What is a "House Church" or Home Bible Study Group
Acts 2:41-42 (KJV)
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
and the same day there were added unto them
about three thousand souls.
{42} And they continued stedfastly in
the apostles' doctrine
and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and
in prayers.
Acts 2:46-47 (KJV)
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the
temple,
and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness
of heart,
{47} Praising God, and having favour
with all the people.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be
saved.
Rom 16:5 (KJV)
Likewise greet the church that is in their house.
Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits
of Achaia unto Christ.
1 Cor 16:19 (KJV)
The churches of Asia salute you.
Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord,
with the church that is in their house.
Col 4:15 (KJV)
Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas,
and the church which is in his house.
Phile 1:2 (KJV)
And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier,
and to the church in thy house:
Dear Fiends in Christ,
Obviously, there is adequate precedant for having a "house
church", that is, a meeting of the "called out ones" (greek=ecclesia word for "church") in someone's home, when you consider
the above Bible verses. Not everybody can afford to build big buildings to house a church, and in many countries Christianity
is illegal and persecution of Christians is the day. In some communities, there is no good Bible believing and Christ-honoring
church. And yet, Christians need fellowship, and Jesus said, Mat 18:20
(KJV)
For where two or three are gathered together
in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
So, Jesus will bless a small group of people meeting together
in His Name. This is the highest level of encouragement to do so.
What is a "house church" or a small group Bible study? It
is simply a group of like-minded believers in the Lord Jesus Christ meeting in somebody's home or other suitable place, to
study the Word of God together, and bring praises to the Lord Jesus, and enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and be encouraged.
If it develops into something more, so be it.
I have personally seen two reasons for starting such small
groups, but there are many more I am sure..
One is, if there is no suitable "organized church" in the
region. This can be due to being in a remote location where no church exists, or if worshipping Christ in public is illegal,
as it is in some countries.
The other reason is to bring a "personal touch" to the ministry
of a very large church, where people could remain othewise unknown and undiscipled and un-cared-for, and their spiritual and
personal needs are not being met.
Such groups can be started either by word of mouth, simply
hanging up a sheet of paper on a public bulletin board, advertising for anyone interested in studying the Bible to call a
certain phone number...the methods are endless.
And there must be PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER. Since we know that
no-one comes to Christ without the Holy Spirit drawing them, we need to ask God to bring to us the people who are serious
about "going deeper" in their walk with Jesus with more than just a "Sunday-go-to-meetin' " kind of mentality. If there are
more than one of an inner circle of leaders in a larger group, these should meet together for prayer often during the
week to bathe the ministry in prayer from top to bottom.
What goes on in this kind of a meeting?
I have seen two main types of these meetings, but there can
be infinite variety and one should not be dogmatic about it. These types differ in the EMPHASIS of the meeting, either
for mostly Worship and singing, or mostly for Bible study and only a little singing. Both are fine, and anything in-between
is fine too. As long as the focus is on Jesus Christ, His Word, and His leading, you will be fine.
Here are some suggestions for what I have seen work in a House
Church or small group Bible Study...
Call the people together that want to participate in the Bible
Study. Pick out one certain night during the week which is best for most of the people, and always meet on the same night
every week at the same time of day or night.
You may start the evening out with singing, people bringing guitars,
keyboards, drums, tamborines, other instruments, some may want to playing a special music song or hymn, but have a group
sing-along for everyone to participate too...of favorite christian songs. Make it a time of praise and celebration to the
Lord.
After the singing you can have a time of prayer to calm everybody down
and prepare for the time of study to come. Pray for the sick, pray for God to raise up a leader in His good timing, pray for
the effectiveness of the Word and the study, pray for each other, for the church and missionaries.
Then go into the actual Bible study time. One person should
be designated to lead the study each week...give him/her a week in advance to prepare. Let each one share the leadership on
a rotating basis...a different person every week. This will give more people the opportunity to discover and use their spiritual
gifts.
Take one book of the Bible, a short one, like First Timothy, or First
John, Philippians, you choose...and work through the book chapter by chapter, or a few verses at a time...each leader taking
a paragraph, about one third of the chapter or so...whenever the text changes to a new subject.... use other reference helps
like study Bibles, Bible dictionaries., concordances, topical Bibles...let each person take responisbility for bringing some
information from one of the Bible references and contributing to the discussion. Require that people prepare beforehand before
coming to the study, especially the leader for the night. The more individual preparation, the better the study will be.
Dont rush through the scriptures. If you only discuss one topic or one
verse in one night, that's ok. Just let the Holy Spirit be in charge and guide the evening along. Encourage each person to
contribute something to the discussion, and don't let one or a few dominate the whole evening, unless you perceive that this
person is being raised up to be a leader. Be sensitive to the shy persons, that their contributions be honored with equal
weight and importance as those who are more outgoing.
You can meet in the home of a volunteer family, or in the
church basement, or a community hall. After the singing, the prayer and the study, you can have a time of refreshments and
fellowship. Somebody (maybe more than one) can volunteer to bring a treat of some kind, cookies, popcorn balls, whatever,
and pop or punch or kool aid...let it be a free time of fellowship and enjoyment of the Lord and each other.
Then all hold hands in a big circle and do a closing prayer..either one
person or each person one phrase...and maybe one chorus of a favorite hymn with just the voices...the leader gives a blessing
that's it. And dont forget the clean-up duties..if everyone helps out the job will go quickly.
I was in a group that did all of these things in one night and it was
awesome.. there was no pastor present, and as a matter of fact, this group turned into a new church in the small town that
we lived.
Sooner or later, there may be some ministering to people after the group,
like during the week or by phone or over coffee or lunch someplace. Be prepared for this, as this is an opportunity for some
one-on-one discipling. It is always a good idea for men to minister to men and women to women...for obvious reasons.
As time goes on and effectiveness becomes apparent, Satan may try to
introduce problems into the group. This may take the form of problem people who want to introduce heresies, or cliques,
or gossip...just like in a BIG church. It is for this reason that lots of prayer be raised to the Lord for His mercy in purifying
the group and keeping its focus on Christ.
But again, numbers are not important...commitment to Christ is all-important.
Those who leave after some degree of persecution or discipline were probably not really committed to Christ in the first place.
Their reason for being in your group may have been social or cultural or who-knows-what...but the bright light of persecution
always tends to scare off the uncommitted...that is why persecution is important.
As far as content of your meeting, center your meeting on the person
of Jesus Christ. Worship HIm, read about Him, sing praises to Him, and focus on helping those that are truly interested in
deepening their faith in Him, or coming to know Him for the first time.
Let those that come know that you not running a christian dating service,
if that is all they're interested in, although strong relationships among committed christians should not be discouraged.
The focus of a group is to study the Bible and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is where it should stay.
And be sensitive to The Holy Spirit's leading as to perhaps some kind
of projects or activities your group may want to get into..such as street-corner or beach evangelism, or some project for
the homeless, or orphans, or singing hymns at a nursing home...all kinds of ways that you can show Christ's love in a very
practical way to those that need it, and again to discover and use your spiritual gifts for the Lord.
It has been my experience that Jesus would rather have a very
small group of truly dedicated christians than a large group of wishy-washy ones... even if that group consists of only 2
or 3 persons. In some countries where it is illegal to have a public church meeting, the christiains practice what
may be called "potato-vine evangelism", meaning... I tell you, then you tell a friend, then the friend tells a friend..and
so on, and so on...pretty soon you have a roomful.
I hope this has been of some help to you. As has been stated
earlier, "if you can't find a good church, START ONE. " There is really nothing holding you back. Think outside the box a
little, and look at what the Holy Spirit did in the first century church. The Greek word for "the church" is "ecclesia", the
called out ones. We sometimes think of the church as "the called in ones", called into a big institutional building complex
for worship and service. Although, God uses this type of approach, the small home meeting is important as an alternative where
no good church exists, and can be an adjunct to the larger church to personallize the ministry.
Perhaps God is calling you out of a dead church to start a
new living church. Or perhaps He has put you in a lonely place where your only choice is to start a church. In any case,
be sensitive to the calling and purposes of God.
And God bless you, your family, and your Ministry for Jesus.
In Christ...brother bob......<><
2 Tim 2:1-4 (KJV)
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus.
{2} And the things that thou hast
heard of me among many witnesses,
the same commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also.
{3} Thou therefore endure hardness,
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
{4} No man that warreth entangleth himself
with the affairs of this life;
that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Mat 28:18-20 (KJV)
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth.
{19} Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost:
{20} Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway,
even unto the end of the world. Amen.
IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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God Bless You
In Christ.....brother bob.......<><
