BENEFITS OF A HOUSE CHURCH

Churches meeting in homes (or places other than a traditional building) may seem weird or out of place.  Yet, for the first several hundred years, homes are exactly where churches gathered.  A few biblical examples of New Testament house churches include:

While this concept may seem radical, it is actually the way Christ’s church began and continued for the first 300 years.  It wasn’t until Constantine “legalized” Christianity in 313 AD that churches began meeting in specifically constructed buildings used for churches to gather that the “church building” was initiated. We now go to church, meeting in a specifically large building for the purpose of religious activities.  Yet, there are still places around the world where churches meet in homes.  Consider China, for example, where God uses the house church concept to grow and multiply the number of Chinese Christ-followers.  Although exact numbers are unknown, we do know growth has occurred from a few thousand in the 1930s to what some estimate now rests between 80 – 130 million (or more) today.

Candidly, many of the house churches outside the United States continue meeting in homes because of lack of finances, unavailable space, and religious persecution by the government.  But this does not negate the benefits offered by house churches.

What Are Those Benefits?

  • It is family oriented, small by nature.
  • The smallness creates greater intimacy where people actually get to know one another and deeply cares for each other.
  • Close connections develop relationships with people I may have never encountered.
  • Deeper relationships lead to greater accountability and disciple-making with one another, leading to greater reflections of Jesus in our daily lives.
  • Closer connections eliminates the consumeristic mindset plaguing traditional churches as everyone participates in the gathering, enabling the growth of spiritual gifts and every person becoming a minister to someone.
  • The church focuses more on God and each other than on entertainment or programming.
  • Expenses are exponentially reduced, enabling us to use our tithes and offerings to meet people’s needs, communicate the gospel, and accomplish more as Jesus’ representatives on earth

“Home Church is where you get to know God and yourself better.”

Barbara

“What I enjoy about home church is the challenge and intimacy it provides. I have been frequently challenged to look at certain areas of my life or pray about certain things that I wasn’t doing before because of conversation sparked in our time together. It has also given me the courage to begin doing an additional Bible study with a friend and afforded me the opportunity to grow in that friendship, as well as dive even deeper in my study of the Bible.”

Audra

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