Home Churches?

[PreacherBen]

Though God is never the author of confusion or rebellion, we must be mindful that the early church, the churches in other lands, persecuted countries, new church plants (sometimes,) and regular American churches still practice the house/home church. Of course the Lord wants God ordained authority and structure, but this can be done in the home/house church. Consider the following so we'll have a scriptural grounds of approach:

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

1Co 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Col 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.

Phm 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

Notice all these groups that were considered "the church" that met "in their house." We must be careful to not let our Americana and 21st century perspective keep us from seeing the validity of this type of assembly. We are so used to meeting at the "church building" that we often (and we've all heard it,) consider that building "the church." This is what gives the assembly in the former Communist block nations, that met often, in the woods so refreshing. No program, no pews, just the bible, prayer, singing from a heart filled with the joy of the Lord, worship, and most imporantly of all...the Christ of "his church." They lacked nothing. Instead of programs, positions, and prominence it was prayer, power, and persecution. They flourished. I'm not one with persecution complex, I do not desire that for our nation and her churches, but in light of the prevailing attitudes, we had better reexamine this mode and it's benefits. So before we prejudice ourselves with a view that depicts the fresh, N.T. house assembly as a group of malcontents who cannot submit to church authority, let's remember those who do this because they could no longer prosper in the environment that has been promoted in many N.T. institutional churches.

1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Bro. Ben

[John81]

Though God is never the author of confusion or rebellion, we must be mindful that the early church, the churches in other lands, persecuted countries, new church plants (sometimes,) and regular American churches still practice the house/home church. Of course the Lord wants God ordained authority and structure, but this can be done in the home/house church. Consider the following so we'll have a scriptural grounds of approach:

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

1Co 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Col 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.

Phm 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

Notice all these groups that were considered "the church" that met "in their house." We must be careful to not let our Americana and 21st century perspective keep us from seeing the validity of this type of assembly. We are so used to meeting at the "church building" that we often (and we've all heard it,) consider that building "the church." This is what gives the assembly in the former Communist block nations, that met often, in the woods so refreshing. No program, no pews, just the bible, prayer, singing from a heart filled with the joy of the Lord, worship, and most imporantly of all...the Christ of "his church." They lacked nothing. Instead of programs, positions, and prominence it was prayer, power, and persecution. They flourished. I'm not one with persecution complex, I do not desire that for our nation and her churches, but in light of the prevailing attitudes, we had better reexamine this mode and it's benefits. So before we prejudice ourselves with a view that depicts the fresh, N.T. house assembly as a group of malcontents who cannot submit to church authority, let's remember those who do this because they could no longer prosper in the environment that has been promoted in many N.T. institutional churches.

1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Bro. Ben

[jmm8345]

In our area there is a growing faction that wrongfully believe that God has called them out of the Church,and they are part of the universal Church. It is alarming, the 'universal church' is not an assembly of believers they do not meet (assemble themselves together) this is against scripture. God calls us to assemble together to worship. I do believe in a universal Church but that will be in Heaven. And it will be a great time of worship to God.

[Germany4Christ]

In our area there is a growing faction that wrongfully believe that God has called them out of the Church' date='and they are part of the universal Church. It is alarming, the 'universal church' is not an assembly of believers they do not meet (assemble themselves together) this is against scripture. God calls us to assemble together to worship. I do believe in a universal Church but that will be in Heaven. And it will be a great time of worship to God.[/quote']


The point is not that they are meeting in their house but rather that they devorce themselves from the authority of the local church.
God set up local assemblies for our benifit and to deviate from that is to slight his perfect plan.

[OLD fashioned preacher]

I distinction between the modern American "home church movement" and "churches who are meeting in homes" has been made several times in this thread.

I really wonder sometimes whether the continued half-on-target-half-off banter is from lack of reading all written, reading comprehension problems, or a desire to just be argumentative.

Not intended to be mean, but it seems frequent.

[Lee-Anne]

Though God is never the author of confusion or rebellion, we must be mindful that the early church, the churches in other lands, persecuted countries, new church plants (sometimes,) and regular American churches still practice the house/home church. Of course the Lord wants God ordained authority and structure, but this can be done in the home/house church. Consider the following so we'll have a scriptural grounds of approach:

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

1Co 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

Col 4:15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Preacher Ben;
.

1Ti 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Bro. Ben

Thankyou for you imput. I do agree with you. However, my expeience with the Home church movement here in Western Australia is that it is largely made up of disgruntled "x church members" of one form or another. Several people whom we know, are now attending home fellowships and have had problems with church authority in one form or another. I am sure there are some wonderful home churches. I can see that the fellowship has the potentional to be wonderul. When my husband Pastored a smaller church our fellowship was wonderful and we frequently met in our home.

[Wilchbla]

I distinction between the modern American "home church movement" and "churches who are meeting in homes" has been made several times in this thread.

I really wonder sometimes whether the continued half-on-target-half-off banter is from lack of reading all written, reading comprehension problems, or a desire to just be argumentative.

Not intended to be mean, but it seems frequent.

Sometimes posts get buried in threads.

[Wilchbla]

Thankyou for you imput. I do agree with you. However, my expeience with the Home church movement here in Western Australia is that it is largely made up of disgruntled "x church members" of one form or another. Several people whom we know, are now attending home fellowships and have had problems with church authority in one form or another. I am sure there are some wonderful home churches. I can see that the fellowship has the potentional to be wonderul. When my husband Pastored a smaller church our fellowship was wonderful and we frequently met in our home.

My question is what happens if "the church authority" falls apart in your area. Say the Pastor is nothing but a fornicating, money grubbing egotist. This has happened in some areas. Some of the folks who live down South don't realize how bad things are up North. Sherburne, NY has NO bible believing churches. It has one Baptist church (American Baptist if I remember right) and the Pastor just went to jail for running off with a 15 year old girl in the congregation. Now, those folks who are saved in that area, where do they go to church? Please don't say, "Let them travel 40 miles to the nearest church" which is what you'd have to do. This will work for a time but in EVERY CASE that I've heard of folks having to do this it never lasts. It's hard to fellowship with people that far away.

[Lee-Anne]

I am really sorry to hear this. People are not perfect and unfortunately Pastors and church members all have feet of clay. There is no "perfect" Pastor or church ( I am not excusing gross sin by the way ). These situations are different. It is terribly sad to hear of Pastors who fall into deep sin, as well as church members. That is one of the reasons why God gave us the local church; so we could pray, care and encourage one another. As the wife of a Pastor, I know my husband needs my prayers. He is just a man. He is not super human. He did seek to become Pastor. The Lord led him and he simply obeyed. My concern is simply one of biblical authority. I do believe if there is a sound Bible believing; preaching church then we should attend there. I am not talking about a building either. That sound Bible believing church may meet in a home.

[Annie]

My question is what happens if "the church authority" falls apart in your area. Say the Pastor is nothing but a fornicating' date=' money grubbing egotist. This has happened in some areas. Some of the folks who live down South don't realize how bad things are up North. Sherburne, NY has NO bible believing churches. It has one Baptist church (American Baptist if I remember right) and the Pastor just went to jail for running off with a 15 year old girl in the congregation.[/quote']
Wilchbla, I'm so sorry to hear about this. Have you been able to find a way to gather likeminded believers for weekly worship in some way?


I don't know what your options are, but, just to encourage you, I'll say that our family (here in the South, no less!) drives an hour to get to church. We attend all services and most activities. We spend all day Sunday at the church; we take walks, play, read, practice instruments, and nap right at the church building. We've been doing this for seven years now, and don't plan on stopping. We love our church and have developed so many lasting friendships there. If we can do it with a gas-guzzling Suburban and five kids aged 11 and under with all their accoutrements, then maybe you could, too!

[John81]

Just as there are many false "local churches", there will also be many false "home churches". I don't think anyone here supports the establishment of false home churches or the support of false local churches.

Sadly, as has been mentioned, in some areas there simply are no biblical local churches to attend. Some folks are able to drive long distances to a good church but many are not. It's always best to have a truly local church; whether one that's already established or beginning a new one; whether in someones home or elsewhere.

Whether a folks are gathering in a home or in an established local church, the important thing is that it's led of God, not of man. Over the last two or three decades our local Methodist church has experienced several splits. Some of these have resulted in folks meeting at home until they found a new church home, started a new church or reconciled with the Methodist church.

When we looked for a new church home we were so totally overwhelmed at how far away so many area churches have fallen. It took us a long time to find a new church home; sadly none of the Baptist churches within a 60 mile radius were fit to attend. Thankfully the Lord led us to a conservative independent church that is pastored by a wonderful man of God who attended Baptist seminary. This church has been independent since its founding in the 1800s so it's not one of those often-spoken of modern independent churches which simply seeks to "do their own thing"; our church is governed by the Word of God and our pastor stands firm on the fundamentals of the faith.

[PreacherBen]

I know He will do it dispite our prayers, but let's pray that the Lord be glorified in His beautiful bride, the church, in these troublesome times whether they meet in homes, or a dedicated "church" building. People need Christ and each other.

Bro. Ben

[John81]

I know He will do it dispite our prayers, but let's pray that the Lord be glorified in His beautiful bride, the church, in these troublesome times whether they meet in homes, or a dedicated "church" building. People need Christ and each other.

Bro. Ben

:pray

[ELI3]

Now, those folks who are saved in that area, where do they go to church? Please don't say, "Let them travel 40 miles to the nearest church" which is what you'd have to do. This will work for a time but in EVERY CASE that I've heard of folks having to do this it never lasts. It's hard to fellowship with people that far away.

It's usually about priorities and commitment.
I have been saved for over 30 years. During that time I have been a member of three different Independent Baptist Churches. Sometimes I had to drive over thirty miles to go to church. Was always there with my family whenever the services or activities were scheduled. If it got to be too much of an expense or a problem with time attending faithfully, we would simply move closer to the church. If necessary, I would change jobs. After all, aren't we supposed to be pilgrims and strangers down here?
It seems that too may people have higher priorities on keeping a nicer house or having a better job than being in God's will about Hebrews 10:24,25.


ELI

[PreacherBen]

It's usually about priorities and commitment.

This is true, but some would see their first priority to the Lord in their personal relationship, their spouse,thier family, and then the church. We need to think about our jobs and homes as they relate to food on the table and a roof over the heads of the ones that the Lord has made us responsible for.

I have been saved for over 30 years. During that time I have been a member of three different Independent Baptist Churches. Sometimes I had to drive over thirty miles to go to church. Was always there with my family whenever the services or activities were scheduled. If it got to be too much of an expense or a problem with time attending faithfully, we would simply move closer to the church.

In the days were living in, and current economic conditions, it is "not so simple" to simply move closer. The housing market is a bust and they are not moving very fast. Yes, if it's God's will, He'll make it happen, but if He doesn't then what?

If necessary, I would change jobs. After all, aren't we supposed to be pilgrims and strangers down here?
It seems that too may people have higher priorities on keeping a nicer house or having a better job than being in God's will about Hebrews 10:24,25.

Again, many are thankful to have the job they have, changing is very risky. The bottom line is, as this relates to home/house churching, if it is God's will and leadership, you are in good shape, otherwise, He will make His way known and provision will be there.