships in their homes are similar in function to the New Testament use of deacons/bishops. The primary ministry of the host is hospitality and providing a safe place to worship and fellowship together. At times, they will assist in overseeing meetings (see below).

When we gather for fellowship, it is wise to elect an overseer or two for each meeting. This can be done democratically or by other means (such as a rotation). The role of the overseer during the meeting is to pay attention to the time and make sure that no one person dominates the meeting. The goal is that everyone has a chance to eat, fellowship, worship, hear the Scriptures, and to be edified.

Women and children are encouraged to participate and contribute to the ministry of the fellowship the same as men. We understand that there are varying viewpoints on this matter and will seek to answer the related questions biblically, and if needed, to convene elders regarding the matter at some point. To address this initially and briefly, in the New Testament the apostle Paul writes about women being “silent” in the congregation and that women “should not teach or have authority over a man”. Yet, this same Paul co-labored with female apostles, evangelists, and fellowship hosts. The book of Acts acknowledges female prophets. The Old Testament speaks of women judges and evangelists. The women who first proclaimed Jesus’ resurrection were evangelists, and the elderly woman Anna served as an intercessor and prophetess in the temple.

Tithing and Holidays

We do not collect tithes, but rather encourage sacrificial giving to those in the community who are in need. Occasionally, we may voluntarily pool financial and material resources to support outreach efforts. We encourage serving one another with our time, energy, and resources. If there is a specific need, love offerings are suitable and encouraged.

Some in the community will decide to celebrate Christian, Jewish, national, and secular holidays such as Sabbath, Christmas, Passover, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and so on. In Colossians 2, Paul encourages us to not judge one another based on what we eat or with regard to religious feasts (holidays). Near the end of his ministry, Paul took a Nazarite vow before traveling to Jerusalem for one of the feasts (Acts 21). Yet, he rebuked some of the Galatians for putting their hope in recognizing special days. We need to understand that motive on such matters often outweighs the act of participating (or not participating) in a holiday. Some fellowships may prioritize holidays while others avoid holidays altogether. This is an example of something that is non-essential and we are warned against placing judgment on others regarding. If someone is excited about their holiday, let them be. If they do not celebrate, don’t force them.