When considering the topic of house churches, a common question people ask is about an external institutional affiliation, such as a denomination or similar organization, network, or umbrella/covering body.

The question of what a simple gathering like a house church looks like in terms of a typical structure is difficult to answer. There is no one-size-fits-all structure. More important than any specific structure are the principles that any structure is based on. So we want to highlight healthy biblical principles for how we should gather as the church.

When many people imagine starting a church that meets in a home, they often envision creating something more like the traditional churches they have experienced, especially if they lack exposure to house churches. Perhaps this describes you. But the intimidating trappings that come to your imagination are unnecessary burdens. A house church can be much simpler than what you have experienced.

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

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. ...

This is a question we get a lot. The answer is tricky, so we want to address it. There are some places you can look online to find house churches near you, but this isn't our recommendation. That's because these resources are often out of date and unable to vouch for any particular gatherings. Our suggestion of what to do instead might be a little mind-bending based on your experience, but it's worth trying to understand.

In this post, we'll look at a working definition of a house church. In sum, we will look at how a church is a house church when it is a small, simple, autonomous, and decentralized gathering. This definition assumes a Christ-centered, biblical gathering of people who are following Jesus.