When we think of "church", 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, and sometimes even in secret. Many times there are just a few believers who know and follow Christ. These small groups of Christ-followers often meet for many hours in study, prayer, and fe
llowship. In some places it may even be dangerous to gather as a church to worship, pray, and study the Word. So when they come together, they want to make the most of their time together. Secret Church is our version of "house church" where we meet periodically for an intense time of Bible study—lasting 6+ hours—including a time of prayer for our brothers and sisters across the globe who are facing persecution and for those who still have not heard the gospel. 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. Our prayer is that God will use this focused time of study and prayer to enrich our knowledge of His Word. We pray that we also would gain understanding of the state of His church and our brothers and sisters around the world who face many difficulties—and even persecution—as they follow Christ. The objective of Secret Church is not just to come and learn for one night, but also to take what we’ve learned and pass it along to others. We also want to recognize the great need to pray and come alongside our brothers and sisters who live in places around the world where there is little to no gospel witness or where the gospel is met with resistance. We want to use what we’ve learned during this gathering to make disciples of Christ—both locally and globally. Secret Church was born out of David Platt's experiences travelling and meeting with Christians in persecuted countries. He recalls a visit to one particular church where the poverty-stricken farmers stopped farming for two weeks (at great personal cost) so that they could listen to David teach them the Bible each day. On arriving back home, he wondered "how can we foster the same commitment and desire for God's Word in the West, and at the same time come alongside our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world? With permission from David Platt's team at Radical.net, Cambridge Baptist Church in East London, South Africa, joins thousands of churches all around the world holding similar "Secret Church" gatherings where we dive deep into study of God's Word and praying for our immediate communities, cities, countries, and for the Church wherever she is represented around the world. Seeking to keep as close to the original Secret Church format as possible, we meet at 5pm for fellowship and coffee, with worship and study beginning at 6pm. Teaching is delivered via video recordings of the original teaching of David Platt at Secret Church. Teaching is usually divided into four session of approximately 1 hour each, separated by breaks in between as well as prayer and worship. The Bible study is usually topical, covering a particular topic at each gathering and praying for a specific nation or people group where our Christian brothers and sisters around the world are experiencing persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ.
