Church at Home

“Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”

(Acts 14:23 NLT)

“I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.”

(Titus 1:5-7 NLT)

Many Christains today will use the excuse that “the early church met in homes,” in order to justify their indifference toward organized public assembly. They attempt to qualify sitting at their house, with family or a few friends, as being equal to church. Understand a few things about the home church of the 1st century. Number one, they did not have buildings constructed large enough to house all the Christians. Even in the Book of Acts, they used the public space of the temple in Jerusalem to teach the Word of God to the multitudes. If a church was in a home, it was in a large home that had a conference space for large gatherings. This would be similar to a hotel ballroom. It was not a couple of pals sitting on a couch with a cup of hot cocoa while they talked about the Bible. The early church was extremely organized when it came to services. Historically, the church would plan out their entire service from worship, to prayer, to giving, to communion, and to preaching. This was not informal, it was extremely organized much like church today. The home church of the 1st century did not consist of lates and open conversation. They were run by shepherds and pastors who preached, taught, and prayed. Apostle Paul makes this clear. As he ventured throughout the Roman empire planting “Home churches,” he always made sure there were pastors and shepherds appointed over the assembly who carried out the roles of a minister for each service. This year Christmas fell on Sunday, many christians stayed at home and had “church with their family.” Who preached? Who organized the service? Who laid hands on you? Who led the assembly in prayer? Did you not do these things? Then you did not have church according to the Bible. Sitting in your pajamas eating pancakes with your family is not church. I do not mean to be harsh, but do not twist biblical truth to accommodate your choices.