Churches in the New Testament era were indeed small assemblies that met in homes (Acts 2:46; 20:20). So, the practice of attending a home church, or house church, is biblical. There are other good reasons to have house churches as opposed to large gatherings: greater intimacy, stronger relationships, single-mindedness, prevents spiritual stagnancy, encourages your group to be active instead of lazy. The fact that large churches usually have their own small groups that meet in homes speaks to the value of the house church model.
Having Church At Home is Easy And Rewarding
Ive been keeping Church At Home for over 40 years, Ive made a few observations about it…
Here are some SUGGESTIONS:
- Everyone could bring a potluck.
Whatever you bring, bring enough for yourself and one other person… its good to have left overs, because that means everyone had their fill, and you can always finish it off later during the week. - The Man of the House is the leader of the Assembly. He will deliberate people to pray, keep the bible reading on schedule, and any other normal duties a host would provide for his guests.
TURN THAT STUPID TELEVISION OFF
- *Open with prayer
*Visit a little bit, 30 min or so
*We often eat first thing but you can eat after the reading, it YOUR group.
*Then we gather in a circle or where everyone can be involved. Children usually sit on the floor in the middle of the Adults.
*If you have someone who can sing or play an instrument is always a blessing, or you all may want to sing as a group (My group rarely has music or sings, and I like that too)
*Spend some time to pray for one another, ask who needs and wants prayer, and pray for specific things.
****Do the Bible Reading.*** (Pray over the Reading) We begin in Matthew 1:1 and read a good 5 chapters, then next week we pick up where we left off. It will take 72 hours of direct reading to read the whole bible from cover to cover.
Whoever is reading, DONT comment, and DONT interrupt the reader. Children who can read, often do and should read, give them half chapters (So, the child will read half and perhaps the mother will finish). When they’ve finished the chapter take time to ask questions and bring commentary to the table. (Its okay to help with hard words, or misread verses)… The discussion after the chapter should be DIRECTLY related to the Scripture.
DONT watch preachers unless its a special viewing…. everything should come from the efforts of the worshipers
*After the reading, people usually hang out and discuss Christian Issues, many groups last all day, from about 9am till dark, but that may be too much for beginners. The outline in this summary will last 2 or 3 hours.
*At the end, have a closing Prayer
When we assemble, EVERYONE should bring something to the table… a song, a good report, a treasure from the Word, and edification, a prayer, a story of how the Almighty is working in your own life…
As you start doing this you will discover MANY Christians meet at home, and there are probably one or more groups in your area. This is usually discovered through moms that Home School their children. Its always nice to visit other groups and have groups visit you. But when a group gets about 10 or so adults its probably time to make 2 smaller groups.
Just as each man is a minister, and needs to be ministering the Word, so also is each group is Autonomous, we have NO AUTHORITARIAN LEADER except for Jesus Christ.
IF YOU ARE ALREADY HEBREW ROOTS:
You probably don’t allow your children in public schools… Home School your kids
Do you know about the 119 Fellowship Finder?
https://www.119ministries.com/resources/fellowship-finder
RESOURCES:
1. https://biblicisminstitute.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/church-services-are-not-biblical/
2. https://www.churchathome.org/video/restoring-original-christianity.html
