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Eric D. Shin has served as senior pastor of Houston’s New Life Fellowship since its beginning in 1997. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Shin immigrated to the U.S. with his family at age 13, where they settled in New York City. He trusted Christ as Savior at 18, eventually forsaking plans for a legal career to attend seminary. In 1994, Shin and his family relocated to Houston, where he served at Seoul Baptist Church as youth pastor before founding New Life Fellowship, which follows a house church model. Shin served on the board of the SBTC from 2017-2022. He and his wife, Lynette, have three adult sons: Enoch, Caleb, and Josiah.
How does a house church model differ from traditional worship?
On any Sunday, 480-550 adults plus 180 children and 100 youth will gather to worship at New Life. All of these are part of our 86 house churches that meet on Fridays and Saturdays, also. Sunday is more like a typical contemporary church service with worship and a sermon 50-60 minutes in length. We also have Sunday lunch.
Most of our house churches consist of up to 12 adults plus children. When a house church reaches 12 adults, we multiply them into two. The house churches grow organically. People choose where to join to allow for autonomy and choice. We ask people to reach out and [invite] their own friends. It’s all relational evangelism.
More people attend house church than Sunday worship. About 10 percent who come to our house churches are unbelievers. We call them VIPs, and we offer “receiving Jesus” meetings to those who are interested. We reach out to and welcome all unbelievers. We are stricter with Christians who hop around from church to church. We discourage that.
What is something you’ve been able to celebrate at New Life this year?
We have seen a lot of growth. Even COVID had no effect on us. We did go online for a few months, but house church attendance has steadily increased. We are seeing a lot of house churches multiplying these days.
What is a challenge facing the house church ministry?
We are seeing more house churches forming. It’s not easy. It requires a paradigm shift. There are churches that are doing house churches in Dallas, Austin, across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Japan, South Korea … several hundred all over the world. … I would like to mobilize our gifted church members to come up with resources including a website, videos, and teaching material to spread house church ministry as fast and far as possible.
What is one lesson you’ve learned to this point of your ministry that you know you’ll never forget?
Hold to the Scriptures. Study, pray, and seek God. The Bible is the ultimate and supreme authority. That will lead us to the place we need to go.
How can the other churches of the SBTC be praying for you?
Pray that I can stay the course that God has mapped out. Pray that New Life Fellowship will be used in spreading the New Testament church. Pray that other pastors will be exposed to the house church model.
