|
What is a Home Church?
1) What is a home church? A) A church that meets and performs all church functions in houses instead of a building B) Individual cells (homes) network to form one church. 2) Is a home church scriptural? A) It fulfills scriptural commands * confess faults one to another (James 5:16) * pray for each other (James 5:16) * sing to each other (Eph 5:19 NIV) * sharing possessions with each other (Acts 2:44-45,4:34-35) * bearing one another's burdens (Gal.2:5) * everybody contributing to the "body" their gifts and ministries (1 Cor. 14:26) * putting into practice intimate, personal fellowship between believers. 3) How does a home church differ from a "traditional" church? A) Worship is for participation instead of observation. Instead of being sung to, we will sing to the Lord as well as to each other. B) The house is the primary unit where all teaching, training, and all ministries originate. In a typical church, all ministries (including small groups) support the Sunday morning service, which is the main driving forceof the church. C) A home church utilizes empowered believers to do ministry work, while a traditional church uses paid or "professional" ministers to accomplish this work. On the job training is not widely practiced, so many never use their gifts and talents. The ranks of the ministry are closed in this system. D) Operating in houses means low overhead, so most or all of the financial resources go toward ministry, where a church uses up to 70% of it’s financial resources for salaries, mortgages, and other overhead. E) Living rooms offer an unbeliever a less threatening climate to hear from God as opposed to a sterile, threatening environment where they are "on guard" and their defensive wall is up. In a cell, transparency is the key to being able to trust each other with all our needs and problems. F) Home groups are small enough to be managed and make those in them accountable to each other. In large churches, you can get lost, and your access to leadership is limited to schedules and one shepherd can only give so much quality time to so many parishioners. Many with serious or urgent needs fall through the cracks. In a cell, all members have total access to the cell leader. G) Witness will be based on relationship, not on salesmanship. We disciple not on our speech or message, but on our lifestyle and our befriending those we encounter in life. This is the pattern that Jesus used. H) Home ministries by nature develop spiritual gifts and ministries by tutoring as well as on the job training. Ministries are formed and staffed with mature Christians developed, not in a classroom, but in life’s trials. 4) What are the benefits of the Home church? A) Christians learn that they are but one cell in the body of Christ and that all members are interconnected and interdependent on each other. No walls or denominations separate the believers, we are truly "all one in Christ"(Gal. 3:28) B) The "social club" atmosphere is replaced with a "family atmosphere" where true caring, loving relationships will develop. Walls of suspicion will be replaced with bonds of trust. C) Worship is centered on Christ alone, not on denominations, choirs, buildings, preachers or any other "golden cow" we invent. The only competition among us is "that I may know him,...." (Phil. 3:10) D) The artificial wall between "clergy" and "laity" will be broken down and allow all to minister according to the gifts that God gives them. No longer will the ministry be a "profession" but it will be a calling to operate in the body. Those called to council will council, those called to prophesy will be able to do so, those called to pastor will start new cells, and the body of believers will be built up in accordance with Eph 4:11-16. The operation of the gifts of the spirit will be for all believers to use during service, not only for the "platform team" (read pastor) to use. God's spirit will flow through all! |