Home Church Meaning - What Is A Home Church?
Are you wondering what a home church is? Did you hear a friend or someone else say they left their old denominational church to meet together in their house as a church instead? If you’re curious or concerned about this compelling topic, keep reading. You just might be in for a surprise or two.
The church of Jesus Christ isn’t a building or a denomination. It’s people who have been born again into the Kingdom of God. The early Christians were a community of believers who gathered in temples and from house to house for fellowship, prayer, and teaching the word.
Meeting in houses was just a practical way to maintain fellowship. This is especially true for gentile believers who weren’t allowed in Jewish temples. We might have difficulty grasping the concept of a church in a house because it’s too different from what we’re used to. It might seem too casual or too loosely organized to be a real church. Which begs the question: What is a real church? And what standard are we using to define a real church?
What Is A Real Church?
If we’re going to understand the church, which is a God thing, not a man thing, then we must go back to the word of God. Catholics didn’t invent the church. Neither did Baptists, Pentecostals, or Lutherans.
We might be surprised to discover that no verse specifically defines what the church is. But we can get a general idea when we search the Bible and cross-reference the scriptures for understanding.
1 Cor 1: Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Col 1:2: To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Pet 2:9-10: But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
In short, the church of Jesus Christ is the people of God, his saints, faithful brethren, the household of God, born-again believers, and the body of Christ.
And if that is the biblical standard and definition of the church, is it limited in any way by date, time, or place? Is it constrained to a denominational label? Is it subject to any manmade organization, regulations, or policies? The answer to all of these questions is no. The church of God transcends all of these and is only subject to Christ and his word.
But here’s the reality: Just as the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jesus’ day had control over the Jews, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men, so too have various organizational leaders gained and maintained control over many Christians for hundreds of years. Today, most of the estimated 2.6 Billion Christians around the world identify with some denomination and adhere to its doctrines and policies, whether they’re biblically sound or not. This was never part of God’s plan. He never wanted his church to be divided like this.
Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
Eph 4:11-14 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”
Home Church vs. Traditional, Denominational Church
Let me preface what I’m about to say with this: I’ve been imperfectly serving God for about 40 years. I’ve been part of the denominational and independent church world most of that time. But for about the last 16 years, I’ve been a part of a church that meets from house to house, thus home church. I’ve loved and served the Lord as best I knew in both camps and have great affection for both.
Let’s discuss the meaning of home church from the standpoint of what we’re familiar with. In other words, let’s go from a known (traditional) to an unknown (home church). What do most of us Christians envision when we think of the church?
We identify ourselves with denominational labels like Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, or a specific church name
The church is something we do on Sunday mornings for about 2 hours
Many think of a certain building or a type of building as a church
A pastor or pastors lead churches under higher organizational leadership
All or most of the teaching is from a single pastor or a small group of pastors
Doctrines vary by denomination and/or from church to church
Church ministries are typically funded by tithes and offerings from the church members
Home churches are free of denominational rules, regulations and, policies, teachings and aim to follow what’s laid out in the Bible. We try to do this without adding to or taking away from the scriptures. I cannot speak for other home churches, but this is what I see in the Bible and what I teach:
Denominations aren’t biblical, and the apostles taught against division
The apostles taught the same doctrine in all the churches and warned against teaching any other doctrine
The church is to exhort one another daily or nearly so.
Believers are the church and assemble together in houses or other places
Elders, not a single pastor oversees churches
All believers were encouraged to edify the body of Christ interactively with their spiritual gifts such as teaching, exhorting, prophesying, healings, and tongues with interpretation, along with singing and praying together (1 Cor 14:26)
Tithing is not taught in the New Testament, and the congregation did not pay church elders. Instead, the saints had the same care for one another and did what they could so no one lacked in any way.
Home Church Meaning Conclusion
Understanding church from the scriptures isn’t rocket surgery. The church means the people of God. It’s the family of God and symbolically the body of Christ, designed to edify itself interactively.
When you think of a church, think of a family, not an organization, corporation, or denomination. With that clear, it should be easy to see how a church meets in a house the same way a family would gather in a house. Where we gather isn’t what’s important. What’s important is how we care for one another on this narrow way that leads to life.
Is God Leading You To Start A Home Church?
If he is and you’d like some help, tips, and advice from someone who felt the same way leading many years ago, check out the How To Start A Dynamic Home Church Course.
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