House Church Awakening

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Contents

Copyr ight 2014........................................................................................ 4

Acknowledgements ................................................................................... 5

Introduct ion ............................................................................................... 6

Churches in Houses.................................................................................. 8

Minist ry f rom House to House ............................................................... 11

Important Events in Church History in Houses ................................... 12

Christ Ministered From His Own Home................................................. 15

Christ Does Not Discuss Church Buildings ......................................... 19

Chris t's Ministry in People's Homes ..................................................... 21

Christ Teaches Disciples to Use Houses.............................................. 25

Growth in Numbers ................................................................................. 28

Growth in Spir itual Gifts ......................................................................... 31

No Performance on Sunday Morning .................................................... 32

Not Small Tradi tional Churches ............................................................. 34

Independent Decis ion-Making Freedom ............................................... 36

Not Trying to Become a Tradit ional Church ......................................... 37

Not "Exercising Authority Over" Believers .......................................... 38

Author ity and Submission Not the Same Thing ................................... 41

The Problem of Deception...................................................................... 42

Who is Your Covering?........................................................................... 45

The Passage Teaching " Covering" ........................................................ 46

Feminist Teachings in the Church......................................................... 50

Examination of Submission in the Church ........................................... 51

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Technology Gives Capacity to Dominate ............................................. 56

What About Accountabi li ty? .................................................................. 57

High Standards for Morality ................................................................... 57

Will ingness to Compromise ................................................................... 59

How Finances Affect Churches ............................................................. 62

Not Affected By the Economy ................................................................ 63

In Summary .............................................................................................. 65

Bibl iography ............................................................................................ 66

About the Author ..................................................................................... 69

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Copyr ight 2014Roger Sapp. All rights reserved. This book is protectedunder the copyright laws of the United States of America. Unless otherwiseidentified, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New AmericanStandard Version (NASV), Copyright 1960, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, TheLockman Foundation.

A printed version of this book is available on our websitewww.allnationsmin.org. It is also available as a printed or Kindle book on

Amazon.com.

All Nations PublicationsP.O. Box 620Springtown, Texas 76082 USA1-817-514-0653Secure website: www.allnationsmin.org

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AcknowledgementsI want to thank Larry Frakes and John Beccacio for their extensive help onthis book. Both offered excellent suggestions and comments. Many of theirthoughts were incorporated into the book. Also Robert Short and GregKiser offered encouragement and thoughts on various portions of this

book. Jenny Beamer used her excellent editing skills to make this bookmuch better. I much appreciate Jenny's work on this book. I appreciate theexcellent feedback that my wife, Ann, gave me on this book's content andthe cover design.

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IntroductionThe New Testament best expresses how the Church should meet and howits leadership should function. The New Testament reveals only onepattern of church life: Churches in houses. There is a great need to return

to this pattern as it provides the only church model that actually allows forall believers to regularly participate and use their spiritual gifts.

House churches have been shown repeatedly to be the only pattern ofchurch life that is substantially reaching the lost throughout the world in ourday. It is a much tested pattern of church life that historically has beenspiritually vibrant in the most perilous times. Indeed, Christians meeting inhouse churches completely evangelized the Roman Empire in less thanthree centuries despite being often under severe persecution. Housechurches will be the only pattern of church life that will survive and prosper

in the coming times of opportunity and trouble that Christians willexperience.

In the New Testament and Christian history there is ample evidence thatthe home and not public buildings was the normal place of ministry with anoccasional larger meeting in another setting that was often outdoors. TheChurch did not own church buildings until after the Third Century.Ownership of church buildings was a clear signal of a decline in powerfulfunction as the Church entered the Dark Ages.

There are three expressions of the Church in the New Testament:Churches in homes, churches in localities or regions and the UniversalChurch. We will review the places that the New Testament speaks aboutChurches in homes. Churches in localities would be like "the Church atCorinth." These churches in localities would consist of a multitude of housechurches. The Universal Church consists of all believers everywhere. TheNew Testament describes the Universal Church as Christs body."

There are many sincere and dedicated Christians who are not presentlymeeting in house churches. What is written here is not an accusationagainst them but is meant to be a straightforward encouragement to

everyone to start meeting in ways that Christ taught His disciples.Transition to a more durable and fruitful way of meeting will be necessaryduring this time of increasing pressure to compromise biblical truth.

Many of the organizations that call themselves "churches" today are notfound in the New Testament. They are often too large to be churches inhouses and have no intention of meeting in houses exclusively. They do

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not include all Christians in a region or city so they cannot be the church ofthe locality. The Church of the locality in the New Testament was notdivided into separate, competing groups of Christians by exclusivemembership and top-down authority structures.

These organizations that call themselves "churches" are Medieval - DarkAges - expressions and a departure from what Christ taught anddemonstrated Himself. They are a departure from the dynamic way ofChurch life that is found in the New Testament. These Dark Ages ways ofdoing Church are unfortunately the institutional way of thinking aboutchurch life in Europe and North America.

This way of thinking about Church is found in Europe because that regionexperienced "the Dark Ages. This way of thinking is found in North

America because of the influence of the British Empire. The Churches in

England were meeting in the Medieval pattern and brought it with them asthe British and other Europeans colonized and migrated to North America.Therefore, this institutional way of thinking about Church life is foundstrongly where the British Empire dominated.

There are probably many readers who consider their church to beadvanced and strongly biblical in doctrine. This book is not about doctrinealone but rather the pattern in which a group of believers meets. Likewise,it addresses how authority works in groups of believers meeting in theMedieval pattern.

Groups that meet in buildings other than homes that have a "priestlyperson" leading them - such as a pastor - are likely to be in the Medievalpattern. If they sit in rows, have a Sunday morning service that involves amusical worship team and hear a weekly message from that "priestlyperson," and are encouraged to pay a tenth of their income in support ofsalaries and costs of maintaining a building, they are likely to be in theMedieval - Dark Ages - pattern no matter what they say they believe in atheological sense. This institutional - Medieval - way of doing churchneeds to be seriously examined in light of what the New Testamentteaches. It needs to be compared with what Christ Himself taught anddemonstrated on this matter.

This book has only one real aim and that is to review and encourage thepattern that is found in the New Testament. That pattern is taught anddemonstrated by Jesus Christ. It is the pattern that will endure and prosperas the end of the age approaches. What this book states is not meant ascriticism of the many dedicated Christians serving Christ in the traditional

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pattern. It is meant to reveal that their dedication to Christ would producemuch more fruit if it were in the pattern that Christ taught.

Churches in HousesThe Early Church met primarily in homes. They did not own, buy, or build

buildings. The Early Church did not spend money on buildings for churchmeetings. They did not worship in sanctuaries. They did not have highbuilding costs or the ongoing costs of maintaining a building and itsgrounds. They did not raise money to build buildings for the purpose ofmeetings of the Church. The Early Church demonstrates to us today thatthey neither needed nor accepted the burden of specialized buildings usedfor hosting church meetings.

The New Testament repeatedly reflects the truth of the Church gathering inthe homes of believers. For instance, a Christian couple - Prisca and

Aquila - had one of these churches in their home. Paul writes:

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my liferisked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all thechurches of the Gentiles; also greet the church that is in their house.(Romans 16:3-5a)

Paul writes again of this married couple and the church that was in theirhouse at the end of 1 Corinthians. He writes:

The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in theLord, with the church that is in their house. (1 Corinthians 16:19)

Paul also mentions that a church met in the house of a woman namedNympha. He writes:

Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the churchthat is in her house. (Colossians 4:15)

Noteworthy here is that a woman hosted a house church in her home. In

his letter to Philemon, Paul greets a couple named Apphia and Archippus.He mentions that they had a church meeting in their house. Paul writes:

And to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to thechurch in your house: (Philemon 1:2)

Paul also greets a man named Gaius in his letter to the Romans. Paulsays that Gaius had been a "host" to him. This probably means that Paul -

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when he was in Rome - had stayed in Gaius' home. Paul also mentionsthat Gaius was host "to the whole church. This suggests that Gaiusallowed meetings of the Church in his home. Paul writes:

Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. (Romans 16:23a)

The New Testament makes other references to what would seem to behouse churches. For instance, Paul writes twice about a particularhousehold:

Now I urge you, brethren (you know the household of Stephanus, that theywere the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves forministry to the saints), (1 Corinthians 16:15)

Paul refers to this household in another place. He writes:

Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanus; beyond that, I do notknow whether I baptized any other. (1 Corinthians 1:16a)

It appears that this household was comprised entirely of Christians. Theyhad been converted through the ministry of the Apostle Paul. He hadbaptized the "household" which would mean - by implication - all of thepeople living there. This household was "the first fruits of Achaia" and theywere "devoted" to "ministry." This suggests strongly that this house was ameeting place of the Church.

There is another story in the Acts of the Apostles that is associated withthe Apostle Paul and a particular household. This is the household of Lydiain Thyatira. Luke describes Paul's initial ministry to Lydia by writing:

And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller ofpurple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened herheart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and herhousehold had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judgedme to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And sheprevailed upon us. (Acts 16:14-15)

Paul stayed in Lydia's home while he did ministry in Thyatira. This passagetells us of Paul having several significant supernatural events occur whilestaying with Lydia. For instance, Paul casts an evil spirit out of a slave girl.The evil spirit enabled the slave girl to be a fortune-teller. As a result of thegirl losing the ability to tell fortunes, Paul and his companion Silas arearrested and are incarcerated in prison. While they are in the prison,

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another set of supernatural events begins to unfold. Paul and Silas arepraying and singing praise to God, and an earthquake occurs. As a resultof this earthquake, Paul and Silas and all the prisoners are releasedsupernaturally from their bonds. Because the loss of prisoners means thatthe jailer will be executed, the jailer begins the process of taking his own

life. He is interrupted by Paul and Silas who tell him not to take his lifebecause no one has escaped. As a result of these unusual events, the

jailer and his family become Christians. Shortly afterward, Paul and Silasare released from the prison and they return to Lydia's home. Luke writes:

And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and whenthey saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed. (Acts 16:40)

Because "they saw the brethren," it does appear that Lydia's home inThyatira was now a house church or in the process of becoming one. We

do know that there was a church associated with the city of Thyatira. TheRisen Christ, in the Revelation, speaks of this church. He says:

To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who haseyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 'Iknow your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance,and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 'But I have this againstyou, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess,and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray, so that they commitacts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. (Revelation 2:18-20)

Christ says that their present deeds are greater than at first. He goes on tosay that they should not be tolerating a false prophetess who is influencingChristians to commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.Of course, the point here is that there was an active Church that may havehad its origins in Lydia's home.

There is also a remarkable story in the Acts of the Apostles concerning theimprisoned Apostle Peter. A group of believers was praying for him in thehouse of Mary, the mother of John. Peter was rescued by an angel fromlikely execution in the prison. After the angel released Peter from prison,he went to the home of Mary. Luke recounts this:

He (Peter) went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was alsocalled Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. (Acts12:12b)

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Peter knew about this group meeting in John's mothers house. It waslikely a house church that met there regularly. This particular John is alsocalled John Mark or just Mark. He is the writer of the Gospel of Mark. Tomake the point perfectly clear, the writer of the Gospel of Mark attended ahouse church. These references show that the Early Church did not meet

in buildings designed for that purpose. Meeting in buildings designed forChurch meetings began to happen during that period of time that is called"the Dark Ages." Believers - living in close relationship with each other -originally were identified as churches by the home in which they met. Wewill need to shed the burden of the ownership of buildings as we preparefor both opportunity and trouble in the days ahead as we approach the endof the age.

Ministry from House to HouseShortly after the Day of Pentecost, the Church had public meetings in the

Temple and smaller meetings in people's homes where Christians tooktheir meals together.

And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breakingbread from house to house, they were taking their meals together withgladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all thepeople. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those whowere being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)

Luke also records the content of the message that was being preached

both in the temple and house to house. It was about Jesus being theChrist.

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right onteaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (Acts 5:42)

Meetings in Herod's Temple did not continue. Before long, the Temple wasunavailable to Christians because of their unpopularity with the unbelievingJewish leadership. Beyond that, the temple was destroyed in 70 AD whenthe Roman General Titus sacked Jerusalem. (The Temple has never been

rebuilt.) Despite the destruction of the Temple, bold and fearless Christianslooked for opportunity to preach about Christ in public to the unbelievingand in the homes of believers to both the unbelieving and believing. Paulmentions this much later in his ministry. Luke records Paul saying this tothe elders of Ephesus after several decades of ministry:

I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, andteaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both

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Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord JesusChrist. (Acts 20:20-21)

The end of the book of Acts reveals that the Apostle Paul was stillministering out of houses. In fact, he was using his own quarters for

preaching and teaching.

He (Paul) stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and waswelcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, andteaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.(Acts 28:30-31)

The Early Church did not change this "house to house" pattern of ministry.Before Pentecost, Christ had set this pattern. This pattern continued afterPentecost and through the first several hundred years of Church history.

During this period of time, the entire Roman Empire was evangelized byChristians meeting in house churches. This occurred despite very seriouspersecution happening periodically. Unpopular Christians - who weremeeting primarily in house churches - were amazingly effective in reachingmultitudes of lost people. They were so effective that they overcame thepagan Roman Empire through faith in Christ. The Empire was declared"Christian" in 313 AD.

Perilous times have come and are coming to the Church. "Brick andmortar" church buildings are often the first thing to become useless in

persecution. They become very obvious targets. They are attacked anddestroyed. Or worse, in the recent past, they have been confiscated andused for "retraining" of Christians in times of persecution. Sometimes,these buildings have been kept open to give the false appearance ofspiritual freedom. They are often rigidly controlled by governments hostileto Christ who use them against Christ and His Church. If we are to beprepared for challenging days to come as we near the end of the age, theChurch will need to be in the original pattern of house churches.

Important Events in Church History in HousesThe very birth of the Church on the Day of Pentecost did not happen in theTemple or a specialized building for that purpose. It happened in a housein Jerusalem. Luke records the event by writing:

And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in oneplace. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent,rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Andthere appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they

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rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving themutterance. (Acts 2:1-4)

The Holy Spirit filled "the whole house." There is no reason to think that we

need church buildings for important spiritual things to happen. The EarlyChurch did not need them.

A very important event - one of the most important events in the life of theApostle Paul - occurred in a house. Paul had been blinded on the road toDamascus by Christ appearing to him in a vision. God had sent a mannamed Ananias to minister to Paul. Luke relates the event in this way:

And Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his handson him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the

road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain yoursight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately there fell from hiseyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he arose andwas baptized; (Acts 9:17-18)

Paul's vision is supernaturally restored and he was filled with the HolySpirit. Paul is the most influential writer of the New Testament. He may bethe most influential follower of Christ in history. Yet, these important eventsin his life occurred in a house. Obviously, God does not need impressivebuildings to do His work in us.

In Chapter 10 of the Acts of the Apostles, there is a striking story thatreveals God initiating His plan to save the non-Jewish world. This storyinvolves the instructions of an angel appearing in a vision to a Romancenturion named Cornelius and the Apostle Peter receiving a relatedrevelation. These very important events in Church history all occurred inhomes. Luke begins his account of this event by telling us about Corneliusand his vision of an angel who gave him instructions. Luke writes:

Now there was a certain man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion ofwhat was called the Italian cohort, a devout man, and one who feared Godwith all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people, andprayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly sawin a vision an angel of God who had just come in to him, and said to him,"Cornelius!" And fixing his gaze upon him and being much alarmed, hesaid, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and alms haveascended as a memorial before God. And now dispatch some men toJoppa, and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is

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staying with a certain tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea."(Acts 10:1-6)

Cornelius does as the angel commands and dispatches men to Simon'shouse where Peter is staying. As they come near the city, God gives Peter

a revelation. Luke writes:

On the next day, as they (the men dispatched by Cornelius) were on theirway, and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about thesixth hour to pray. And he became hungry, and was desiring to eat; butwhile they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; (Acts10:9-10)

Peter is praying on the housetop and falls into a trance. In the trance, Godreveals to Peter that He is accepting the Gentiles into the New Covenant.By virtue of this revelation, God removes Peter's Jewish reluctance to

interact with Gentiles. Then the Spirit says for Peter to go with the Gentilemen who have just arrived at Simon's home.

And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold,three men are looking for you. But arise, go downstairs, and accompanythem without misgivings; for I have sent them Myself." And Peter wentdown to the men and said, "Behold, I am the one you are looking for; whatis the reason for which you have come?" And they said, "Cornelius, acenturion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entirenation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to

come to his house and hear a message from you." (Acts 10:19-22)

Peter goes with these Gentile men and arrives at Cornelius' home.Cornelius has invited all his relatives and friends to come hear the divinemessage that Peter is bringing to his home. Peter then preaches the GoodNews about Jesus Christ and before he is finished, the Holy Spirit falls onall who are listening. Luke writes:

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon allthose who were listening to the message. And all the circumcised believerswho had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirithad been poured out upon the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them,speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, "Surely noone can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received theHoly Spirit just as we did, can he?" And he ordered them to be baptized inthe name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.(Acts 10:44-48)

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This extremely important historical event happened in a house. A vision ofan angel occurred in a house. Peter was given a revelation of theacceptance of the Gentiles in a house. The Holy Spirit was first poured out- on the day of Pentecost - on the Jewish followers of Christ in a house.The Holy Spirit was first poured out on the Gentile believers in Christ in a

house also. No specialized buildings were necessary or required for theseextremely important supernatural events to happen. They will not benecessary as we near the end of the age.

Prophetic ministry also happened in houses. Luke tells us of the ChristianProphet Agabus giving Paul some important insight into future events.Luke writes:

We departed and came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip theevangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man

had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses. And as we were stayingthere for some days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down fromJudea. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet andhands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews atJerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into thehands of the Gentiles.'" (Acts 21:8-11)

This prophetic word from the Holy Spirit was given in Philip's home. Aspecialized building was not necessary.

Christ Ministered From His Own HomeMany people are aware that Nazareth was Christ's hometown. However,not many people are aware that Christ - during His three years of ministry -made His home in Capernaum. They may be under the misconception thatChrist had no home during His three years of ministry. However, a closerexamination shows that Christ traveled to and from his home inCapernaum. The Apostle Matthew tells his readers that Christ moved fromNazareth to Capernaum at the very beginning of His ministry. Matthewwrites:

Leaving Nazareth, He (Christ) came and settled in Capernaum... (Matthew4:13a)

Many may be unaware that Christ used His home in Capernaum forteaching and healing ministry. Mark's Gospel records Christ doing bothfrom His home in Capernaum.

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When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it washeard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so thatthere was no longer room, even near the door; and He was speaking theword to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by fourmen. And being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed

the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down thepallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, saidto the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:1-5)

This amazing healing occurred in Christ's home. It was Christ's roof thatwas removed by the four men in this situation. The passage continues withinformation that there were scribes sitting in Christ's house and werecritical and disturbed by Christ declaring the man's sins forgiven. Christresponded to this criticism by saying:

But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earthto forgive sins, He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, take up yourpallet and go home." And he rose and immediately took up the pallet andwent out in the sight of all; so that they were all amazed and wereglorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this." (Mark2:9b-12)

This healing occurred in Christ's home in Capernaum. In other words,there was ministry to everyone - His disciples and others - happening inChrist's home in Capernaum.

Mark makes another mention of Christ ministering from His home a fewchapters later. In the context of this situation, Christ has been criticized bythe Pharisees for not keeping the traditions of the elders such as aceremonial washing of hands. Christ responded with telling them of theirwillingness to set aside what God wanted in order to keep their traditions.Christ ended His interaction with the scribes and Pharisees in Capernaumby calling the multitude and saying:

Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the manwhich going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out ofthe man are what defile the man. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.(Mark 7:14b-16)

Since it was the multitude, this was likely spoken outdoors in Capernaum.However, in the very next verse, Christ enters His house in Capernaumand explains in detail the statement He made to the multitude. Mark writes:

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And when leaving the multitude, He (Christ) had entered the house, Hisdisciples questioned Him about the parable. And He said to them, "Are youso lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatevergoes into the man from outside cannot defile him; because it does not gointo his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated? (Thus He declared

all foods clean.) And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man,that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men,proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deedsof coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander,pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defilethe man." (Mark 7:17-23)

In this passage, we can see that there was private instruction to thedisciples also happening in Christ's home. This important teaching ofChrist has been called: "The Things That Defile" among other things.

There are many important teachings that Christ gave His disciples from Hishome in Capernaum. For instance, Christ gave Peter some importantinstruction just after Peter encountered the Temple tax collector. The

Apostle Matthew records this interaction between Peter and the taxcollector and then the interaction between Peter and Christ. The firstinteraction occurred just outside of Christ's home and the second inside ofChrist's home.

When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma

tax came to Peter, and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachmatax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke tohim first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings ofthe earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?"

And upon his saying, "From strangers," Jesus said to him, "Consequentlythe sons are free." (Matthew 17:24-26)

Christ tells Peter that they are exempt - free - from paying this OldCovenant tax because they are sons of God. While there is much morethat could be said about this, the point of discussing this passage is tobring to light that this teaching occurred in Christ's home.

This teaching - "The Sons are Free" - occurred at the end of Chapter 17 ofMatthew's Gospel. The chapter divisions and verse numbering was addedmuch later in history for the purposes of translation. Without recognition ofthis fact, we could possibly miss that all the verses in Chapter 18 occur inChrist's home. The first verse in Chapter 18 reveals this. It says:

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At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest inthe kingdom of heaven?" (Matthew 18:1)

This reveals that at the very same time that Christ had taught Peter abouthis freedom from the temple tax, Christ taught all the His disciples many

things from His home in Capernaum. Chapter 18 is a long chapterconsisting of 35 verses and many of Christ's important teachings such as:

True Greatness (Matthew 18:1-5) (cf: Mark 9:33-37)The Danger of Being a Stumbling Block (Matthew 18:6-9)The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:10-14)Correction of the Brother Who Sins (Matthew 18:15-20)Seventy Times Seven Forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22)Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35)

All these important teachings of Christ were taught to Christ's disciples inHis home in Capernaum. Christ was setting a pattern for His apostles.They were exposed to this pattern of ministry for three years. Ministry fromtheir homes was prominent in His pattern.

Mark's Gospel gives us other information about Christ's ministry from Hishome in Capernaum. Crowds had gathered at Christ's home inCapernaum. However, not everything was always positive about this. Markrecords Christ's family trying to "take custody" of Him, thinking that he hadgone insane.

He came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent thatthey could not even eat a meal. And when His own people heard of this,they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lostHis senses." (Mark 3:20-21)

Apparently taking advantage of the accusation of Christ's own family thatHe was crazy, the scribes added the accusation that Christ was possessedby Beelzebul and was casting out demons by Satan's power. In answer tothat accusation, Christ once again teaches important things at his home inCapernaum. Here are the teachings that Christ gives at His home at thattime:

A House Divided Against Itself (Mark 3:23-26)Entering the Strong Man's House (Mark 3:27)Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-30)

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Hopefully, this is enough to convince anyone that Christ's pattern ofministry included using His own home. Using His own home set anexample for the Twelve Apostles and the Seventy and they continuedministry using homes. It should be an example for all Christians.

Christ Does Not Discuss Church BuildingsThere were numerous opportunities for Christ to tell His disciples toacquire or build buildings for the purpose of worship. Christ never mentionsthis. Christ spoke and did ministry at the Temple and often in synagoguesbut never discusses creating buildings for the use of the Church. When thesubject comes up, Christ often changes the subject. For instance, Hisdisciples were impressed with Herod's Temple and pointed the buildingsout to Christ. Matthew recounts this situation for us. He writes:

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples

came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He answered andsaid to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not onestone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down."(Matthew 24:1-2, cf: Mark 13:1)

This would have been an ideal time to tell His disciples that He wantedthem to create such buildings for their use in the future. Using specializedbuildings was not a new idea. The Jews had built the Temple. They hadbuilt synagogues throughout Israel and in the Gentile nations surroundingthem. Christ had used the Temple and synagogues to do ministry. Even

the pagan religions used special buildings for worship of false gods.

Christ and His disciples had plenty of examples to follow. Yet Christ issilent on this point here and elsewhere in the Gospels.

This was not an oversight on Christ's part. Christ had complete clarityabout how the Church would need to function in the future. Instead, Christmakes a prediction that the Temple will be torn down. This happened whenthe Roman general Titus invaded Jerusalem in 70 AD. He destroyed theTemple complex of buildings.

In another passage, shortly after Christ has driven the money changers outof the Temple with a whip, Christ makes a statement that was seriouslymisunderstood. The Jews were asking Jesus to produce a sign that wouldvalidate His authority to drive the money changers out of the Temple. Johnwrites:

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The Jews therefore answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show tous, seeing that You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them,"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jewstherefore said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will Youraise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

(John 2:18-21)

Even when the subject starts out about a building used for worship, Jesuschanges the subject to something else. Again, if Christ wanted Hisdisciples to build buildings, He missed another good opportunity to makethat point. Instead, Christ predicts His resurrection from the dead by callingHis body "this temple." There is a striking absence of any indication thatChrist wished His disciples to build buildings for the purposes of worship.Christ uses what exists for ministry and goes where people gather butdoes not encourage building buildings.

Often things in the Old Covenant are types and symbols of the things inthe New Covenant. The Old Testament Temple seems to be one of thosethings. The idea of the Temple being the temple of a Christian's body isfirst revealed by Christ in the Gospels but is continued by the writers of theNew Testament. For instance, Paul makes two references in two versesabout the physical body of Christians being the "temple of God." Hewrites:

Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God

dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroyhim, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. (1 Corinthians3:16-17)

There is a third reference where Paul again describes the physical body ofa Christian as "the temple of the Holy Spirit." Paul writes:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians6:19)

The dwelling place of God is no longer buildings as in the Old Testament.God dwells in His people. Twice more Paul makes reference to thedwelling place of God as now being Christians. He writes:

For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell inthem and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be Mypeople. (2 Corinthians 6:16b)

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We - Christians - are the temple of God. He dwells in us and not inbuildings. Paul expands this further by describing believers as "growinginto a holy temple in the Lord" and "being built together into a dwelling ofGod in the Spirit."

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizenswith the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon thefoundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being thecorner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growinginto a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built togetherinto a dwelling of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

The Old Testament Temple is a type of both our bodies and of all believerstogether. We are now the building. We are now the temple. We should not

try to duplicate the obsolete Old Covenant experience. We should not tryto recreate that which God only intended to be types in the Old Covenant.The Early Church prospered without them. We do not need them todayeither. We will not need them to prosper in the last days of this age.

Buildings for worship are a reflection of the period of time where theChurch lost touch with what Christ taught. What He taught anddemonstrated sadly ceased to be the measure of what was Christian.Church buildings are an enduring reflection of the Dark Ages. The Churchabsorbed Jewish and pagan practices that the Early Church did not

practice. Meeting in church buildings was one of those practices borrowedfrom the Jews and pagans. Buildings are also a reflection of a time whenpersecution of Christians had largely ceased. Indeed, church buildings arepoorly suited to times of persecution. We do not need the burden of caringfor buildings in difficult times. The Early Church did not need them. We willnot need them as we approach the end of the age.

Christ's Ministry in People's HomesEarly in Christs ministry, He healed many sick people and cast out manydemons in the home of Peter and Andrew, who were brothers. Peter'smother-in-law also received healing. Mark tells us the story and writes:

They came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediatelythey spoke to Him about her. And He came to her and raised her up,taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing toHim all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole

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city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill withvarious diseases, and cast out many demons... (Mark 1:29b-34a)

The houses that Christ used did not have to be houses of his disciples.Christ did healing ministry on the Sabbath even in the house of one of His

potential critics. Luke describes it this way:

[Christ] went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on theSabbath to eat bread, [and] they were watching Him closely. And there, infront of Him was a certain man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answeredand spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on theSabbath, or not?" But they kept silent. And He took hold of him, and healedhim, and sent him away. (Luke 14:1-4)

Sometimes, Christ simply did ministry where the problem existed, such as

a house. He did not require people to come to some special, holy placesuch as the Temple to receive ministry. For instance, Christ raised a girlfrom the dead in the house of her parents. Luke tells us this story in thisway:

[Christ] had come to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him,except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother. Nowthey were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, "Stop weeping,for she has not died, but is asleep." And they began laughing at Him,knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called,

saying, "Child, arise!" And her spirit returned, and she rose immediately;and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. And her parentswere amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.(Luke 8:51)

Christ often taught the multitudes - using parables - in various places in theoutdoors. However, He explained the parables to His disciples in a house.Matthew records this about Christ's ministry in parables:

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did notspeak to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through theprophet might be fulfilled, saying, "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH INPARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATIONOF THE WORLD." Then He left the multitudes, and went into the house.

And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of thetares of the field." (Matthew 13:34-36)

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There is another example of this in a passage that begins with an outdoorpublic time of Christ teaching the multitudes. He is questioned by thePharisees on the subject of marriage and divorce.

Rising up, He went from there to the region of Judea, and beyond the

Jordan; and crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to Hiscustom, He once more began to teach them. And some Pharisees cameup to Him, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawfulfor a man to divorce a wife. (Mark 10:1-2)

Christ points out to the Pharisees that their easy way of divorce was neverintended by God. Then Christ enters a house and instructs His disciplesfurther about this matter.

And in the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. He

said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another womancommits adultery against her, and if she herself divorces her husband andmarries another man, she is committing adultery." (Mark 10:10-12)

Christ is revealing a pattern to His disciples in these accounts. Publicministry is offered to whoever will hear. This happens in whatever setting ispossible--outdoors or indoors. However, private ministry - clarifying thingsto His disciples - often is happening privately in a house. Public ministryneed not be just in the outdoors. It can be in a house as well. Luke alsotells us of the time that Jesus taught publicly to all in the house of Matthew,

who is called "Levi" in this passage.

Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a greatcrowd of tax-gatherers and other people who were reclining at the tablewith them. And the Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at Hisdisciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax-gatherers andsinners?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "It is not those who arewell who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to callthe righteous but sinners to repentance." And they said to Him, "Thedisciples of John often fast and offer prayers; the disciples of the Phariseesalso do the same; but Yours eat and drink." And Jesus said to them, "Youcannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom iswith them, can you? But the days will come; and when the bridegroom istaken away from them, then they will fast in those days." (Luke 5:29-35)

Once again, public ministry could happen in someone's house. Likewise, itcan be followed by a more private instruction to those who are thedisciples of Christ. For instance, Christ taught His disciples about why they

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had failed to deliver a boy from a demon. Christ cast out the spirit in frontof a crowd outdoors but the private instruction of His disciples, shortlythereafter about why they had failed, happened in a house.

When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the

unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you,come out of him and do not enter him again." And after crying out andthrowing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became somuch like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!" But Jesus tookhim by the hand and raised him; and he got up. And when He had comeinto the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why couldwe not cast it out?" And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out byanything but prayer." (Mark 9:25-29)

Not only did Christ heal the sick and teach His disciples in homes, but

other important matters happened in homes as well. For instance, afterChrist had entered Jerusalem, He sent the disciples to make arrangementsto celebrate the Passover in a particular home. This is, of course, the firstcelebration of the Lord's Supper. Matthew, recounting Christ's words,writes:

He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ' The Teachersays," My time is at hand; I am to keep the Passover at your house withMy disciples." (Matthew 26:18)

Other important matters occurred in people's homes also. Two houses inBethany, a village located about two miles east of Jerusalem, arementioned in connection with Christ. The home of Lazarus, Mary, andMartha in Bethany and perhaps the home of Simon the Leper wereimportant places of ministry. These households had the privilege of hostingChrist as He did ministry in Jerusalem. The Gospels record Christ and Hisdisciples leaving Bethany to go to Jerusalem and then returning toBethany.

He entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking allaround, He departed for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

And on the next day, when they had departed from Bethany, He becamehungry. And seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see ifperhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He foundnothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And He answeredand said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His discipleswere listening. (Mark 11:11-14)

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In this situation, Christ taught an important lesson to His disciples on faithfor the miraculous as He traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem. There is nodoubt that those who lived in Bethany - who believed in Him - hostedChrist in their homes as He ministered in Jerusalem. Bethany was soimportant to Christ that He chose it as the place of His Ascension into

Heaven.

He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessedthem. And it came about that while He was blessing them, He parted fromthem. (Luke 24:50-51)

The first chapter of Acts expands significantly on this event. Luke writes:

Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem,but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard

of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with theHoly Spirit not many days from now." And so when they had cometogether, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You arerestoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to knowtimes or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but youshall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shallbe My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, andeven to the remotest part of the earth." And after He had said these things,He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him outof their sight. (Acts 1:4-9)

Here Luke tells us that Christ told them to wait for "the Father's promise."He said that they were going to be "baptized in the Holy Spirit" and thatthey would "receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon" them.Tradition says that all this happened at the home of Mary, Martha, andLazarus in Bethany. Once again, we see that many important significantevents happened in relationship with people's homes. This was noaccident. Christ did not forget to tell His disciples to use specializedbuildings for Christian ministry. Christ was setting an important pattern forfuture ministry. Christ was not only silent about using specialized buildingsbut He specifically taught His disciples to use houses. In order for theChurch to complete this age in the power of the Spirit, she will need toobey the Lord in this important matter.

Christ Teaches Disciples to Use HousesMany Christians are aware of Christ commissioning His disciples to do Hisministry. That can be found in the following passage:

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As you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Heal thesick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely youreceived, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for yourmoney belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or astaff; for the worker is worthy of his support. (Matthew 10:7-11)

What Christ says after this commissioning may not be as familiar toChristians. In the next part of this passage, Christ tells them to minister outof the house of a worthy person. Christ says:

And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it; andabide there until you go away. And as you enter the house, give it yourgreeting. And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come uponit; but if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. (Matthew10:12-13)

To place further emphasis on a house being a primary place of ministry,Christ tells them in this passage what to do if they are not received. Christsays "go out of that house."

Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of thathouse or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, it willbe more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of

judgment than for that city. (Matthew 10:14-15)

Later in this same chapter, Christ tells His apostles where they are toproclaim the things that He taught them. Christ instructed his disciples toproclaim the truth from housetops, but western culture may not fullyunderstand the implications. Housetops were generally flat and peoplegathered in the cool of the evening on their rooftops. It would have been anideal place to proclaim the Good News. The house was the most commonplace of ministry in the New Testament era. Christ says:

What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hearwhispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. (Matthew 10:27)

In a similar passage, Christ warns His disciples not to indulge in hypocrisybecause the truth will be eventually known. Christ says:

Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light,and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed uponthe housetops. (Luke 12:3)

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Houses were used by the church to proclaim the truth. Often, thishappened on the housetops.

In another passage, Christ again commands the Twelve Apostles to usehouses in ministry that required a journey. Mark writes:

He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs; and Hewas giving them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed themthat they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff; nobread, no bag, no money in their belt; but to wear sandals; and He added,"Do not put on two tunics." And He said to them, "Wherever you enter ahouse, stay there until you leave town. And any place that does not receiveyou or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from thesoles of your feet for a testimony against them." And they went out andpreached that men should repent. And they were casting out many

demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.(Mark 6:7-13, cf: Luke 9:1-6)

Not only does Christ command the Twelve Apostles to use homes but Hegives a similar command and instruction to the Seventy that He sent out.

The Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead ofHim to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And Hewas saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His

harvest. Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst ofwolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.And whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' And if aman of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will returnto you. And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; forthe laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house tohouse. And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is setbefore you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'Thekingdom of God has come near to you.'" (Luke 10:1b-9)

Again, the house will be the primary place of Christian ministry. Christ tellsthem to offer a blessing to whatever house hosts them. Christ says that theblessing "Peace be to this house" should be given. If a man of peace ispresent in the house, then "your peace will rest on him" but if not, it willreturn to you.

Christ also tells them not to move from house to house as they do this.Perhaps, this is to avoid the temptation to look for a better situation.

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Additionally, not moving from place to place might provide the advantageof people in the region knowing of what house to go to find Christ'sdisciples doing ministry. Again, it should be noted, that Christ had homesat the center of His plan to reach the lost sheep of Israel. It is still at thecenter of His plan to reach the world. The time is short. It is time to yield to

the Lord on this important matter and prepare for the end of the age.

There are other statements by Jesus Christ that show that He intended thehome to be the primary place of ministry. For instance, Matthew recordsChrist saying...

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor domen light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on thelampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15)

Christ teaches that lamps are related to the witness and watchfulness ofthe Church in the "Parable of the Ten Virgins" and the "Parable of the LostCoin." In the Revelation, Christ says that "lampstands" are churches. Bothlamps and lampstands are ordinary objects found in First Century homes.Light is being given to "all who are in the house." People of that periodhearing Christ would have understood that He was saying that Christianministry would ordinarily take place in a house.

The Apostle John also offers us this apostolic commandment:

Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ,does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both theFather and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring thisteaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him agreeting... (2 John 1:9-10)

John says that believers should identify a false teacher by the fact that hedoes not "abide in the teaching of Christ." This would mean that he doesn'tdo or teach what Christ taught. A few phrases later, he further identifiesthat a false teacher "does not bring this teaching." In other words, if ateacher is not living in what Christ taught and does not teach what Christtaught, he should not be "received into your house." Again, the place ofministry where someone would teach is "your house."

Growth in NumbersAs already stated, the New Testament reveals only one model of churchlife and that is the house church. It has a proven history under the mostdifficult of circumstances. Even in the best of times, it has shown a

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superior capacity in a variety of areas. For instance, in today's world, theonly continents in the world where the Church is growing dynamicallythrough new believers is where the house church is prominent. In fact,where the institutional "brick and mortar" Medieval pattern of Church life isprominent, this pattern of church life is rapidly losing size and influence in

those cultures. This is true in Europe and in North America. It is true in theUnited Kingdom and nations that were once part of the British Empire.

It is estimated that only 3% of US "brick and mortar "churches are growingthrough adding new converts. The vast majority of "brick and mortar"churches that are growing are doing so through the migration of believersfrom one congregation to another. Believers can be deceived into thinkingthat their church is succeeding in reaching the lost, when all it is actuallydoing is reaching Christians. There is an unpleasant truth concerning this.It is that some large traditional churches have grown only by weakening

the smaller traditional churches around them by absorbing theirmembership.

Some have thought that persecution is the cause of the rapid growth innew believers in some countries but this seems to be a false assumption.Some places where the institutional "brick and mortar" pattern of churchlife is present and have come under persecution, there has been little to nogrowth. Conversely, where the house church exists and there is nopersecution, there is still strong growth in numbers of new Christians.

Some reporting sources tell us of this dynamic growth in various countriesand continents:

Bangladesh: 500,000 new believers in house churches in a country that is90% Muslim and 9% Hindu. Christians constitute less than 1% but aregrowing dynamically in house churches.

Cambodia: 1,000 new house churches from 1990 to 2000 in a country thatis 90% Buddhist and less than 1% Christian.

Canada: as many as 2,000 house churches in Canada in the last fewyears.

China: 80100 million believers in house churches, according to nonprofitgroup China Aid. Despite the majority of the people being non-religiousand the Communist government persecuting unapproved, undergroundhouse churches, there has been huge growth in numbers of Christians.

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Cuba: 6,00010,000 house churches since 1992. After decades of stateatheism, only abut 2% of the 11 million people were involved in anythingthat could be remotely considered religious. Things are rapidly changingdue to the effect of house churches.

Egypt: 4,000 house churches.Egypt is a predominantly Sunni Muslimcountry with Islam as its state religion. 90% of the population is identifiedas Muslim, 9% are Coptic Christians. Unfortunately, the Copts are alsohierarchal in authority and even have their own Pope.

Ethiopia: growth from 5,000 to 50,000 believers in house churches duringthe 1980s. Christians make up 62.8% of the country's population (43.5%Ethiopian Orthodox, 19.3% other denominations), Muslims 33.9%,practitioners of traditional faiths 2.6%, and other religions 0.6%.Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia.

India: approx. 100,000 house churches started during 20012006. The2001 census reported that Hinduism, with over 800 million adherents(80.5% of the population), was the largest religion in India; it is followed byIslam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%),Jainism (0.4%), Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the Bah' Faith. India hasthe world's largest Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Zoroastrian, and Bah' populations,and has the third-largest Muslim population and the largest Muslimpopulation for a non-Muslim majority country.

Sri Lanka: The "Kithu Sevena Church Movement" started 131 new housechurches in 7 months in 2004. Buddhist is the country's official religion with69.1% of the people being Buddhist. The Muslim population is second with7.6% of the population, followed by Hindu 7.1%, and Christian 6.2%.

Vietnam: One church-planting team started 550 new house churches in 2years from 1997 to 1999.Reportedly, 81% of Vietnamese people do notbelieve in God; 85% identify with Buddhism, but may not practice it. Thevast majority practice ancestor worship of some form. Most who claim tobe Christian are Roman Catholic and these total about 8 million.

USA: 1,600 house churches on internet alone (as of 2003) with possibly asmany as 30,000 house churches (according to American pollster GeorgeBarna); as of 2009, about 30,700,650 adults. If this number is correct, thenabout 10% of all Americans are already meeting in house churches andthat number is growing.

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Recently, a number of established Christian denominations and missionorganizations have officially supported efforts to develop house churchnetworks. These include the following: The Free Methodist Church inCanada, The Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada, The EvangelicalFellowship of Canada, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, Partners in

Harvest, The Southern Baptist Convention (USA), Dove ChristianFellowship International, DAWN Ministries (Discipling a Whole Nation),The Progressive Christian Alliance, Youth With A Mission (YWAM), EternalGrace, and the recently launched Underground Churches, among others.

The above information is already dated. Some of it is more than a decadeold. House churches have been growing dynamically throughout thenations of the world, even where the institutional "brick and mortar" churchhas been diminishing in numbers and influence. This is a quiet move of theHoly Spirit to reestablish the original pattern of Church life. This is the Holy

Spirit's compassionate preparation of the Church for the challenges of theend of the age. Unfortunately, like all moves of the Holy Spirit, there hasbeen resistance from those in the traditional pattern of church life,particularly those who have a financial interest in seeing it continue. This issimply human nature.

There is no intention of bashing anyone personally. There have been someexceptionally strong and ethical Christians functioning in the Medievalsystem. Bad as this system is, when strong Christians are leading it, theyseem to make it work. However, this is not a good justification for

continuing in a system that is a departure from what Christ taught anddemonstrated. This Medieval way of doing Church tends to wear down andcan corrupt even the best of these leaders over a period of time.

The people in this system are often good. Nevertheless, the Medievalsystem is a bad system. Thankfully, good people leading a bad system canmake it work. However, a bad system can limit and corrupt good people.Isn't it much wiser for good Christian people to work in the way that Christtaught and demonstrated? The wisdom of doing Church in the way thatChrist demonstrated is increasingly apparent as the end of the ageapproaches.

Growth in Spiritual GiftsThe large majority who attend institutional "brick and mortar" churches donot and will not ever exercise spiritual gifts. It is not expected or desiredfrom them. Many who are mature enough and prepared enough tosuccessfully do ministry are waiting in vain for someone to give thempermission to do it. The permission is unlikely to come to a large majority

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of these people. They are limited in their spiritual growth and ministry bythe Medieval system.

The problem is partly that the authority structure of an institutional "brickand mortar" church creates a pyramid of people. It has a single leader at

the top and then a secondary layer of leaders that have been given somelimited permission to do ministry. The secondary layer consists of at best20% of the church and fills up all of the available places of ministry. Theremaining 80% of the church is not expected to do much of anything but bepresent to worship and to be involved in giving financially.

The great problem with this is that half of the 80% are capable of doingsignificant ministry but will never be given permission or opportunity to doso. In fact, if an equipped and growing Christian begins doing significantministry - without specific permission - they will often be considered rebels.

They may even be seen as a threat to the leadership.

This way of doing church often stifles people who are growing spirituallyand need to do ministry to continue growing. It creates a "cork in the bottle"effect. If someone begins to have a dynamic life in the Spirit, there is anattempt from leadership to "cork" them. Often these people will never findsignificant ministry with a church like this if they are marked by theleadership as needing to be "corked." In order for them to continue togrow, they will have to go someplace else. Of course, there are a fewexceptional leaders that work diligently to involve people at a greater level.

However, as the church grows larger, the number of people that are notinvolved in ministry will also grow proportionately. There is no way to fixthis problem of uninvolved people, as it is built into the nature of aMedieval hierarchal church.

These uninvolved people are a wasted asset of the Church. If they go toolong in this unfulfilling situation, they may also lose heart and drop out ofchurch life, while not dropping out of faith in Christ. "Bricks and mortar"churches often have many gifted, bored, and unchallenged people whocontinue attending church only because they see it as the right thing to do.If they are not in the approved 20% and have been "corked" in the past,they may attend without real passion any longer. Eventually, they may loseheart and quit attending all together.

No Performance on Sunday MorningBeyond this, the Sunday morning service in larger "brick and mortar"churches takes on the characteristics of a performance before anaudience. This means that it can only involve the most professional of

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speakers and musicians. The speaker may even use a prompter to deliverwhat appears to be a spontaneous message but was written out andpracticed repeatedly. Those who are learning will have a hard time gettingmuch opportunity to do ministry in the environment of a performancebefore an audience. They are simply not professional enough to

participate.

Surely there are quite a few in a church of more than a thousand membersthat have the spiritual gift of prophecy. However, the free exercise ofspontaneous spiritual gifts does not fit into this performance. It will oftenseem too risky to leaders to allow congregational members to havefreedom to exercise spiritual gifts. Therefore, the leadership will oftensuppress those who could function. There are some larger churches thatmay approve those that they trust explicitly to function. They may fit a non-spontaneous planned prophecy into the schedule of the service.

Typically, these "brick and mortar" churches will acknowledge theexistence of spiritual gifts but have congregations that have littleknowledge or expectation of functioning in spiritual gifts. Mostcongregational members will not have a sense of permission to doanything spontaneous as far as spiritual gifts are concerned. This doesn'tseem to be an oversight of leadership but often the result of concernsabout creating a bad performance on Sunday morning. In many cases,leaders would rather not have spiritual gifts happen at all, if they have todeal with unexpected things happening on Sunday morning. There is no

expectation or flexibility in these churches for the Holy Spirit to guide anddirect.

Obviously, the environment of a performance is not conducive toChristians learning to function in these gifts. God never intended a meetingof the church to be a performance before an audience. There should be noaudience, and worship should not be a performance. The Father expectsthat every one of His children could participate with their gifts. Consider thedescription that the Apostle Paul offers concerning a meeting of the EarlyChurch. Paul writes:

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has apsalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has aninterpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Each one - each believer - was expected to participate. This is, of course,a simple definition of what should happen at a house church gathering.Everyone should offer something to help others. Everyone's purpose

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should be to edify other people. The house church has the capacity for allto use their gifts regularly.

There is no concern about how professional people may be in theirministry in the house church. Because house churches thrive on

relationships, coaching is a common occurrence. Such coaching can helpevery Christian to learn to use spiritual gifts to edify all. Spiritual growthcan quickly happen in a house church. There is freedom to exercisespiritual gifts. Permission is already given without expectation ofprofessionalism.

Experience leads to maturity in a caring environment. Therefore,substantial growth in the quality of spiritual gifts happens as time goes by.The person exercising spiritual gifts becomes more skilled and gains amature exercise of the gifts as they are exercised regularly. The

"perfectionist" environment of many institutional "brick and mortar"churches does not produce the same fast growth because of a lack ofopportunity.

Christ will need multitudes of His followers functioning in their gifts andministries at the end of the age. The great harvest of souls will needmillions of laborers who are fully equipped in spiritual gifts and theministries of Christ. The Church - in the Medieval pattern - has alreadydemonstrated its inability to equip the majority of those who attendregularly. The house church, on the other hand, is preparing millions of

Christian laborers for the amazing time to come of a great harvest of soulsat the end of the age.

Not Small Traditional ChurchesSome who are committed to house churches consider the term "housechurch" to be problematic. They assert that the main issue for Christianswho practice their faith in this manner is not the house but the type ofmeeting that takes place. As a result, they use other terms such as "simplechurch," "relational church," "primitive church," "body life," "organicchurch," or "biblical church."

We agree strongly that the type of meeting should not be similar toinstitutional churches. House churches are not small institutional churchesmeeting in houses. However, all of the practices and attitudes implied bythese terms are sometimes found in the institutional "brick and mortar"pattern as well. Even the term "home church" is problematic. While it is thehome of one family that is hosting the Church, it is not the home of those

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who attend. Therefore, "house church" remains the favored term to theauthor.

House churches should not be small institutional churches. A housechurch is not an institutional church that has divided itself into small groups

but still meets together on Sundays as a traditional church. We should notapply institutional "brick and mortar" concepts to house churches. Thoseconcepts are too limited. The great strength of a house church is itsfreedom to be whatever it needs to be in the moment.

There should be no ambition to grow in numbers. That is an ambition ofthe traditional church. (House churches do grow without this ambition.)There should only be one ambition and that is to be together with a groupof friends and the Lord. Indeed, the basic and most simple definition of ahouse church is found in Christ's statement:

For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am intheir midst. (Matthew 18:20)

The key element is the pure motive of "gathering together in My name."House churches, unlike institutional "brick and mortar" churches, are notlooking for validation by large numbers. People who meet in housechurches do not find their significance in having large numbers attendservices. Those that lead house churches do not obtain significance bybeing able to draw financial support from larger numbers of people

attending. The motives of leaders remain much more pure.

There should be no sense of failure if there are more empty chairs thanlast week. There is no ambition to be a large gathering in a building. Thereis no hidden ambition to be known as successful. The motives in housechurches remain simple and pure. Those that do house church should onlybe interested in being together and being with Jesus.

The institutional pattern of a leader who does the great majority of theministry while everyone else sits in rows for a limited time on Sundaymorning should not be what happens with a house church. There shouldnot be a leader who dominates things. That is the Medieval pattern ofchurch meetings but is not the pattern of the Early Church. A healthyhouse church will not be dominated by anyone but the Holy Spirit.

A house church will respond to present needs of those who attend and tothe leading of the Holy Spirit. Teaching can happen as a planned event butwill often happen spontaneously as the need and opportunity arises. (This

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is much like the example of Christ interacting with His disciples.) MatureChristians will have much influence but not as a result of their authorityover anyone. They will be highly influential because of their maturity,wisdom, and fruitfulness.

Independent Decision-Making FreedomHouse churches have freedoms that institutional "brick and mortar"churches do not have. In our view, an institutional church becomes lessand less responsive to the needs of the moment and the work of the HolySpirit as it gets larger. A large institutional church often has inflexible plansfor events and speakers. These plans are often for a year or more into thefuture.

A house church can meet whenever it decides. It is not forced to meet onSunday if that day is not the best for the group. It does not have to meet at

all for a season or can meet more frequently over a period of time to dosomething important together. A house church can come together at anyparticular time to meet a specific need or take advantage of an opportunitysuch as a gifted traveling minister being in the area.

A house church can meet at other locations. A house church can decidethat their meeting will happen in a park on a beautiful day. It can decide tomeet over a weekend at a lake cabin. It can decide that its program forthose days is to teach all the children in the families how to water ski. Itcan decide to meet with other house churches with a similar vision and

have a larger meeting. The members can go to a conference together andskip their ordinary meeting that week.

Some house churches organize to do important ministry such as servingthe poor. A house church could run a clothing closet. One group of housechurches in Texas has opened soup kitchens to serve the poor in theircommunity. House churches have financial resources to use to serve thepoor that traditional churches often are consuming to take care of abuilding.

"Seamlessness" is a characteristic of house churches. They move fromevent to event - with or without any planning - simply led by the Holy Spirit.Even if something is planned, that plan can be "put on hold" if the HolySpirit seems to be doing something else. A house church can functioninformally and simply flow together at times for unplanned times offellowship or worship as the Holy Spirit leads. A group of Christians in ahouse church can flow seamlessly from a group of people watching asports event together to a time of worship together.

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Christians in house churches can be more responsive to the Holy Spirit inthe moment. A teenage Christian can be used of the Holy Spirit to changethe direction of a meeting. This responsiveness to the Holy Spirit becomesinstinctive and intuitive after a time. This is true for all believers and not just

for leaders. As the end of the age approaches, responsiveness to the HolySpirit by all Christians will insure a great harvest of souls. Beyond this,responsiveness to the Holy Spirit will insure survival and prosperity ofevery believer during the perilous times to come at the end of the age.

Not Trying to Become a Traditional ChurchInstitutional "brick and mortar" churches often begin as house churches.

Among those who do not understand the difference, the transformationfrom house church to institutional "brick and mortar" church is oftenattempted. However, a large majority of them fail to make the transition.

The attempt to become a traditional church is often the death knell of astrong house church. Within a five year time frame, most groups thatattempt to make this transition give up trying to become a traditionalchurch. Unfortunately, this generally means that they give up being ahouse church also.

It is not too hard to understand that a group of sincere Christians who meettogether and have no other motive than to be with the Lord and each otherwill prosper spiritually. They often grow in numbers and quality because ofthe house church environment. However, growth in numbers and the work

of the Holy Spirit among them may tempt a gifted person - the leader - tobecome a larger "brick and mortar" church. Some of this may come withthe hidden desire to be respected and to earn a living through this group ofbelievers.

This destructive transition from a house church to a traditional church oftenhappens in a similar pattern. The leader rents a store-front or a smallchurch building. The house church paradigm of ministry begins to changeto the Medieval pattern. Now Christians sit in rows and listen to the leaderpreach a message each Sunday. This changes the atmosphere and manyof the original people no longer get their needs met through participation.Over a period of time, they cease to come to the now more traditionallystructured meeting. The leader may now struggle to pay the bills that aregenerated by having a building (and trying to provide himself a salary.)Before, this group of Christians had money to help others, such as thepoor, but now all the available resources are being used and there is adeveloping focus that there is still not enough money.

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Leaders in this situation tend to forget that they were succeeding at doinggood ministry. They forget that the people were being blessed without abuilding before. This new financial situation forces the leader to spendmore time publicly raising money to pay the bills. He ends up teachingquestionable things about giving. (Giving to pay for the cost of building is

not found in the New Testament.)

Often the relationships change subtly in a situation like this. Anauthoritarian attitude is gradually adopted by the leader. This may be sosubtle that even the leader does not perceive it happening. Before, theleader was simply a more mature or more gifted Christian who waspositively influencing his brothers and sisters. Everyone was growingthrough participation in ministry to each other and to the Lord. The leadernow seeks to "exercise authority over" his brothers and sisters in anauthoritarian manner. The other Christians have less and less opportunity

to actually do significant ministry.

Authoritarianism is a characteristic pattern of church life that comes fromthe Medieval period. It is not characteristic of the house churches in theNew Testament. Even the Apostle Paul appealed to the Churches that hehad planted as their "father." In the context, "father" means "founder." Hedid not seek to influence them as someone who had "authority over them."He influenced them as one who had a history in relationship and friendshipwith them.

No growing house church has to become an institutional "brick and mortar"church. It should remain in the biblical pattern. Believers can continue as ahouse church. If they become too large for practicality, they should plantnew house churches. Everyone could have resisted the temptation tobecome an institutional "brick and mortar" church and maintained theirpurity of motive.

Not " Exercising Authori ty Over" BelieversThere is a common but false accusation against house churches comingfrom those in the institutional "brick and mortar" pattern. It suggests thathouse churches are not "covered" by proper authority and therefore theywill not be protected from heresy and spiritual deception. Interestingly,many in house churches would agree that they are not "covered" by aspiritual authority. This is because many in house churches understandthat "covering" is a modern authoritarian teaching that finds its roots in theDark Ages.

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"Exercising authority over" a congregation of believers is commonlythought to be the right thing for leaders today. However, this idea comesfrom the Dark Ages and represents a departure from what Christ taught. Intwo Gospels, Christ forbids Christian leaders from "exercising authorityover" Christ's followers.

Jesus called them (His disciples) to Himself, and said, "You know that therulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exerciseauthority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to becomegreat among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be firstamong you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to beserved, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew20:25-28 CR: Mark 10:42-45)

Christ says "it is not so among you." He is referring to two phrases. The

first is "rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them." The Greek word that istranslated "Lord" as in "Lord Jesus Christ" is "kurios." The Greek word thatis translated "lord it over them" is a form of the Greek word for "Lord." It is"katakurieuo." It means "to exercise dominion over." It is translated as "tolord over" most often in the New Testament.

Christ is forbidding Church leaders from "exercising dominion over" otherbelievers. Christ is forbidding any Christian leader from taking His place asLord over them. Unfortunately, this is the practice of many leaders in theMedieval pattern of Church life. In fact, many believers influenced by this

pattern are much less concerned about obeying the Lord than they are inbeing submitted to a leader who is teaching this Medieval pattern. In fact,many believers may wrongly think that it is the same thing.

Christ uses a second phrase in this teaching to His disciples to illustratewhat "It is not so among you" means. He says "their great men exerciseauthority over them." The Greek word for "authority" is "exousia." A formof that Greek word is used in "exercise authority over". It is "katexousiazo"and it is translated properly in this passage as meaning "to exerciseauthority over."

Christ forbids His disciples to "exercise authority over" each other. This is,of course, exactly what many leaders who are living in the Medievalpattern think that they should be doing. They are often in a hierarchalsystem with authority being exercised over believers from top to bottomwith layers of authority. This is exactly what Christ is forbidding.

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How did the "brick and mortar" churches end up in a pattern of authoritythat is in conflict with what Christ taught? Let us remember that Christreferred to "rulers of the Gentiles" and "great men among them" in Histeac

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House Church Awakening

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