There are countries in the world where the population growth rate has gone so low that it is nearly impossible to recover from. I believe something similar is happening to the traditional American church model.
Churches are closing.
That isn’t really new news. They have always closed since Paul’s day. But they are closing at a faster rate than normal. Pair the increase closure rate with a decreased planting rate and you have a real problem.
And that problem can become hard to come back from because the solution is so costly that it has become prohibitive (real-estate, salary, etc). This makes reproducing traditional churches incredibly difficult in the current climate when there is not a long line of people to fill them and pay the bills.
Enter home church.
Home churches are not perfect. They have their weaknesses. But they also have a lot of strengths that are ideal for a time like this.
Here are five reasons home churches are essential for the future:
1 – They are a solid biblical example of the early church.
The early church started in homes and stayed that way with exponential growth in a hostile culture for over 100 years. Our times are not that different from theirs. They moved from church at home to church as an institution over 300 years and we are moving back from church as institution to church at home again.
2 – Home churches are easily reproducible
Instead of needing millions of dollars and a steady cash flow to pay the staff and operate you already have what you need – a living room, park, backyard, etc and volunteers to do the work of the church. This costs nothing extra. The giving can go directly to needs.
And we need fast reproduction right now to catch the people who need the Christian community. We cannot build buildings fast enough to meet the need and many churches that are already in buildings are struggling as is. Homes can help this.
3 – The future church needs mature Christians and home churches tend to produce mature Christians
Christians mature in home church for a few reasons:
- You grow when you participate and home church is high on participation compared to traditional church
- You grow when you use your gifts. Similar to the first but more specific. Gifts are more easily recognized and used in home church
- Smaller gatherings are more transformational because it is easier to share hard things. Sharing hard things tends to produce maturity because you go deeper with other believers.
- Higher accountability leads to greater maturity. Home church provides this as well
4 – Home churches are leadership/servant pipelines not leadership magnets
Traditional churches draw in leaders to fill positions. They typically don’t have a system for producing mature leaders “in house” to send out to other places. Home churches more naturally produce people who are equipped to serve/lead. The future is going to require more people who are willing and knowledgeable in the skills needed to advance the kingdom. Churches must produce them rather than relying on third parties to do it for the church (Seminaries).
5 – Intergen and kids participation
Home churches don’t typically silo off the children and that means home churches are prime to raise a generation in faith because the children, from day 1, are integrated members of the church family. Their voice matters. They are heard. They add value. They hear the testimonies and eventually share their own God stories. We need to raise a generation in faith that is just not going to happen through large scale age segregated ministries.
Here is more info on challenges to traditional church – Three Things the Traditional Church Needs to Survive.
If you want to learn the history of home churches, check this out!
2 Responses
Of course, we could always rent space, rather than build. Or build less, MUCH less ornate yet more functional locations. Large numbers of congregations in Western Europe are either renters or house churches. There is nothing to be ashamed of! That, and no longer worry about meeting salary costs…
Matt, I’m in total agreement with the essentialness of home churches, plus one more functional need they provide. Home churches are much less likely to be closed down due to persecution. It doesn’t seem all that likely here, now in the US, but we’ve seen how quickly the government can turn on the Church. I personally believe we’ll see some sort of hybrid model form whereby traditional forms of congregations are in fellowship with home churches to promote the KOG.