What is a house church?
We like to think of House Churches as the Living Room of MERCYhouse. It's here that we hope you'll kick off your shoes and stay awhile. House churches are the place where you'll get to see up close and personal the spiritual life that is MERCYhouse. Read the following verses from Acts that describe the life of the early church:They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)
What we've found is that it is difficult to live out the life described in the book of Acts in a large group that only see each other on Sunday morning. We think that the organism of church that is described here finds its fullest expression in a small group with about 12 to 15 people.
This is why in addition to Sundays, we offer house churches that meet weekly in a home (a few in our church building) where life can be shared together.
This "life together" takes several forms - eating, talking, laughing, praying, learning, singing, playing. It's a little community committed to the devotions of the apostle's teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, prayer, and impacting our world (see Acts 2:42). It's where you go when you've experienced your greatest success or your greatest defeat. It's a community striving for Jesus' radical minimum standard of love for God and others.
While all house churches are a little different, they all have some similarities. The group usually eats together, talks about their week, prays for the concerns that people have, and engages in some kind of Bible study discussion (the discussion is based on a discussion guide that goes along with the Sunday morning messages). It could also include a time of singing or taking communion. Details about locations and leaders are found on this website.
People are encouraged to come and check out house churches at any time during the semester. There is complete freedom to come in for an evening and then say, "No thank you, this is not for me." Once people return again and again, there is an expectation to commit oneself to the group for the remainder of the semester - for instance helping with meals or doing weekly homework for Bible study. Part of what makes these groups so successful is the commitment level of those who participate.
