Right now, around the world, millions of Christ-followers are meeting in secret places, worshiping in hiding, practicing their faith behind closed doors.  If exposed, they face prison, torture, even death.  Yet their devotion to God and His Word are unwavering, even heroic.  They are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We must learn to take our God as seriously as they do.

They call it secret church, brothers and sisters in Christ who pay a price for their faith in Christ.  In America it is very difficult to imagine what these fellow believers endure.  I recently spoke at a church and shared that the hardest decision I have to make after attending church is where I’m going to eat, while others might face death, just for walking through the doors of a church, or just for even owning a Bible.

Many sources mention that there are 2.1 billion Christians in the world. It is estimated that the United States has 225 million Christians.   Whenever you look at those numbers, the United States seems to have a pretty small part of the total body of Christ, yet for some reason we feel as though we are the majority.

Last year, the Pastor of Brook Hills, David Platt, published a book that has received a lot of attention since its’ release.  A book called Radical – Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream.   In the book, Platt challenged us to take a look at our lives and to forsake everything for the Gospel.  The book challenged a lot of things that I thought I knew, and made me dig deep into scripture to discover some things I didn’t know.  This book set the stage for much of the focus of this website, and challenged me personally and spiritually to look beyond typical American Church.

The book challenges us to give an answer to the question:

“Do you believe that Jesus is worth abandoning everything for?”

One of the most convicting things Platt uncovers in the first chapter is the reality that is Secret Church.  Platt describes for us a situation that seems as though it could be straight from a movie.  A dimly lit room filled with leaders from different churches, some who traveled for miles on foot just to get there.  They gathered in secret. He listened to story after story, one prayer request after another.

One woman spoke up and said ” “Some of the members in my church were recently confronted by government officials.” She continued, “They threatened their families, saying that if they did not stop gathering to study the Bible, they were going to lose everything they had.” She asked for prayer, saying, “I need to know how to lead my church to follow Christ even when it costs them everything.”

Platt said that everyone was in tears, they looked at each other and said ““We need to pray.” Immediately they went to their knees, and with their faces on the ground, they began to cry out to God.

There are many things that this book brings to light, but whenever I read this, it felt as though God were shining a spotlight directly into my heart.  Years ago, whenever I made a decision to follow Christ, no one told me it was going to cost me anything, except for my Sunday mornings.  It was as though God were asking me this question: “What is your faith costing you?”

Secret Church

When we think of “church” in America, we think of going to meet at a building, singing, praying and hearing a message from a Pastor or teacher. But in many places around the world, “church” meets in a home, an apartment, even in secret. These small groups of Christ-followers often meet for many hours in study, prayer and fellowship, as it is dangerous to travel to “church” and they want to make the most of their time together.

Secret Church is  “house church,” where we meet periodically for an intense time of Bible study–lasting 4-6 hours–and prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe. This is not for the uncommitted or faint at heart. But if you desire to know God more deeply through His Word, and know His Church more fully around the world, then please join us for Secret Church.

Interview with  Disciple Making International

Tell us a little bit about Secret Church.  Where did this idea come from?  What is the purpose of Secret Church?

Secret Church takes place twice a year at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. It began based on time our Pastor, David Platt had spent with our brothers and sisters in underground Asian house churches. In those contexts, they gather together at the risk of their lives for hours at a time simply to pray, worship, and study the Word. It’s simple, raw, dangerous, and satisfying…all at the same time. So we begin to think “Why don’t we do the same thing?” The first time we came together we called it “Secret Church”.  We decided we would meet at night for six hours of study and prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

We didn’t do a great deal to promote it – we made a few announcements to our church and put some information on the web. That first Friday evening, from 6 to midnight,  we gathered in our auditorium and studied the Word—no emphasis on music, lights or anything like that, just stripped down bare, just us and the Word of God. Thant night we had about 1000 people in attendance. Since then, it has grown exponentially. We hadn’t promoted it heavily, but people were drawn to the simplicity and gravity of the Word, and to prayer for the persecuted church around the world. At our latest Secret Church, we had about 50,000 people gathered literally from around the world via the simulcast.

The purpose of Secret Church – whether folks are gathering at Brook Hills or whether they are meeting in someone’s home via the simulcast – is for it to spread.  And what I mean by that is we want participants to come away with a deeper and insatiable hunger for God’s Word and we want folks, when they leave, to be equipped to take what they have learned and share it with others. No matter the costs, we want people from every nation, tribe, and tongue to hear the Gospel and have an opportunity to respond to it.

What can someone expect from attending a Secret Church service?

If you attend a Secret Church you will definitely see the primacy of God’s Word and the importance of prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters. We spend most of the night diving into the Word and learning and gleaning all that we can from scripture.  There is a brief time of musical worship at the beginning and then the rest of the night is spent in the study of the Word and in prayer.  Because we are now simulcasting this gathering one of the most exciting aspects is the opportunity to worship, pray and study the Word in a global context.  During the simulcast last April people were sending in pictures of groups studying all over the world.  At one point we put up a picture of a small group meeting in Cambodia and another picture of small group in Guatemala City – all of them gathered with us in study and in prayer.  It was incredibly moving.

What are some of the topics for this year’s event?

On Friday, November 4, we will be studying “Family, Marriage, Sex, and the Gospel.”  Here is what Pastor David had to say about this topic:

“During Secret Church this November we are going to cover some of the most sensitive, and I am convinced, most important issues we are facing in our culture, other cultures, and in the church today. Manhood. Womanhood. Marriage. Parenting. Singleness. Sex. Divorce. Homosexuality. Same-sex marriage. Polygamy. Pornography. Adoption. Abortion. Cultures around the world perceive each of these issues differently. So I want us to look at how God’s Word addresses them.  In November I want us to look at  how the gospel uniquely affects our understanding of family, marriage, sex, and a host of related (and controversial) issues that are ultimately foundational for the display of the glory of God in our lives, in the church, and in the world. And in the process, I hope that we will continue to pray for and identify with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.”

What has been the response from one of these events?

The response to Secret Church has been overwhelming.  This November will be our 11th gathering since it’s inception.  After about the third sessions of Secret Church word begin to spread and we began to have over capacity crowds.  Due to the limited seating, and out of necessity, we begin selling tickets basically to reserve seats.  Tickets are priced at $5 which reserves a seat for the evening and defrays the cost of the 100+ page study guide that is included for the night.  The last several years we have sold out in a matter of minutes.  This past April, in partnership with LifeWay Christian resources, we simulcasted Secret Church for the first time. We had about 50,000 people gathered literally from around the world.   We are simulcasting Secret Church again this November and expect that number to increase.

How does the American Church respond to stories of the persecuted Church?

During the night we take some time to highlight an area of the world where our brothers and sisters are suffering for the sake of the gospel and we have an intentional time of prayer for them.  We also take up an offering that goes to directly support persecuted Christians worldwide through both ongoing ministry initiatives, as well as providing Secret Church Bible teaching materials in many native languages.  The response to help fund these ministry initiatives and the translation of Secret Church materials has been overwhelming.  We also have heard numerous stories of how past participants are taking these translated resources in to other contexts all over the world and are using these materials where they would otherwise not have access to these kinds of resources.   It is so encouraging to hear about how God’s Word is being taught, modeled and spread among peoples all over the world.

Tell us about Disciple-Making International

The purpose of DMI is to awaken a passion for the glory of God in all nations by encouraging and equipping Christians and churches to accomplish the Great Commission. We carry out this purpose by producing and providing multi-lingual biblical resources aimed at fueling disciple-making in all nations.

Most of our resources are from David Platt, who serves as one of the pastors of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. DMI is intentionally parachurch, meaning that we desire to platform resources from a local church for the purpose of serving and supporting local churches around the world. Along these lines, we aim to use writing, speaking, publishing, events, and various other means to spur on followers of Christ in the global plan and purpose God has designed for us as His people.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions!

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