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Truth in the Wyld — Briefing on How To Create An Edifice-less, 'Circle'-Driven Ministry

Audience: Marcus Noel, Arielle Noel

Context & Learning​

Gary is learning a lot about how most of what we think of as "church" today is just a product of modern inventions, not the core of Christianity. The early church met house-to-house for 300+ years without buildings, clergy hierarchy, or the "edifice complex" that dominates today. What we call "traditional" church is actually a departure from New Testament practice.

Objective of Briefing​

Explain how we can stand up Truth in the Wyld as an edifice-less, people-centered ministry that embodies the priesthood of all believers, prioritizes intimacy and participation, and redirects resources to mission rather than buildings.

Feel free to add comments. This has a lot here but it's just stuff to react to.

Core Principles (Edifice-less)​

  • Church = people: Never call a building "church" or "the house of God." The ekklesia is the gathered people.
  • Everyday spaces: Prefer homes and ordinary spaces. Borrow/rent larger venues only for special occasions.
  • Participation over performance: Arrange meetings so everyone can see, hear, and speak. No stage/pulpit center of gravity.
  • Low overhead: Adopt a 95/5 budget ethos (≥95% to ministry/ministers/mission/benevolence; ≤5% to ops/overhead/real-estate).
  • Priesthood of all believers: Distribute ministry; minimal dependency on clergy/platforms. Rotate roles.
  • Language shift: Use "gathering," "circle," "house to house," "hosts." Avoid "sanctuary," "going to church," "service."

Truth Circles: Format & Operations​

What is a Circle Group: A small, intimate gathering of 8-16 people who meet regularly in homes or everyday spaces as the basic unit of Truth in the Wyld. Each Circle Group is autonomous but connected to the larger network. Church happens in the gathered people, not a building.

Meeting Structure:

  • Size: 8–16 people per circle (living rooms/backyards/co-working lounges). Split and multiply after ~14–16.
  • Cadence: At least weekly (90 minutes); circles may meet more often as desired. Sundays can host multiple circles across times/locations. Optional shared meal.
  • Flow: (1) Arrival + hospitality (10m), (2) Centering prayer/Scripture/brief word (10m), (3) Round-robin check-in (20m), (4) Open sharing, testimonies, exhortation, gifts (30m), (5) Intercession and laying on of hands (15m), (6) Commissioning + logistics (5m)
  • Roles (rotate): Host home, Circle facilitator, Scribe (for action items/testimonies, not private shares), Pastoral care lead, Hospitality lead.
  • Formation requirement: Either Marcus or Arielle must be present at each circle during the first 2-3 months to model facilitation, establish culture, and ensure covenant adherence before full delegation.

Space & Tech Setup:

  • Homes/backyards/commons first. Room-in-the-round or clusters; chairs at same level; avoid stages/spotlights.
  • Circle Management App: Gary Sheng could build a simple PWA for scheduling, role rotation tracking, and 90-minute flow management. Features: timer with flow segments, host rotation optimization, attendance (no surveillance), multiplication readiness indicators, prayer requests (opt-in), offline-first design.
  • Communications: Private Signal/WhatsApp groups per circle; citywide announcements channel.
  • Citywide rhythm: Monthly/quarterly borrowed venue for multi-circle convening; still in-the-round, facilitation distributed.

Budget & Stewardship:

  • Zero-lease posture (no owned/leased buildings). Ad hoc rentals only when needed.
  • 95/5 operating rule; publish monthly overhead vs. ministry spend.
  • Minister compensation: pay those actively delivering ministry (facilitation, pastoral care, training, elder-wisdom capture) from the 95% mission/ministry bucket. Admin/ops compensation counts toward the 5% overhead. Favor bi-vocational/micro-stipends and publish compensation transparently.
  • Establish benevolence fund governed by rotating triad (facilitator, pastoral care, external reviewer). Fast, relational disbursement.

Leadership & Culture​

Decision-making: Marcus, Arielle, and Gary serve as primary decision-makers and vision-holders while actively seeking input from all circle participants. Major decisions made after gathering input from the circle network through prayer, discussion, and community wisdom.

Covenant: Confidentiality; speak truth in love; honor time; listen first; no proselytizing for platforms; discernment > dominance.

Language: Replace "go to church" → "we gather." "Sanctuary" → "living room." "Service" → "circle." Never refer to a building as "church" or "house of God."

Multiplication: When circles grow beyond 16, identify new hosts/facilitators and bless a gentle split; maintain relational ties.

90-Day Launch Plan (Slower, Deeper Foundation)​

Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1–4)

  • Week 1-2: Marcus & Arielle define ministry DNA, create facilitation playbook
  • Week 3-4: Identify 2-3 potential host homes; conduct home visits and relationship building
  • Deliverable: Truth Circle Covenant, facilitation guide, host onboarding checklist

Phase 2: Pilot & Refine (Weeks 5–8)

  • Week 5-6: Launch ONE pilot circle with Marcus & Arielle co-facilitating
  • Week 7-8: Continue pilot circle; invite 2-3 trusted friends to observe and give feedback
  • Deliverable: Refined circle format, documented best practices, initial testimony collection

Phase 3: Careful Expansion (Weeks 9–12)

  • Week 9-10: Launch second circle in different location; train first external facilitator
  • Week 11-12: Establish benevolence fund and financial transparency systems
  • Deliverable: Two stable circles, financial framework, leadership pipeline

Phase 4: Network & Multiply (Weeks 13–16)

  • Week 13-14: Launch third circle; begin elder-wisdom capture project
  • Week 15-16: Host first multi-circle gathering in borrowed venue (in-the-round format)
  • Deliverable: Three-circle network, proven multiplication model, first citywide convening

Metrics to Watch: Participation rate; stories of transformation; benevolence disbursements and outcomes; overhead ratio; time-to-multiply; host sustainability.

Foundation & Guardrails​

Frank Viola Anchors (author of 'Pagan Christianity'):

  • People are the temple; buildings are not "church." Avoid sacred/secular split introduced by special architecture.
  • Homes make participation and intimacy natural; auditoriums produce passive audiences.
  • Overhead siphons mission; early church grew and thrived without dedicated buildings.

"The edifice complex is so ingrained… we unconsciously equate [buildings] with church."

"If every Christian… would never call a building a church again, this alone would create a revolution in our faith."

Ministry One-Liners:

  • We gather house-to-house as the body of Christ; church is people, not buildings.
  • We design for participation, not performance; roles rotate and remain flat.
  • We steward for mission: ≥95% of funds to people and purpose, not places.
  • We multiply small circles; we convene citywide occasionally in borrowed spaces.

Guardrails: Platform drift (keep rooms flat, roles rotating); Scale pressure (multiply small rather than centralize large); Privacy (never record intimate shares; consent gates for any capture); Building temptation (resist permanent venue offers; any long-term commitment requires community discernment and prayer).

Roles Fit​

  • Marcus: visionary architect, systems/strategy, elder-wisdom capture lead; facilitation trainer; citywide convenings design, spiritual warfare teaching, prophetic ministry.
  • Arielle: facilitator-in-chief, hospitality and covenant culture, health/wellness integration, caregiving-informed pastoral systems, crisis management, group dynamics.
  • Gary: Circle Management app development, tech infrastructure, network orchestration, government/institutional bridge-building, strategic advisory, documentation systems.

— End of briefing —