Lausanne World Pulse – Perspectives Articles – Churches in Homes: New Efforts in Reaching Today’s Globalizing/Diversifying World
As full-time, called and trained ministers, our whole sense of security in ministry seems to demand churches that are visible, stable and with a considerable group to whom we can preach and be rewarded with a sense that they know us, love us and appreciate what we do. Our preparation and position in ministry is very much about us. There is something in us that fears a mobile, transient, flexible, Spirit-guided movement that constantly shifts, disappears, reappears and moves in ways utterly beyond our control.
A Biblical Look at Lay-led, Home-based Churches
Interestingly, Paul did apparently pastor several churches. However, in his writings, he spent almost no time thinking about those or discussing them. His primary focus as a trained leader and evangelist was as encourager, long-range teacher, counselor and sometimes harasser to many churches—probably mostly small, self-sufficient, home-based and lay-led congregations. And he refused to hold an official position with them or exert control over them in any way. Not only that, he even says to the small home churches already reproduced across Rome: “I myself am (totally) convinced, my brothers, that you (within) yourselves are (completely) full of goodness, complete in knowledge and (fully) competent to instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14, with Greek grammatical emphasis added).
There is something in us that fears a mobile, transient, flexible, Spirit-guided movement that constantly shifts, disappears, reappears and moves in ways utterly beyond our control.
Paul’s statement that concludes his fourteen chapters of doctrinal and practical counsel does not surprise us. We know that the entire book was not written to pastors or other selected leaders. Nor was it written to large congregations. Paul directed this profoundly theological writing to the lay members of dozens of small, autonomous home-based churches. And each operated, it appears, under a method of leadership shared by the entire body of lay-persons within each small church.
That biblical example of participation in leading by the whole group served as a key for the growth and reproduction of those churches. The same pattern continues to be as effective today. Our task is to create an understanding of the nature of the Church that will promote and not hinder the development of lay-led home churches with leadership participation by the whole group.
Help for starting, growing and reproducing these lay-led home-based churches can be found at: www.homechurchonline.com. All materials on the website are available for downloading, printing and sharing at no cost.