The church is a people and not a building, an organization, a business, or an institution.
We are the people of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross to pay for our sins.
For years I had known that the most rapid growth of the church took place in the first two centuries of the Christian Movement. Now I was reading about the phenomenal growth that was taking place in China and it was a HOUSE CHURCH MOVEMENT. As these two thoughts came together in my mind, the explosion occurred. I could not escape the obvious conclusion: the most dramatic church growth in history, both in ancient times and in modern times occurred where there were no church buildings.
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. Greet also the church that meets at their house." (Romans 16:3)
"The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house." (I Cor. 16:19)
"Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house." (Col. 4:15)
"To Philemon, our dear friend and to the church that meets in your home." (Philemon l-2)
From the above scriptures it is clear that the early church met in homes. They did not have church buildings. Such buildings did not appear until the year 232 A.D. In those early days they were not called "house churches" They were "the Church" that met in the house of someone. It is notable that the most explosive period of church growth in history, until recently, took place during those early years.
However, right now, in China, there is an unprecedented movement that even surpasses that early growth of the church and this unparalleled revival is a house church movement. The following is taken from the Caleb Report in the 1990 Jan./Feb. issue of MINISTRIES MAGAZINE. The report is given by Loren Cunningham, founder and president of YOUTH WITH A MISSION:
"According to the U.S. Center For World Mission, more than 22,000 Chinese are coming to Christ each day. That is the equivalent of seven days of Pentecost every 24 hours and it is happening right now. Most of this explosion of new belief is coming from China's rural communities, where 80% of the population of China lives. When I was in Hong Kong not long ago, Jonathan Chao, founder of the Chinese Church Research Center, told me how the Chinese revival is being spread by young people, mostly ages 15 to 19. The teenagers go to villages and share the gospel where it has never been heard before. As converts are organized into small groups, the teens call for the 'elders, (believers in their twenties) to come and teach the newly formed home church while the younger Christians go on to reach the next village. Chinese pastors and teachers don't have financial impediments to spreading the Christian message: they live with the peasant farmers in each new area and don't construct buildings. They have very little and need very little. By this simple means, the good news is leaping across the fields and mountains of China."
The explosive church growth that is now going on in China and that which attended the early church in the book of Acts had something in common: they were both a house church movement. This same kind of growth is seen in other countries today where church buildings are not allowed, as we saw in the John Amstutz letter.
The principle, simply expressed, is that the growth of the church in any given area, will be in direct proportion to the number of obstacles that we allow to hinder the planting of new churches.
HOUSE CHURCHES ARE EASY TO START
To plant a house church you do not need to buy property or build a building. You won't need a pulpit or pews or hymn books or a piano. You can do without a baptistery, a Sunday School and a youth pastor. You won't have to belong to a denomination or be incorporated or meet on Sundays or have a church bulletin or meet in the same place every week.You won't have to have a sign with the name of your church on it. It won't need a name. In fact, you don't even have to call it a "church" as long as you know that it is "the church, which is His Body". None of the above are bad or wrong, but neither are they essential. The apostle Paul used none of the above in his church planting ministry. We have left the simplicity of the New Testament and added so many extras, which are really not essential, that it has become more and more difficult to start a new church.
We make it too complex. God is calling us back to simplicity and ease of multiplication.
A HOUSE CHURCH IS RELAXED AND INFORMAL
Some people do not come to our churches today because we have set the standard of dress too high and made church a "formal" event. Many who will not attend a formal church, will attend a house church. It is more relaxed with a casual, family setting.
In his book, UNDERSTANDING CHURCH GROWTH, Dr. Donald McGavran lists Eight Keys To Church Growth In Cities. The very first one gives us his assessment of the value and importance of planting and multiplying house churches. He states,
"The eight keys I am about to mention are not mere guesses. They describe principles about which church growth men are agreed.
First, emphasize house churches. When the Church begins to grow in cities among non-Christians, each congregation must soon find a place to assemble. The congregation should meet in the most natural surroundings, to which non-Christians can come with the greatest ease and where the converts themselves carry on the services. Obtaining a place to assemble should not lay a financial burden on the little congregation. The house church meets all these requirements ideally. House churches should always be considered, both for initial planting and for later extension."
HOUSE CHURCHES ARE EVANGELISTIC TOOLS
Dr. Peter Wagner, considered by many to be the foremost authority on church growth today, says, "The best method under heaven for evangelism is church planting. There never was a better method and there never will be." SATURATION CHURCH PLANTING is the vision now being adopted by mission leaders worldwide.
A church that divides in order to multiply will experience addition. A church that has its focus only on addition will tend to bog down and stagnate. Our goal has too often been to try to make one very large congregation rather than to multiply congregations. We cannot say that God would never lead anyone to build a very large congregation, however, the Body of Christ in any city will increase much more rapidly by multiplying congregations than it will by seeking to build a few super churches. We praise God for the super churches. We pray for them we minister in them, we bless them. It is not "us and them." It is US! The whole Body of Christ belongs to all of us and we belong to each other!
