House Church
“A House Church is our primary environment to experience life in the kingdom of God and discipleship.”
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:42-47
A House Church is an environment…
…structured around simple gatherings (scripture, family, table, prayer)…
…that is committed to one another. Where you can confidently say “this is our church”…
…where there is no need among us…
…that multiplies…
…that doesn’t exist for itself…
…that exercises the gifts of the spirit…
Structure
SCRIPTURE
Not simply reading out loud, but engaging with what the word is to you and your life.
FAMILY
Creating space and time for people to connect, become known, for friendships to form, and for life to be shared. We are opening up our homes and our lives.
TABLE
Every time you gather, every time we eat together, we remember Jesus’ sacrifice by celebrating the Lords Supper. This is best expressed in a meal together around a table.
PRAYER
We create space for God to minister to his people. This isn’t anything we have to force, it is simply an opportunity to see the kindness of God, captives to be set free, and our identities in Christ realized.
How does this happen?
Not all at once & over time
Trust that the time together will be enough. Never feel like you have to force all of this into one night. Never let the function of House Church get in the way of the people coming.
With intentionality
It is important that you keep the main things the main things. People are forgetful and they will easily steer House Church into places it was never meant to go. Keep the vision and reason for House Church front and center. Go over the “Why” every time you gather. Don’t let too much time go on before you get the night started. Yes allow time for people to connect but we also want to honor everyone’s time! Don’t be afraid of conflict when it arises. Be a non-anxious presence and help navigate the tension.
By making mistakes
You are not perfect. None of us are. This is how we learn! Be humble and forgive often.
Paying attention
Even in our simple gatherings it’s easy to get wrapped up into following a model. Never let the model get in the way of what God is doing or saying. As House Church Leaders you should be constantly asking, “What is God saying? What is God doing?” “What season of life is our House Church in?” So if its a night of prayer, let it be a night of prayer. If your House Church needs to have fun, do something fun!
Modeling it & Staying Rooted
This is probably the most important. You can’t lead anyone where you aren’t willing to go. You are not responsible for peoples faith, experience, or happiness. Always assume that people want to grow, but don’t be surprised when they are not willing. Stay true to who God has called you to be. Abide in His love and fight anything that says your identity is contingent on the success or failure of your House Church.
Scripture - Reading the Word
Reading Scripture, let alone interpreting it, can seem overwhelming. We open the Bible and can easily be confused by the vastness of it, so we play a bit of Bible roulette and “see what God has to say to us.” Or we treat it as an instruction manual and read it in ways it was never meant to be read. We will be expanding and growing as House Church Leaders in ways of engaging Scripture, but in the most basic sense there are some simple questions we can use to help us frame a better understating of what’s going on and what (if anything) it means for us today. Ask yourselves the following questions using this three part approach:
OBSERVATION
What does it say? | What did I learn from the text? | Did it challenge or affirm what I already believe?
INTERPRETATION:
What did it mean back then? | What does it mean if I apply the text to my life? | Where in my life have I seen this play out? | How does this point me to Jesus
APPLICATION
What do I do about it? | How would I communicate this text in my own language?
If you want to go deeper in application (in your own personal time) you can use a (kind of corny) tool called “SPACEPETS.”
It’s an acronym for discerning how the Spirit is leading you! In what you have read, is there a:
Sin to confess
Promise to claim
Attitude to change
Command to obey
Example to follow
Prayer to pray
Error to avoid
Truth to believe
Something to praise
Family
Family is committed to one another. In House Church we celebrate the diversity and make space for places of being known, welcomed, and loved. House Churches create environments for people to connect, become known, for friendships to form, and for life to be shared. Opening up our homes, our dinner tables, and our lives. A place where “there is no need among them.” How do we do this? It’s not always an easy task and takes sacrifice for this to be fully experienced.
Here are some practical examples of what it can look like:
Meal Trains - When someone has a baby, is sick in the hospital, has a dramatic life change like losing a job, etc - have someone set up a meal train where your group brings a meal for a period of time.
Give space for needs to be made known. Announce it (when it’s appropriate). Ask for people to write things down. Practice it!
Have a “collection jar” that people can contribute to. As needs arise this can be a source of giving.
Sharing possessions - There may be items you are getting rid of that others can use.
Showing Up - Show up in people’s lives. Exchange phone numbers, invite others over for a meal, and spend time with each other. Do this especially in seasons of difficulty or significant life change.
Table - Meal together/Celebrating Communion
Every time you gather in House Church there should be some component of a shared meal or snack, even if it’s just coffee (make sure there’s decaf) or dessert. There is something disarming about something shared between one another. Ideally, we will make time for a meal where people can bring something to share and sit around a table together.
Part of the meal is celebrating Communion. This can precede the meal, be during, or be after and can be a great opportunity for others to prepare for (empower people to help!) and bless the community. It is best to have a loaf of bread that you tear off and either a glass of wine or grape juice you can dip the bread in
To lead communion in community with other believers begin with a reading of Scripture which explains the intended purpose and significance of the act (1 Cor 11:23-26). After this, pray over and bless the elements (thank God for his sacrifice and the symbols of his body and blood). In doing so, simply welcome God’s Holy Spirit into the community of those breaking bread together, and dedicate the act as being in the remembrance of Jesus. A time for prayerful reflection on Communion’s significance can also be a meaningful inclusion here. Then partake together in the elements, whether it be an actual meal shared around a table or a simple taking of the elements of bread and wine. Enjoy the meal together as the people of God—and welcome, receive, embrace, give thanks, and dwell upon the love and reality of Jesus!
Prayer - Ministry Time
Prepare.
We aren’t called to operate out of performance. Stop trying so hard! Ministering breakthrough and walking in power is easy when you realize it’s not about you! It’s all about Him. Remind yourself what God says about you so that even when you don’t see “breakthrough” or the “special moment” you were hoping for your identity won’t be shaken.
Eventually you will want to identify your “Ministry Team” - Who in your House Church can you rely on to pray for others. Who has gone through Prayer Training? You may not always need a lot, just one or two to help with praying for others. Sometimes they may be the ones needing prayer, so be flexible with this.
Frame and Open up the time & Wait.
“Hey everyone, we are going to spend some time in prayer together. Can we all stand and open our hands like this? This is just a posture of being open to what God may have for you. Maybe close your eyes so you’re not distracted…”
“I would love to read a passage over us to get us started in our time of prayer to prepare our hearts for what God want’s to do in us and through us tonight.”
You can say something like: “In your minds just invite Him. ‘Holy Spirit you are welcome.’ As you invite His Spirit, we are just going to see what He brings to mind, don’t try and ‘do’ anything with it yet, and it’s ok if you’re not hearing or seeing anything, just continue to invite the Holy Spirit. Scripture reminds us, ‘How much more will the Holy Spirit be given to those who ask?’” Make sure you don’t go rushing into praying. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Perhaps you are praying over something particular… in that case you can frame the night with specific prompts and then invite people to pray!
If you are praying over someone, make sure to give people direction on what that looks like. And always ask permission if you intend to lay hands on someone.
Ask.
While prayer and ministry time is happening, it is important to be listening to God. Always be asking in your heart, “Jesus, what are you doing?…” Prayers to use at this time out loud are, “Come Holy Spirit,” “Thank you Jesus,” “I Bless what you are doing.”
This could also be a time where you or another person is hearing something specific that one or many people can respond to. As you’re asking God what He wants to do with this time, you may get an image or an impression, a verse, or a burden for something. Articulate this as simply as possible and then ask if anyone resonates with or feels like that is for them. These then are the people to pray for in light of this. Ask permission to pray over them and “lean in!”
Pray.
At this point, you can release your “Ministry Team,” begin praying for people, pray in a round etc…
When praying for others, it’s not about conjuring up something for them, it’s about God ministering. If you have something to pray, say it with confidence and gentleness, never speaking on behalf of the Lord (avoid “thus saith Lord” types of statements, and avoid dates and mates). As you give words, or pictures try to be concise and intentional in your explaining. Remember, be as normal as possible and commentate as you go. Things to say during prayer time are, “This is totally normal,” if they cry, assure them it’s okay to cry, if they laugh, give them permission to laugh.
Debrief.
Have some time to if necessary and appropriate to share what happened. When God moves and we share the testimony, it builds our faith. It’s important to capture the stories of Gods kindness and the ways he ministers to us!