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.......<><
