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Be Like the Original Church

For around two hundred years after Jesus, “church” was never a building. The church was the followers of Jesus themselves. The most usual place for a church to meet was in a believer’s house.

The first churches would normally have had 15–30 people gathering together. This was as many people as could fit in a large house. The size of “church” was actually limited by the sizes of people’s houses. Going to “church” was really going to a small group meeting.

Many of the things that we think are essential for “church” were missing back then. There was no dedicated pastor, there were no sermons, and there were usually no musical instruments at all. There was also very little formal structure to what the believers did when they gathered together.

Every church meeting always centered around a communal meal, which was how the instruction of the Lord was understood (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Everyone contributed to the meeting according to their gifts. Someone might tell a story that they remembered about Jesus, then someone else might break out spontaneously into praise, and then the group might start joyfully singing. They might then move on to prayer as the Spirit led them. Then they might discuss who was in need in their community, and how they could help.

If you belong to a large church, that can be a wonderful thing. However, if you don’t belong to a small group studying the Word of God, praying together, and supporting each other through life in the love of Christ, why don’t you find one? Or better still, start one!

By Dr. Eliezer Gonzalez