Are House Churches Biblical?

Last updated on: January 14, 2015 at 3:34 pm by Preston Sprinkle

Are House Churches Biblical? 2015-01-14T15:34:05-06:00 Preston Sprinkle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve never been a member of a house church, but a big part of me would like to be. I love the idea of a stripped down, no bells and whistles, authentic gathering of believers making disciples and living on mission together. And I’m sympathetic with the house church movement that’s gaining traction in recent years. But are house churches biblical? Or better: Are they more biblical than churches that meet in a building?

Early on, Christians gathered at the temple and at synagogues. But as Christianity began to separate from Judaism, believers gathered exclusively in homes. Or more specifically, they gathered in the homes of rich Christians who had houses large enough to host a gathering of 10-50 people (the size of most churches in the 1st century). We see such gatherings throughout the New Testament. In Acts, houses quickly become the primary location for Christian gatherings (1:13; 2:2, 46; 12:12). Paul addressed at least 5 different house churches in Romans 16. Corinth had a few house churches, though on occasion they all gathered at the house of Gaius, who must have had a rather large home (Rom. 16:23). In the first century believers didn’t gather at church buildings as far as we can tell; they gathered in homes. House churches are therefore biblical in as much as this is where believers gathered for worship in the early days of Christianity.

But we have to distinguish between what is described and what is prescribed. Unless I’m missing something, the New Testament never prescribes (i.e. commands) that believers meet in homes as opposed to meeting in a building. It simply describes that this is what they did in the first-century.

The question is why? Why did believers meet in homes rather than buildings? There are usually two answers that are given.

1) They met in homes because this is where they “did life.” Well, not really. Whatever “doing life” meant for first-century believers, it usually didn’t happen in homes. Most believers were crammed into tiny 500-700 square foot flats with little or no ventilation, no running water, and no toilets other than a large pot in the corner. (Watch out below when it’s time to empty!) Most folks, in the cities at least, “did life” on the streets, in the market place, or at the shop. Homes weren’t very homey.

2) They met in homes because believers protested meeting in buildings. This is what some people think, but it’s historically not true. Early believers first met in synagogues, which were buildings designed for gatherings much like our contemporary churches. If Christians didn’t get kicked out of the synagogues, they would have continued to meet there. The same goes for the temple, another building, although they moved away from there for other theological reasons.

So why did they meet in the homes of rich Christians? Because that was the only option. Buildings were expensive and in some cities like Rome it would have been extremely difficult to afford to build a building or to purchase an existing one. Plus, the gatherings were relatively small. Most fellowships were 10-20 people, 50 at the most. Why spend loads of money for a building when we could just meet over at Gaius’ house?

So, house churches in the first century weren’t reacting against the organization of the synagogue or the liturgy of the temple. And they certainly weren’t opposed to meeting in a building on principle. They met in homes because they didn’t have other real options.

So when did the church start meeting in buildings? Some people think that believers met in homes for the next 300 years until Constantine got saved (AD 313) and introduced all sorts of paganism into Christianity—including organized services and elaborate buildings. While there may be a grain of truth to this, it’s only a grain. We have evidence of a church building that dates back to AD 240 (80 years before Constantine) at Dura-Europos in Syria. This church building had a

sanctuary, a Sunday school room, and a separate baptistery. More recently, archaeologists have discovered the remains of a church building near Megiddo that may date back even earlier (3rd century). And surely there were others. These are simply some of the ones we’ve found.

So are house churches biblical? Sure. And again, I personally resonate with such small, authentic gatherings. But I don’t think they are any more biblical than buildings. And if believers gather in homes in reaction to the “organized” church that meets in buildings, not only is this wrong-headed—reactions are shaky foundations—it may be further from the original intention of first-century house churches.

Here’s the key point for all of us: Don’t make your church model your identity. Jesus is your identity. The type of structure where we gather and the model of service—or lack of service—should always be secondary. Nothing should compete with our claim that Jesus is supreme.

Previous Post

November 3, 2014

Jesus in the Public Square

Next Post

November 17, 2014 What Is a Mixed Orientation Marriage?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 40 Questions A Letter to my congregation adoption Alan Chambers Alcohol America american Jesus andrew marin angels Anne Paulk Annihilation apology Apostles creed atonement AudioFeed Balkhu Baptism bastard being biblical believer's baptism bible Bible College biblical love biblical studies Boise book review Books buzzwords called celibacy Center for Pastoral Theologians Charis charleston shooting cherubim christian movies Christian teens Christianeze Christmas church Church Refugees civil rights college debt communal faith Conditional Immortality conference david gushee debt free education Dechurched derwin gray desiring the kingdom Discipleship Don Miller Dones ecclesia and ethics Erasing Hell Esther eternal conscious torment Eternity Bible College ethnic diversity ETS eunuch evangelicalism Fight Four Views on Hell Francis Chan Francis Watson Free Bible Resources French Quarter grace gran torino gun control haters hell holy war homeschool homosexuality house church immigration Incarnation individualism Infant Baptism interpretation Intersex Israel James Dunn james smith Jerry Fallwell Jr. Jessica Minassian Jesus Jesus refugee Joey Dodson John MacArthur John Piper John Stott Josh Packard Joshua Ryan Butler judgment Justification Karl Barth Ken Wilson Kevin DeYoung Lance Hancock Leper lesbian LGBT LGBTQ Life Love God liturgy living in a gray world Luke 22 martin luther king mary magdalene Matthew Vines Megan DeFranza Michael Bird millennials Ministry Missions mixed orientation marriage movies Multiethnic churches Music Festival My Exodus N.T. Wright nationalism New Perspective New Year resolution nonviolence obedience Old Testament Online Biblical Training orlando massacre Pacifism parenting pastoral ministry Pastoral Theologian patriotism people to be loved personal relationship with Jesus politics poverty Prayer Preston Sprinkle Project Bayview public square Q Conference qualifications for ministry Racial Reconciliation radio show Reading reading plan real Christianity Reformed refugee refugee crisis rick hogaboam robb bell robert gagnon Romans Romans 13 Romans 9 sam allberry same sex attraction sanctification school segrated churches seraphim sex Sex Difference in Christian Theology sexual fluidity Shawn Gordon short term missions Skeletons in God's Closet Slums Sodom Speaking syrian refugee crisis technology teen girls texting The Bible Project The Gospel Coalition the high definition leader theology Third Way Tim Mackie Touch Nepal trols UK Tour Uncategorized Urban Ministry Us vs. Us Vieux Carre Baptist Church violence vocation Waiting warfare welcome the stranger women women in ministry worship songs writing

Select a Month August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian denomination places great emphasis on "justification by faith alone"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Orthodox Methodists Catholics Lutherans