House Church

(Philemon 1:1-3 – House Church)

The letter of Paul to Philemon is one of the shortest letters in the Bible. But that doesn’t mean there is little to be learned from it.

There is a powerful lesson of love contained in these words, but there are other little gems too. Such a gem is in the introductory words of Paul to Philemon where we see he addresses the house church that operated at Philemon’s home.

In fact if you look at a number of the letters to different people in the New Testament, the operation of a house church is quite common. And there are good reasons for that, so let’s look at the concept of a house church and see what we can learn.

What is a house church?

Before beginning this post let us look at the scripture under review that talks about a house church.

1 Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Phile’mon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Ap’phia our sister and Archip’pus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philemon 1:1-3)

When Paul addresses his letter, it is to Philemon and several others, and finally to the “church in your house.” This is significant because it tells us that this was quite a small church as they congregated within the walls of on house; the home of Philemon.

While there were a few exceptions, house churches seems to be more the norm than large gatherings. There were certainly many thousands of people who gathered and followed Jesus, as we see from the feeding of the five thousand, and likewise the four thousand. But even on those occasions we see an interesting fact.

When Jesus fed the five thousand He did not just send the disciples into the crowd with baskets of broken bread and fish. No, this is what He did.

38 And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. (Mark 6:38-42)

Jesus commanded the people to sit down in companies of fifty to one hundred people. In order to make the distribution of the food equitable and to ensure everyone was fed, He broke the crowd into smaller groups that were manageable.

And that is what a house church is. It is a small group of Christians that meet together in a house so that the work of the church is manageable. Every person knows everyone else and everyone is able to share and support everyone else in the house church.

And because church is in the house, there are no extraneous costs that arise when big building and large congregations meet. There are none of the huge expenses that a large church incurs just to maintain and run the church. And as a consequence, there is no financial or other burden on the congregation of a house church.

The church can focus on what the church is supposed to focus on: learning the truth of the gospel and praising and worshiping the Lord.

Why have church as a house church?

I have already mentioned a few benefits in terms of both a zero or near zero cost church, and the fact that everyone knows everyone else. There will be no-one missed out or overlooked in a house church, unlike what can and often does happen in large congregations.

There is a degree of intimacy in a house church that is not possible in a congregation where hundreds or thousands of people come together. The closeness of people in a house church goes beyond what is possible in large churches. And in a large church it is possible to meet for many months, even years, and still feel like an outsider. It is even worse if the church breaks into cliques.

A large church usually has a hierarchy of pastors, team leaders, and so on. For a regular worshiper at the church, it is almost impossible to speak to the senior pastor because he is often too busy with church affairs like: finances, property management, raising funds, and so on.

But none of these issues plague a small house church. Everyone can talk to everyone else and seek the help they need.

I also mentioned that there are few financial costs associated with a house church. For example, most house churches don’t have paid pastors. The ministry is done in the church by all members of the church. It often (and should) follow the pattern laid down in 1 Corinthians 14.

26 What then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Under this approach, it is the people of the church who minister to the rest of the church. And that also takes away the burden that happens in many larger churches where all the work and responsibility falls to the pastor…and the pastor burns out!

Other benefits of a house church

One of the things we need to recognise in the Bible is that nowhere are we instructed to build a church. Nowhere does the Bible tell us to build a structure of concrete, glass, and steel in which we are to meet as a church.

In fact the only structure ever built in the Bible for the purpose of believers to meet in was the Temple in Jerusalem. But even that is not necessary today as Jesus pointed out when He said to the woman at the well.

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:19-24)

Under the New Covenant we are called to worship in spirit and truth, not in any specific place, and certainly not in a building that has more to do with the ego and vanity of the men who design and build it rather than to meet the will of God. We do not need the big flashy churches that abound today, whether the solemn bricks and mortar of the old denominational churches, or the modern steel and glass of the evangelical churches.

Nowhere are we told to build churches. God wants His people to be free from burdens. But these buildings place tremendous financial burdens onto those who build them. And it is a continuing burden because there is an ongoing cost for repairs and maintenance of the building, grounds and equipment.

The house church is the ideal way to meet together. And if the house church gets too big for the house, local halls can be rented cheaply so that there is no great burden on the congregation. And if the church continues to grow, even concert halls and stadiums can be rented. Alternatively, warehouses in industrial estates can be used if a church grows that much.

There are plenty of resources that can be used without building a place that will bring tremendous burdens on the congregation.

We even see this approach occurring in scripture. Often the early church met in synagogues, but when they were opposed by the Jews, they moved to a local hall.

8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God; 9 but when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the hall of Tyran’nus. (Acts 19:8-9)

If the church gets too big, or if there are other issues, it can be quickly and easily moved in a house church. This is not so easy when the church is bound to a specific location because of a building.

A house church may not be for everyone. But the benefits are vast and the downsides minimal. From a spiritual perspective, it makes a lot of sense to meet in this way so that the driving issues for the church are how to learn, understand and please the Lord, rather than the drive to finance, fund, build, repair, maintain, and so on.

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