House Churches - a PrimerНамуна

Are house churches biblical?

The key lessons we learn from this story about the house church are:

• All of the serving and ministry work should not be left to one person.
• It is more important that ALL present can hear the words of the Lord and learn.

As for other examples of churches meeting in a house, the word “house” is mentioned in the New Testament one hundred and eighty-one times. Without going into every scripture, the following is a selection just to show that the early church frequently met in houses.

“…greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epae'netus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ.” (Romans 16:5)

“…how I [Paul] did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house…” (Acts 20:20)

“When he [Peter] realised this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.” (Acts 12:12)

The churches of Asia send greetings. Aq'uila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 16:19)

1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Phile'mon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Ap'phia our sister and Archip'pus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house (Philemon 1:1-2)

If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting (2 John 1:10)

From this, it is evident that house church meetings were quite the norm in New Testament Bible times.

Call to Action:

If you are a Christian standing alone, coming together as part of a church is important. If you cannot attend a traditional church or do not want to for some reason, consider joining or even establishing a house church. There is ample scriptural evidence for doing so.