HOUSE CHURCHES ARE HOW THE CHURCH BEGAN OVER 2000 YEARS AGO.
A History of Gathering
The thousands of believers scattered throughout the city of Jerusalem were called THE CHURCH. They had a very clear understanding that, even though they met in a multitude of tiny congregations in houses all over the city which were also called churches", there was, in fact, only one body of Christ in the city of Jerusalem called "the church."
A house church meets in a house
It's an easy place to have church. . No one feels uncomfortable about doing something unreligious. People feel at home, and just relax. Church starts the minute the first two or three people arrive because church is people and not program. Where born-again believers gather, there is a church. They are the "church gathered." When they all leave, they are the "church scattered." They come together to be strengthened. They go out to touch the world as salt, light, and leaven in the power of the Holy Spirit.
A house church is small
Big is not always better. Big, however, is what we want. But we can get bigger faster by multiplying than we can by adding. A house church builds the big citywide church by dividing and multiplying. We will have large gatherings from time to time, but our basic church is still small. When more than twenty or thirty people attend consistently, it is time to "have a baby."
A house church is a simple church
No frills. No ceremony. No rituals. No symbolism. It is simply a time for the people of God to come together withJesus in the midst. They talk. They sing. They pray. They eat a meal together. They take the holy communion together and study the Bible. They share what God is doing in their lives. They intercede for people and for all kinds of needs all over the world. They minister one to another through the gifts God has given each one. They love one another and seek to encourage and build each other up in their faith.
A house church makes discipleship easier
It is good to knock on doors and lead people to Jesus. It is good to lead them to the Lord on the streets, in the parks, in huge stadiums, over the phone, or in casual conversation. But when we lead him to the Lord right in the place where he will be discipled, a church in a house, we have a distinct advantage. He has already been introduced to the church. He can be baptized right on the spot and led gently into a deeper walk with Jesus by the people who led him to receive Christ. The task of getting him into a church is already done.
A house church is a center of evangelism
It is easier to get an unsaved person to visit a meeting in someone's house than it is to get him to go to a "sanctuary." The plan is to put a little church in walking distance of every person in every neighborhood. This is one of the reasons the church of the first century "turned the world upside down."
House churches are easy to start
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