The Power of Church in Homes
While it is good to focus on the big picture of the global, national and local church, there are many who have missed the significance of the church’s most embryonic expressions in the form of house church, ecclesia (2 or 3) and even individual believers as God’s Presence-carriers in the earth.
The church meeting in homes is pervasive in the New Testament:
The early church in Jerusalem continued to meet together in the temple courts and broke bread in their homes and ate together. (Acts 2:46-47)
After God sent the earthquake to Philippi which broke Paul & Silas out of prison, they stopped off at Lydia’s house where they met with the brothers and sisters to encourage them before leaving town. Church in the house! (Acts 16:40)
Paul reflects on the revival that broke out during his time in Ephesus and comments about a significant ministry infrastructure undergirding the momentum: “I… taught you publicly and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20)
Referring to his dear friends Priscilla and Aquilla, Paul asks the church in Rome to greet them and “the church that meets at their house.” (Romans 16:5)
In his letter to Philemon, Paul refers to “the church that meets in your home.” (Philemon 1:2)
Notice that the New Testament demonstrates the church meeting BOTH corporately AND in homes, with both expressions at times mentioned in the same verse. A common error related to understanding the church meeting in homes is to view it as an alternative to the local church, thereby creating an EITHER/OR proposition. This false dichotomy needs to be rejected on the basis of New Testament revelation. Each expression provides strengths and benefits that the other is unable to.
Consider the unique benefits of the church meeting in homes:
Meeting in homes forces smaller groups in which everyone is known by name and belongs to a realistic family unit. This is increasingly crucial in our broken world.
Relational discipleship can gain traction and this can be fine-tuned to each believer in the group. This is the way Jesus demonstrated discipleship. For 3.5 years He intentionally invested into the 12 in a perpetual small group setting. He tuned His discipleship to the questions and issues that arose. While much Kingdom ministry took place to the masses, it was this essential impartation through relational discipleship that carried the Kingdom forward after His ascension.
Another powerful benefit is the quality of body ministry that can take place. Each person can receive substantial ministry from the other members and conversely, everyone gets to be involved in ministry to others in the group. This dynamic of mutual edification is a priceless Kingdom benefit!
Small group body ministry makes it easy to identify budding gifts and leaders. This recognition can serve to position individuals to receive the training and/or opportunities to release them into their destinies.
Releasing the church to meet in homes forces a delegated decentralization of leadership away from one singular personality. It activates an army of leaders who are all participating in the vision of the church.
Home meetings with a culture of multiplication removes numeric and geographical growth restrictions off the church. It enables the church to stretch out across an entire region while everyone has a connecting place in close proximity. Clusters of home meetings on the outer periphery can become the nucleus for new church plants in neighboring areas.
The informality provided by house church meetings makes the church resistant to persecution. While central locations in advertised facilities provide easy targets for government scrutiny, it is much more difficult to hound down “gatherings of friends” meeting from house-to-house, especially when locations are inconsistent. Similarly, a singular high-profile pastor can easily be identified, captured and removed, but an army of lay leaders is much harder to locate or deal with, especially when each of them already has a replacement in training under their wing!
I believe that the days ahead will necessitate a shift of emphasis into an understanding of the church meeting in homes, and I believe that we will all be better for it!