Five Things We Will Learn
- Why the orphan spirit can’t be cast out but must be healed through love and belonging.
- How the Father’s design for family—both natural and spiritual—heals identity and restores inheritance.
- Why churches of 5–20 members can embody the culture of heaven better than large institutional models.
- How relational discipleship transforms orphans into sons and sons into spiritual mothers and fathers.
- How multiplying family-sized churches fulfills the Father’s plan to cover the earth with His presence and love.
A Wound, Not a Demon
Leif Hetland, in his landmark book Healing the Orphan Spirit, makes a striking statement:
“You can’t cast out what was never a demon; you have to be healed from what is a wound.”
The orphan spirit isn’t something that can be shouted out of someone—it’s something that must be loved out of them. It’s not possession; it’s pain. It’s not rebellion; it’s rejection.
This wound—spiritual fatherlessness—runs through humanity like a fault line. It shows up as striving for approval, fear of abandonment, jealousy of others’ favor, and a deep ache to belong.
But the good news is this: Jesus came to heal the orphaned heart.
He said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18 NIV). The Holy Spirit’s mission is not just to empower believers but to reintroduce them to the Father who loves them.
Related:
- Healing Father Wounds: Breaking the Orphan Spirit, Leif Hetland and Peter Sprecher
- What is a VFN Related Church?
- Read “Our Story” – Learn How God Heals the Orphan Spirit
- Dynamics of Shepherds and Sheep, Finding Safety in our Good Shepherd’s Care (Part 1)
The Father’s Remedy: Family
God’s answer to the orphan wound was never an institution—it was a family.
Psalm 68:6 declares, “God sets the lonely in families.”
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s pattern has always been family. Adam walked with the Father in the garden. Abraham became the father of nations. Jesus came not as a military ruler but as a Son, revealing the Father’s heart.
The Kingdom of God is not built on structure—it’s built on relationships.
That’s why healing from the orphan spirit cannot happen through a pulpit alone. It happens when people are known, loved, and walked with—day by day, meal by meal, prayer by prayer.
Why Family-Sized Churches Work
At Vine Fellowship Network, we often describe these gatherings as “church families that have 5-20 member.”
They typically range from five to twenty members—a size where every person matters, every gift is seen, and every need is met.
This isn’t a new strategy; it’s an ancient pattern. The early church met in homes, shared meals, and lived out discipleship in close community (Acts 2:42-47).
1. They Heal Through Belonging
The orphan spirit whispers, “You don’t belong.”
But in a family-sized church, you’re not a face in the crowd—you’re part of the heartbeat. When someone sees you, calls you by name, and walks through your pain with you, healing begins.
2. They Heal Through Consistency
Orphans fear rejection, so they test love to see if it will last.
In a small church family, love isn’t seasonal; it’s steady. Week after week, presence communicates what sermons can’t: “You’re safe here.”
3. They Heal Through Participation
In large gatherings, many watch a few do the work.
In family-sized churches, everyone contributes—hosting, praying, leading, serving. The orphan mindset of performance is replaced by the identity of partnership.
4. They Heal Through Multiplication
Healthy families multiply.
When sons and daughters grow strong, they become mothers and fathers who start new families. That’s the model of heaven: not hierarchy, but generational reproduction—each new church family carrying the same DNA of love and belonging.
Related:
- What is a Biblical House Church
- The Power of Small, By Charles Simpson
- Born to Die or Born to Live – Knitting New Believers into the Body of Christ
- Everyone needs a church Family, a Tribe.
From Orphans to Sons to Fathers
Leif Hetland often describes the journey of transformation in five stages:
- Revelation of the Father’s Love – We encounter Abba.
- Receiving Identity – We learn who we are.
- Restoration of Trust – We allow others to love us.
- Release into Inheritance – We walk in purpose.
- Reproduction of Family – We become fathers and mothers to others.
This is not theory—it’s discipleship in motion. In a world of spiritual orphans, Jesus is building families, not crowds. He’s raising sons and daughters who know who they are, whose they are, and who they’re called to love.
Sons Don’t Strive—They Rest
Romans 8:15-16 (NIV) says,
“The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
When the orphan spirit rules, people serve God out of fear or performance.
When the Spirit of sonship rules, people serve from rest and gratitude.
That’s the transformation we’re seeing when believers gather in these small, multiplying church families: less striving, more resting; less performance, more presence.
A Church that Heals Like a Home
Imagine what would happen if every city was filled not just with buildings, but with homes where God’s family beats like a heart—five, ten, twenty people at a time—sharing meals, praying together, and loving one another deeply.
That’s not a downgrade from “real church.”
That is real church.
It’s the same model that turned the world upside down in Acts, and it’s the same model God is using today to heal the orphan spirit across nations.
In those rooms, people are learning they don’t have to earn love—they already have it. They’re learning they don’t have to fight for belonging—they’re already family.
And when sons and daughters are healed, whole communities begin to look like heaven.
Related:
- Returning to First Principles: Restoring Family, Church, and Spiritual Power
- From House to Heaven: The Table is God’s Design for Community
- We Have Not Many Father’s
- The Father’s Role in Shaping the Identity of His Children Including His Adult Children: The Power of Approval
- God’s Building vs. Man’s Buildings: What does it mean to “build a church”?
The Torch
The orphan spirit may be global—but so is the Father’s house.
Every time a small group of believers gathers in love, forgiveness, and faith, a light begins to shine in the darkness.
That’s the fire we carry in The Torch:
To call the Church back to her original form—family.
To call believers back to their true identity—sons and daughters.
And to call every home, every heart, and every church—back to the Father.
Key Scriptures
- John 14:18
- Romans 8:15-16
- Psalm 68:6
- Ephesians 2:19
- Acts 2:42-47