THE STORY.
Clifford J. Clark had long been disturbed with some of the texture and culture of conventional church services, for many years. He noticed that churches kept growing larger, yet somehow, churches—and the world in general for that matter—were growing increasingly impersonal. He observed that worship services would last an hour or two and then people (mainly those who knew each other) would very superficially speak to each other, complement each other’s attire and hair, and socialize for a quick moment and then leave, with most people not speaking to each other at all. He also noticed that the world was becoming progressively more pagan and godless. The world’s culture was bleeding into the church.
The Lord then led Clifford to Genesis 2:26: “The man and his wife were both naked and unashamed” which explained God’s design for human relationship before The Fall. But once The Fall happened, their sin caused them to feel shame and hide from both each other and God (Genesis 3:7-10). Suddenly, today’s growing interpersonal society made sense to Clifford. People were (are) growing further away from God and further apart from each other because of what psychology calls an intimacy disorder— a warped sense of true intimacy and, because of our shameful sin nature, hiding from each other and God. This was extremely bothersome for Clifford, and the Lord soon would show him why He allowed this observation to unsettle his heart. However, growing up in the Baptist church in traditional worship services, Clifford still saw great value and appreciation in corporate, liturgical worship. So, he sought not to eliminate conventional corporate worship services, but he knew that something had to be done. He was convinced that reform was not just necessary but urgent.
On August 13, 2021, while in Kaua’i, Hawaii, visiting college friends and attending their house church, Clifford was awakened out of his sleep with what he felt was a vision from the Lord. This vison was for a church, but an unconventional one. It was a vison of doing church as the apostles did it in the first century: praying and singing together, using their resources to help each other and the needy, eating together, studying the Scriptures together and fellowshipping together, both in the temple and yes, in houses (Acts 2:42-47). It was a vision to bring people not only close to God in worship services, but also closer to each other. So, he thought, “What better way to bring people closer together than slowing them down by having them come into a house, take off their shoes, enjoy a full worship service, have a meal together and discuss the message they just heard before they leave?” Worship in the temple made sense, of course; that was customary. But worship in a house these days was virtually unheard of, especially in the city of Detroit, MI. In any case, Clifford was still burdened with his observation of the progressively superficial, impersonal society at large, as well as Christians in church at Sunday morning worship services. He even noticed this intimacy disorder among pastors and church leaders that kept us minimally associated but not integrated—not “naked and unashamed” as God designed us to be.
Immediately inspired to read about the first century church after the vision, the Lord took Clifford to Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 5:42 and there it was, the flagship scripture for the church: “Every day in the temple and from house to house, they never stopped preaching and teaching Jesus is the Christ.” This, he imagined, would be one way we could attack the intimacy disorder in the church and assist God in his mission of reconciling us not only back unto Himself, but also back unto each other. In this moment, Clifford got the idea, “The House.” After a global internet search, he discovered that name was already taken. He then considered, “The House Church” but that was taken, too. Disappointed and frustrated, Clifford prayed and asked the Lord to give him a name that worked best for the vison that He had given him. Just minutes later the name “Church at The House” came to him and immediately settled in his spirit.
However, despite over twenty years of preaching experience and multiple associate and interim pastor positions, Clifford never felt called to the senior pastorate and frankly wasn’t interested in it. He wanted to continue in itinerant ministry and operating his private practice, even though God had shown him his clinical career was coming to an end soon. Being convinced of his plans, he deduced that he was the mere visionary surrogate for this ministry and that it would be handed off to someone that God would show to him someday.
Months later In April of 2022, while watching a sermon on purpose, Clifford felt the Lord turn his heart from the office of marriage psychotherapy. “I don’t want to do it anymore”, he involuntarily said, audibly, as he looked at his computer screen. He knew God was speaking. Then, moments later while he was thinking about how he’d help couples after he retired from licensed professional counseling, he felt the Lord turn his heart again. He heard the Lord say, “the vision I gave you for Church at The House was for you.” He immediately got clarity and peace about his ministry that he never had before. For the first time in over 20 years of ministry, Clifford finally felt called to be a lead pastor of a church.
With careful planning and preparation, Church at The House successfully submitted its Articles of Incorporation on February 10, 2023. The application, notarized in Novi, Michigan, Oakland County, was accompanied by the signatures of three sworn-in founding officers: Clifford J. Clark (Pastor/President), Douglas L. Grissom II (Secretary), and Isaac D. J. Hester (Treasurer). On March 24, 2023, the Articles of Incorporation were officially filed, establishing Church at The House, Inc. in the city of Detroit, Wayne County. Later, on August 27, 2024, the church’s bylaws were notarized and signed by Chairman of the Board of Directors and Overseer Michael D. Dexter, along with the founding officers Clifford J. Clark, Douglas L. Grissom II, and Isaac D. J. Hester.
On August 1, 2023, Clifford took the first major step in establishing Church at The House by opening the church's checking account and making an initial donation of $43,544.65. Over the next several months, up until March 2024, Clifford continued to show unwavering financial commitment to the church, contributing a total of $55,679.65—solely funding the church’s early operations before the leadership team was even developed. As a steadfast believer in the vision of Church at The House, Robyn L. Raimey, a college student with limited financial resources, was the Church at The House’s next donor on March 4, 2024. Despite her own financial challenges, she sacrificially giving $3,140.00 as a heartfelt gesture of support for God's call to this distinctive ministry, demonstrating her deep faith and dedication to the church’s mission.
On April 19, 2024, at 6:30 PM, Church at The House marked a significant milestone with the soft launch of its inaugural Bible Study and Dinner Fellowship. The event took place at the Clifford home, which also serves as the church's headquarters, located at 18428 Pennington Dr., Detroit, MI 48221. Approximately 25 individuals gathered to share in the spirit of community and faith. Initially, Church at The House held Bible studies once a month, gradually increasing the frequency to biweekly and, as of October 2, 2024, transitioning to weekly gatherings. Looking ahead, the church is preparing for its hard launch, with plans for full worship services to begin in 2025..
