It is often said that in the Western world where Christianity has already become part of the culture that people will never accept the idea of churches meeting in homes. It is thus argued that we must stay with the institutional model.
First, this is proving not to be true, as the house church movement is gaining rapid momentum in the Western world.
Second, people already gladly meet in homes for parties, meals, fellowships, Bible studies and home cell groups. Accepting the idea of a church in a house takes a very small adjustment of thinking.
Third, it is true that religious people, “spiritual goats,” will never accept the concept of house churches. They will never do anything that might potentially make them appear odd to their neighbors. But true disciples of Jesus Christ certainly accept the concept of house churches once they understand the biblical basis. They quickly realize how unnecessary church buildings are for discipleship. If you want to build a big church with “wood, hay and straw” (see 1 Cor. 3:12), you will need a building, but it will all burn in the end. But if you want to multiply disciples and disciple-makers, building the church of Jesus Christ with “gold, silver and precious stones,” then you need not waste money and energy on buildings.
It is interesting that the greatest indigenous evangelistic movement in the world today, the “back to Jerusalem” movement of the Chinese house churches, has adopted a specific strategy to evangelize the 10/40 window. They say, “We have no desire to build a single church building anywhere! This allows the gospel to spread rapidly, is harder for authorities to detect, and enables us to channel all our resources directly into gospel ministry.”[1] A wise and biblical example to follow indeed!
[1] Brother Yun, Back to Jerusalem, p. 58.
