Is the House Church Model Biblical?, pt. 2: Church Meetings in Homes in the New Testament

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.

In this post, we will broaden the treatment of the earliest Christians gathering in homes in the New Testament to address concerns about the theological legitimacy of house churches.

This post is broken into three sets of evidence, from the clearest to the most indirect.

Clearest Evidence of Church Meetings in Homes

The plainest answer to the main question here is that, yes, the house church model is biblical, in the sense that many New Testament churches gathered in houses.

Look again at these clearest examples, which are all from Paul, either sending greetings to a particular church in someone's house or passing along greetings from a church in someone's house:

• Romans 16:3–5: "Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house."

• 1 Corinthians 16:19: "The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord."

• Colossians 4:15: "Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house."

• Philemon 1–2: "Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house."

These four sets of verses, across four separate letters of the New Testament, should be enough to justify the idea that a church meeting in a home belonging to a particular person or family was a normal way for Christians to gather in the Bible. But there are other passages that we can point to that help strengthen the case.

Clear Evidence of Christians Gathering in Homes

In addition to those explicit references to a church associated with a particular house, many more passages lend themselves to the case for house churches being biblically legitimate. Consider these other similar passages where gatherings and teaching all happen in houses:

Acts 2: Breaking Bread in their Homes

At the end of Acts 2, which gives a vibrant description of the many things the earliest church did after receiving the Holy Spirit, verse 46 tells us that they were "attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts."

The idea that they attended the Temple is often used to justify a centralized gathering more like the conventional churches most of us are used to. This is a big topic that we will address in a future blog post.

But for now, we want to note that it was normal for Christians to gather daily in their homes and share meals together (possibly also sharing in the Lord's supper at home).

Acts 12: Believers Gathered at Mary's House

In Acts 12, Peter is imprisoned, but an angel helps him escape. Upon leaving the prison, Peter goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark: "When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying." (Acts 12:12)

This passage never indicates that this was a dedicated house church, unlike the dedicated house churches of Prisca and Aquila, Nympha, and Philemon (as well as Apphia and Archippus). But the text doesn't rule this out. In other words, it's possible this was a house church. To say the least, we have a group of believers gathered in a home for prayer.

Acts 20: Paul Taught from House to House

In Acts 20:17–37, Paul gives his farewell address to the elders in Ephesus. In verse 20, he reminds them of "how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house."

Similar to Acts 2, there is a reference to public teaching, which advocates of centralized church models cite to justify larger, centralized gatherings, and, again, this deserves more treatment in a separate post.

For our purposes, though, it is also clear that Paul taught the church from house to house.

Indirect Evidence of Simple (Non-Institutional) Patterns

Finally, several other passages in the Bible may further support the legitimacy of the house church model, but they are less certain than the passages above. Take a look at the following piece of evidence.

Acts 8: Saul Persecuted the Church from House to House

Before Paul was an apostle, he was known as Saul the Pharisee, who led an effort to subdue and persecute the church. After Stephen is stoned to death in Acts 7, in chapter 8, we see this aftermath: "But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison." (Acts 8:3)

It is possible that Saul simply knew where the Christians lived and entered their homes looking for them. It is also quite feasible from the reading of this verse that Saul was hunting down churches gathering in homes ("ravaging the church") in the same way that the police in closed nations often infiltrate house church gatherings when they discover them.

Acts 20: Paul Teaching in an Upper Room in Troas

Acts 20:7–12 tells the story of Paul teaching late at night in Troas, in an upper room that was most likely a person's dedicated home. There are other possibilities: an upper room could have been a rented hall or an inn where Paul was staying.

Still, the upper room language, combined with the breaking of bread and an intimate gathering size, points toward a home setting. Even if we can't be 100% certain whose home it was or what type of dwelling it was.

Romans 16: Greetings to Multiple Households in One City

We mentioned Paul sending greetings to the church that meets in the home of Prisca and Aquila in Romans 16:3–5 above. In the larger context of this passage through verse 16, Paul sends multiple other greetings to various people. Especially of note are these two greetings in verses 10 and 11:

• "Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus."

• "Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus."

These other greetings, juxtaposed with the greeting to Prisca and Aquila, suggest that Rome may have held multiple small gatherings rather than a single central assembly.

Instructions about Hospitality

In the epistles, there are multiple instructions to the church regarding hospitality, which makes sense in a context where gathering in homes was the standard practice. Consider that Romans 12:13 includes "seek to show hospitality" among spiritual gifts and behaviors. 1 Peter 4:9 says, "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling."

1 Corinthians 11:17–34: Instructions for the Lord's Supper in the Context of a Meal

When Paul gives instructions in 1 Corinthians 11 for the Lord's Supper, he assumes a meal context. This description of the Lord's Supper fits better in homes than in institutional settings. The problems he addresses, that some go hungry while others get drunk, also suggest a dinner gathering, which makes the most sense in a home.

1 Corinthians 14:26: Instructions Suggesting Small Gatherings

Later in 1 Corinthians 14, Paul gives further instructions for gatherings that more fully picture them as taking place in small, informal settings, such as a home.

Consider especially verse 26, which says, "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up." For "each one" to contribute in this way implies a smaller gathering.

Concluding Thoughts

In this post, we looked at three types of evidence for house churches in the New Testament, from the most convincing to the least certain and indirect evidence. When considered together, we believe this evidence makes a robust case for the house church model as at least a biblical option, if not the biblical norm and expectation for the gathered church.

There are objections and questions that often come up, such as Christians attending the Temple (Acts 2), Paul teaching in public (Acts 20), and the idea that the earliest Christians gathered only in houses because they were persecuted and had to meet in secret.

These are excellent questions and deserve answers, but they are beyond the scope of this particular post. We have addressed these questions elsewhere, such as in our Decentralized Ecclesiology document, and we will address them in future posts.

In the next post in this series, we will discuss the "one another" commands in the New Testament and how a house church model is the best way to foster obedience to them.

If you appreciate this post, we encourage you to share it with someone else who might benefit from it. You can also read similar posts on similar topics here and here. And we encourage you to join one of our upcoming coaching cohorts to learn more about how you can start gathering with others in simple ways. And stay tuned for the third part of this series of posts next week.