In our two previous posts here and here, we began addressing the question of whether the house church model is biblical. So far, we looked at the use of the word "church" in the Bible. One of the three uses of the word church refers to churches that met in a specific person's or couple's house. And we looked at instances of Christians gathering in homes that may or may not have been dedicated house church gatherings as further evidence of the biblical nature of house churches

In our previous post, we gave an overview response to the question of whether the house church model is biblical and looked specifically at the use of the word "church" in the Bible. One of the three uses of the word church is in references to churches that meet in a specific person's or couple's house. This indicates at least a biblical precedent for house churches as normal.

One of the most significant points of pushback, or at least hesitation, we receive is questioning the theological legitimacy of house churches. In a sense, the question is whether or not this model of church is biblical.

We have heard of multiple house church movements in America and Europe that have come and gone over the past few decades. In several cases, there were as many as two dozen churches connected as a network in a region. When we meet people who were involved in a movement like this, they are nostalgic about the glory days when things seemed to be thriving, but eventually, they tell us, it all fizzled out quite quickly ...

When we talk to people about house churches and what they look and feel like, a common and understandable connection people make is that it sounds a lot like a traditional small group, or even a Bible study. This initially makes sense because there is significant overlap. But there is one key difference worth understanding when it comes to what a house church is and how it compares to a typical small group or Bible study. ...