Meeting Together: From Homes to Mega-Churches

The author of Hebrews tells us in 10:24-25, And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

God encourages believers in Jesus to meet together! How we do this has changed significantly since Pentecost. This article will briefly discuss some of these changes and where I think the church should go from here.

Definition

In the New Testament, the common word used for the church was the Greek word “ecclesia”. It meant “gathering of those summoned”. Paul applied it to the gathering of God’s people. It didn’t refer to a building; the early church didn’t even have them. Early believers most often met in homes, hence Paul’s common statement, e.g. Romans 16:5, “greet the church that is in their house”. The common phrase used today, “go to church”, is nonsensical; the church isn’t a building, it’s us! Our modern church buildings are just a meeting place, not the church, the gathering of God’s people.

Early Church Meetings

The first meeting of the early church after Jesus’ ascension was the 120 believers in the upper room. The text doesn’t mention whether it was someone’s home or another building, but it must have been fairly large to hold that many people. Acts 2:46 describes the early meetings of the church, “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” The early converts were Jews, so they retained their habit of temple attendance, but also met in their homes.

When persecution scattered the church in Jerusalem, those who were scattered didn’t have access to the temple in Jerusalem. Many shared the Good News in synagogues which existed in most cities and towns. This was Paul’s regular practice on his journeys. They continued to meet in homes as we learn from Paul’s letters. In Ephesus, Paul rented space in a building to teach for 3 years.

Early church meetings were also very different from many church meetings today. Paul describes a typical meeting in 1 Corinthians 14 in the context of spiritual gifts. He says in 14:26, “…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.” Their meetings were led by the Holy Spirit, all could participate spontaneously using their particular gifts under the guidance of the Spirit. What a contrast to our structured meetings today!

Buildings and Structure

For the first 300 years of the church, there were no buildings designated as church buildings. When Constantine became emperor of Rome and accepted Christianity, everything changed. The church was no longer persecuted but approved by the state, and institutionalized. Buildings patterned after pagan Greek and Roman structures were built, professional clergy were elevated above other believers (called the laity) and rigid liturgies were developed. More recently, many of our churches have moved in the direction of less structure and more freedom in worship, but it is rare for modern churches to have a meeting as described in 1 Corinthians 14.

In the large “mega-churches” there is little, if any spontaneity with professional worship teams, electronics, and the lead pastor who speaks and directs things. The “audience” of many hundreds (sometimes thousands in the really big churches) passively look on with no participation except singing when told to sing, listening when the preacher preaches, and generally following directions while being entertained. And don’t forget the offering, much of which is needed to maintain the building and staff. Very little is given to the poor and needy as directed by the Scriptures. See my article, “How To Manage God’s Money”.

It is true that many large churches have small groups that meet during the week, but many members don’t participate in them. Too many are Sunday believers and don’t have the closer fellowship that we all need.

The Persecuted Church Today

In much of the rest of the world, the church functions much like the early church which was also persecuted at times. In many Muslim dominated countries, church buildings aren’t allowed and Christianity is outlawed, yet the church grows through networks of house meetings. The fastest growing churches in the world are in places where there are no buildings and little structure. Do they have something essential that we in the West don’t have?

What Should The Church Do Now?

1. Don’t build any more structures. Rather, use large homes or rent spaces. Simplify the operation so that setup is minimal. Brother Yun of China, a former leader in the house church movement there, was forced to leave his country. He came to the U.S. and said “the last thing the church in the West needs is more buildings!” The simple, home based church in China has seen explosive growth.
2. Large churches could divide into smaller groups where participation of God’s people could be encouraged. I think about 100 should be the maximum (or maybe 120, as in the Acts 1 upper room). If a group of believers meeting together exceeds that, a group should break off and meet in another place, further multiplying disciples.
3. Paid pastors should consider emulating Paul, who in addition to his apostolic ministry, ran a business on the side (tentmaking). In any case, reducing the size of the meetings and eliminating the overhead of maintaining a building would free up funds to pay workers and give to the poor.
4. Move toward making our church meetings more participatory. I remember years ago when I was scheduled to preach in a former church, the pastor and I decided that I would do a Q & A, just let people ask questions for us to discuss. Many churches already allow for people to spontaneously contribute something, whether a song, a prayer, or a prophetic word. We need to involve all of God’s people every time we meet!
   
   For a thorough exploration of these themes, I’d recommend several books by Frank Viola, especially Pagan Christianity? (with George Barna), and Reimagining Church.