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Start A House Church! (or
Bible Study)
Daniel Valles
4/23/04 www. informedchristians.com
My Experience
Growing up, I had the great blessing of having parents that were
involved with starting churches. I can remember three different
house churches that we were involved with. The gatherings were
small, but we really knew each other. Each service, we set up
chairs in the living rooms, sang hymns, and then my father would
preach a message. I can still remember the people that attended
the churches. You knew them, knew their needs and concerns,
shared their joys, and also shared a genuine love for God.
Once I moved off to
college, I entered a church world I was unaccustomed to.
Instead of a small church, I was now part of a 'herd' that attended
along with thousands of others. I felt distant from the pastor,
and the church as a whole. You came, sang, listened, left.
There was little or no fellowship as a church. True, we
attended 'church', but I was able to be part of a 'church' (a body of
believers) in a different way. I missed the fellowship and
dialog that comes from a church body. You see, one is alive,
the other is dead. So, getting together with two or three or my
friends, I helped start a Bible study. We would usually meet
Sunday night, after our dinner, in a quiet corner of the college's
student area. First off, we would share praises from the week.
Then, I would bring a 'study', and share it with everyone.
Different people would read the passages that we were going to look
at, and if anyone had a question or thought, we shared it. Many
times, someone else was able to point out a take or perspective that
I had not noticed, and visa versa. Afterwards, we would go
around taking prayer requests, and then we would all pray.
Eventually, friends brought friends, and the group grew until we
split it into smaller groups, so we could keep the discussion and
dialog.
Eventually, with my
group, we started picking topics to study. We would lightly
study that subject during the week, and the next Sunday night we
would all share the different verses and thoughts that the Lord
impressed us with during the week. Afterwards, we would share
prayer requests, pray for them, and pick a topic for the following
week. These gatherings were not formal, but these were the
closest to a true church body that I had. We just met around a
regular table, but we knew when one was having struggles spiritually;
and if we saw them during the week, we would inquire about how they
were doing in that area. The body of Christ is not just a
Sunday and Wednesday reunion, it is a family.
Today's 'Church'
The mainstream church of today is so organized and formal, that the
life is being strained out. True, they are busy, vibrant, and
even full of enthusiastic people. However, the glue that hold a
church together is fast coming apart. Church has become a
ritual - an event that you go to - to become spiritual. You
dialog with like-minded people, and while there is genuine concern
for them, the level of intimacy into their needs, concerns, and
struggles is shallow. Your friend that comes over the house
every other day, goes shopping with you, etc. has a better
'fellowship' with you than most individuals at 'church'. It is
sad that some of your unsaved co-workers know you better than the
people at 'church'.
Small organized
churches can have that glue; but, after a point, it is not as strong
as it could be. Unfortunately, many larger 'churches' today
have (naturally) picked up the 'purpose-driven' movement. It is
all about money and numbers. When your focus of what a true
church changes, then false methods and doctrines will come with it.
When you see your church as an assembly, not as a body, then you want
larger assemblies. If you view the church as 'seeker-friendly',
then you will degrade the Bride of Christ to a level unbefitting of a
bride. Another problem inherit with larger churches is that
compromise increases with the number of attendees. It does not
have to be blatant compromise, but you know so-and-so would be
offended if such-and-such was talked about, and they would whine
about it to everyone, etc. If the 'church' is particularly
interested in numbers and money, they usually like to entice people
to give by offering them receipts. That means, of course, that
they have to become 'licensed' by the state, and cannot talk as
freely as they would like on certain issues.
Are there problems with a house church?
Of course. I am not touting them as a miracle-cure-all.
However, they do return to a true body of believers. One of the
cons of meeting in smaller, unorganized groups, is that there is a
larger chance for doctrinal error. Many of the New Testament
books were written to house churches, clarifying, or correcting
doctrine. But, on the other side of the coin, there is a
greater level of accountability.
Why a house church?
Besides returning to a closer fellowship with the believers, and
casting off many of the fetters of licensed churches, home-churches
(by nature) are more apt to bring people to Christ than larger,
sterile churches. Think about it. If you were unsaved,
did not think too highly of hypocritical church-goers, and wary of
anything 'religious', which would you be more apt to do: (1)
Accept the invitation of your saved co-worker to a large steak dinner
sponsored by their church down the street, or (2) Accept the
invitation of your saved co-worker to their house tomorrow evening
for a discussion of spiritual things with a few other people out on
their porch after some light snacks?
That is the reason
the New Testament church body grew so fast. The unsaved were
naturally drawn to these people, not because they had some whiz-bang
activity every weekend! It was not because of the jaw-dropping
singing and specials on Sunday morning! It wasn't for the choir
number, or the children's program! It was because these people
were real! Their faith was real! These were normal
people, just like them, whose lives were changed!
The church did not
have to come dressed-down to make them more comfortable!
Perhaps they did not dress as fine as we do nowadays, but I am pretty
sure they did not come in in their 'shorts' and T-shirt! They
did not have to become the world, to attract the world. The
world saw Jesus in them. Now a days, Jesus sees the world in
us.
How do I start one?
Simple. You know one or more families that is interested in a
deeper understanding and study of God's Word, desires a greater
fellowship with Him and other Christians, and is disturbed and
disgusted at the 'church' of today. Share with them the burden
on your heart, and see if they would be willing to meet during the
week and start a 'Bible study'. Perhaps have it Tuesday night,
or Thursday night. Perhaps you can do as I did, in picking a
topic, studying it, and discussing it. If you follow this
route, I discourage 'study guides'. I do recommend that you
have a KJV Bible and a Strong's Concordance. One item that
really came in handy for our Bible study was an old laptop with a
Bible program (Online Bible). This way we could look up the
full meaning of a Greek/Hebrew word if we were not clear about it.
Also, Matthew Henry's or Dr. Vernon McGee's commentaries would be of
assistance.
Pray for one another.
Take prayer requests. My personal pet peeve is 'un-spoken'
prayer requests. You do not have to air your dirty laundry, per
se, but just say you are having a problem in a particular area, and
you request strength and grace to overcome it. Many times,
someone else will have gone through those same struggles and be able
to share verses or testimony regarding them. They will never
know your struggles if you just broadly label them as 'unspoken'.
Share praises.
Praises are not "I had a great day", or "a friend of mine is coming
down to visit". Those statements are 'good news', not
'praises'. Praises are giving glory to God for an attribute of
Him that was evident in a situation, or circumstance, or even you
personal walk with Him. For example, praise His name regarding
mercy, grace, strength, etc. that He showed you.
If you do have
discussions, always remember that whilst you may not always agree,
you can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Always, always,
always pray before you open the Word of God. One verse that my
group always claimed before we started was Psalm 119:18 "Open thou
mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."
Have your group meet
anywhere - your living room, picnic table at the park, in the dinning
room, etc. If you need more chairs, get some folding chairs
from your local consignment store (Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.).
Sometimes local schools, colleges, or businesses may have several
that they are trying to get rid of. Also, try to get your hands
on some good old-fashioned hymnals. See if a local 'church' in
your area has some old ones left over, look in the used book stores,
etc. Even Jesus and the disciples sang (Matthew 26:30, Mark
14:26).
Pick someone who is
the most 'learned' about the Bible, or spiritually mature, to
'moderate'. I would strongly encourage everyone to take notes
during the study. Notes help you remember verses that went with
others, or even thoughts that you had not considered before.
What about children?
Believe it or not, I am not happy with Sunday School. Sunday
School was originally started to teach the poor, uneducated children
on Sunday, when they were off from work. Noble idea, but today
it is mostly entertainment, and baby-sitting. It breaks up the
family worship. Not only do they have no idea of what was
talked about in the morning services, but the chance for the subject
to pique their thoughts never happens. It remains on the
children-level of Sunday School. It would be far better that
they came home and asked you about a question they had regarding the
sermon, where you could then show it to them and explain it, than if
they came home talking about the cool skit they saw in Sunday School.
Let them know ahead
of time that they will not be entertained. Let them know what
you expect of them as far as behavior, but realize that they may
squirm around a bit. For the really young, have them color,
etc. in the corner - but, where they can observe and listen.
If the children have
a question about something, answer it. They are part of the
family too. You do not need to have the 'service' on a child's
level, with all of the songs being children's songs, but you want to
encourage them to ponder, think, and consider what is being
discussed. This is your faith on display in front of them.
They may not understand what you are talking about all of the way,
but they will see your relationship with Christ is not just a Sunday
morning and evening show. You desire to know Him, and His Word.
Much more can be
written I'm sure, but I wanted to pique your curiosity. Think
about the why's and how's of your worship and church. There is
more to Christianity than 'church' - it is found in the body of
Christ.
Here are some related articles I have found.
I may not agree with all of them, but they are food for thought.
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Do
you have a testimony or comment about House Churches? |
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If you do, then send it to us! We would like
to include testimonies from others in the page, as an encouragement to
others! Whether it be small group Bible studies, home churches,
or similar ideas, we would love to hear about it! We also welcome
comments or questions! |
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