Is a home church a biblical church?

[Pastor Matt]

I would like to hear thoughts on this topic. I understand that the early church meet in houses, is this a principle we should still be following today?

[swathdiver]

Well,  a church is group of believers covenanted together to worship and serve Jesus Christ.  Such a church is led by a pastor with one wife and more than one child among other qualifications and this church was not created by any one individual, but was planted by another scriptural New Testament Church.

 

In 1976 a church in Auburndale, Florida planted a church in Fort Pierce, Florida.  For a time the church met at my pastor's home, then they moved into a christian college's spaces and finally bought land and built a traditional church building that has been expanded several times since.

 

So if some lady has a vision to start a church and plays christian rock out by the pool before services which are conducted in her spare bedroom, no, that's not a New Testament Church of the kind that Jesus Christ began during his earthly ministry.

[Alan]

Our latest work, Victory Baptist Church, as our previous works, was started in our home with just me and my wife and children.

Today we have a congregation meeting in a rented building with a Building Fund (most of the funds, over 50 percent cent,  come from our converts and church members, on the field). Hopefully, the church will purchase their own building in a year or so.

At the beginning, a house church is necessary. As time goes on, and souls get saved, it becomes necessary to have a building. We not only have church services in the building, but we have a Bible Institute (very small), also. Therefore, in order for the church to continue to grow in members, and opportunities, to serve the Lord Jesus, a building is necessary, desirable, and of the Lord.

The example of the Temple in the Old Testament is our guide.

At first, the Lord instructed the Jews to build a tent, the Tabernacle, in order to hold worship services. As time progressed David desired a better structure for the Lord and, probably,  clearly saw that a tent structure was inadequate for the crowds of people. God, I repeat, God, felt the same. God, not man, instructed David in the preparation of the Temple building and surrounding court yards, and instructed King Solomon, through the direct teaching of the Holy Spirit, on the design of the Temple.

Furthermore, God, not man, will also instruct the Lord Jesus on the building of the Millennial Temple during His reign: Ezekiel Chapter 40-48 I would not be surprised, due to the world wide reign of the Lord Jesus, that the Millennial Temple will be huge; much more in land size than Solomon's Temple.

Therefore, by the example of God Almighty, a church will of necessity be small in the beginning, and as time goes on, and souls get saved, a larger facility is needed.

In conclusion, initially, meeting in a house, or a small storefront, is often necessary. As time goes on, for the ministry to continue to grow, a building to must be procured.

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by Alan
grammer added a phrase concerning David

[DaveW]

I think about the descriptions in the first part of Acts and notice that the size of the church at Jerusalem made meeting in anyone's house unlikely.

You can of course, but a church that size? No, they met somewhere else.

And of course the "Home church" movement around today is unbiblical for many reasons.

Where you meet is a side issue. Doctrine is what matters. 

[Alan]

David,

Excellent.

Alan

[DaveW]

I also wonder about this verse:

1Co 11:18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

Now we all often will say that the church is not the building, but this verse doesn't say "come together AS a church", but IN the church.....

The coming together is the assembling, the word "in" is specifically talking about location.

Is this the way we sometimes use the word church to designate the building that church meets in, and which we sometimes get on people for using the word that way?

But it is only the once, so let's not make too much out of it.

And it does not designate where and what form the "in the church" takes.

Edited August 1, 2017 by DaveW

[Pastor Matt]

I'm not endorsing the church in the  video, but what did catch my eye was how they took on this topic in the form of a commercial.

[Pastorj]

Meeting in a home is completely different than a home church. 

Those that hold to home churches typically meet as a family unit with the father being the elder/pastor. Very much Old Testament 

[Ronda]

Matt.18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

1 Cor.6:17 "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."

1 Cor.6:19 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

1 Cor.12:12-14
 "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
 For the body is not one member, but many."

I suppose it all depends on what one believes... what they've been indoctrinated to believe? Or what God's word says?

[Standing Firm In Christ]

1 Corinthians 11:18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

In the Church...

The Church is not a brick-and-mortar edifice.  It is a living, breathing organism.  God no longer dwells in Temples made with hands, but now dwells in a people.

"When ye come together in the Church" simply means "when ye come together as a Body... because... the Church is a Body. 

Colossians 1:18 And He is the head of the Body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Christ's Body is not brick and mortar.  It is those who have trusted Him as the propitiation for their sin.

[BabeinChrist]

 A church is not its building; a church is a congregation of believers.

I do not believe the Home church movement is scriptural, although it is, as someone already said, a necessity in the beginning of a new church because of size.

And as someone also pointed out already, the church will outgrow the house, as long as the church is led by a godly Pastor & he is ordained according to Biblical requirements & he is teaching from the KJB & preaching hard against sin & going soul winning regularly. 

I have not encountered a church who did all those things & STILL remained small enough to meet in an average size (2,500 sq. ft. +/-) home after several years.

[Salyan]

There are some really good points in this thread. I would hold to the view that a church must be properly organized, with a pastor and membership, and as long as it is such, it really doesn't matter where they meet. A 'home church' of the kind where a father is having devotions with his family in their house is not a proper Church.

I could see the first NT churches meeting in houses because they didn't have anywhere else to meet, at first, much like some churches nowadays.

In the Canadian/American culture, a church that meets only in a home is not necessarily taken seriously by the community at large, and may be looked on with suspicion by possible visitors. Even a storefront/meeting room location isn't great (although a lot of our IFB churches meet here by necessity). Rightly or wrongly, a church is not seen to be legitimate unless it meets in a designated 'church building'.

[OLD fashioned preacher]

While I agree that the "home church movement" is either misinformed (ie. during many later years of the Roman Empire Christians met in homes -- they did so due to persecution, arrest and death. Not due to "early church pattern) or hippy, "anti-establishment" attitude, home churches are necessary some places. In North Korea you can't use a building for a church, you can't let the community know you have a Bible, etc.

[DaveW]

Yep, as I and I think Pastor J said, the place is irrelevant.

A church can meet in a home or another building. What makes the difference is the doctrine.

The "Home church movement" is a doctrinally incorrect group, but that has nothing to do with meeting in homes and everything to do with their doctrine.

[okie chriistian]

I think Ronda nailed it. I used to think someone in a home church was a cultish wacko. Really where we meet is irrelevant.