Fresh Ideas. New Voices.

This study provides a survey of Japanese house church leaders, coupled with sociological analysis of leadership patterns in Japan focused primarily on the leadership of voluntary organisations and a historical review of house church movements, to determine the form and function of leaders and leadership within these movements. The key findings were that leadership is a function and not a role, is often coterminous with disciple-making, and can be characterized primary in terms of the maintainance of group cohesion.