For some time now I’ve been looking for traits common to healthy house churches, elements seen in scripture and in what the Holy Spirit is doing around the world today. While there are many books that include many of the elements of house churches, I wanted to boil it down and write the essentials. A kind of ‘tenets’ of the house church.

Acts 17: 26-27 says:

"From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him..."

This passage makes clear that the Lord purposely spread man throughout the earth and ordained the various cultures and ethnic groups we see today. All of this was done so that man, in his various cultures and ethnic groups, would seek the Lord, and having found him, would in turn wonder at the variety and creative expressions of worship and love for the infinite and multi-faceted God.

This means that wherever God moves, there will be differences in application, yet at the same time there will be essential elements common throughout all cultures in their worship and growth in the Lord.

The labels may differ slightly, and the application will vary a bit, but the essential elements will remain the same. Within the 8 elements that follow, a person could make subheadings and notes about how they and their house church apply these things, but the principles will remain the same throughout the different cultures and nations.

I spend time on this because many Christians tend to think their way of approaching God is THE way, and everyone else is wrong. Just like the denomination that thinks you’re only saved if you get baptized in THEIR church or denomination, many in house churches think they have the answers and everyone else is wrong. I am not trying to say this is the only way, just that these are principles from scripture and traits of healthy house churches throughout the world.

As I’ve observed and studied various groups of house churches I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some think if you have more than one house church you are a denomination. Some think there should be no leader designated, some discourage the manifestation of the charismatic gifts because it might ‘take attention away’ from Jesus and focus on man, some have no interest in outreach...and the list goes on. But through it all I’ve also seen the successes; those who have purpose and vision, and are accomplishing the work the Lord has assigned to them. Thus the search in scripture for common traits of the successful house churches.

The house churches affiliated with The Church Without Walls International (CWOW) all incorporate the following elements. When an existing house church affiliates with us, sometimes these essentials are learned as a result of past experience knowing something was missing, and perhaps from knowing more about what doesn’t work than what does. But what follows are elements found in successful house churches all over the world.

Part of what I do when we travel to establish or help house churches, is teach the application of the following elements. Our weekend house church seminars model a healthy, balanced house church. (Feel free to contact me if you feel we could be of help)

What then are the essentials for a balanced, healthy, house church? Consider the following:

1) Evangelism

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." - Jesus, Mt 28: 19-20

The Prime Directive of the body of Christ is to go and make disciples. Jesus didn’t say to get people born again, he said to make disciples. Being born again describes what happens in a person’s spirit when they decide to follow Jesus, being a disciple is a life long pursuit. As it has been said, ‘Disciples are made, not born’. Therefore an ‘outward’ view must be a part of every healthy house church.

I observed one house church that sat around and just talked about what a house church should be. Another had some members go to an inner healing conference and upon their return, the only topic for weeks was inner healing. Both these groups dwindled in numbers very quickly. Why? Because they turned the focus on themselves and their problems.

To sit around and navel gaze is the death knell of a house church. Need I add the words of Acts 2:47? "...praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." The early church was looking outward to the unsaved.

I am not talking about doing good to those in your house church, this is a given. I am talking about that lost neighbor. That co-worker who stopped going to church. Turn your heart outward to those in your sphere of influence who don’t have Jesus, or maybe they have the Lord but are searching for strong relationships in Christ but will no longer darken the doors of a pyramid style church.

I should mentioned that when disciples are made, the next natural event is to be baptized in water. Of the two symbolic sacraments of the church (the other being communion), baptism is the most public statement that a person has become a disciple of Jesus. I won’t go into detail here about Peter’s directions in Acts 2: 38 to repent and be baptized, or Philip’s baptizing the people of Samaria who had turned to the Lord, or Paul’s baptizing of the Ephesians in Acts 19: 5. Suffice it to say that baptism naturally follows the making of disciples.

2) The Word

Again the words of Mt 28: 19-20:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

How can a person make disciples if there is no teaching of the Word of God? The answer is that you can’t. Teaching the Word of God is irrevocably linked to the making of disciples. I Peter 2:2 tells new believers ‘like newborn babies desire the pure milk of the Word that you may grow thereby’.

Acts 2: 42 tells us that the brand new believers stayed ‘in the apostles doctrine’. In Acts 4:18 Peter and John were commanded by the religious leaders not to ‘preach or teach’ the people, for it was by this preaching and teaching that disciples were being made. When the question came up in Acts 6 about whether the apostles should become the staff for the food service to the widows, they said in verse 4 that they would give themselves continually ‘to the ministry of the Word’.

At the founding of churches throughout the book of Acts we see Paul in the synagogues, in homes, and in schools such as Acts 19: 9, but the application remains the same: Teaching is the primary method used to make disciples, just as Jesus had commanded.

This means that the primary focus of house churches will revolve around teaching the people the Word of God, it’s doctrines, precepts, and applications into daily life.

Unfortunately some ignore this command and have structured their house churches without any thought to this most basic element. They sit around looking at one another asking, ‘Does anyone have anything?’. They mistakenly think they are honoring Jesus by not having anyone taking the lead, turning a blind eye to scripture. Thinking the gifts take attention away from Jesus, they fail to understand that moving through His people is the way Jesus moves among us.

Paul didn’t just go into a town and sit around ‘inviting Jesus in’. He told the leaders of the church at Ephesus in Acts 20:20 that he had ‘taught publicly and from house to house’.

A house church that refuses to establish a method and plan for teaching the disciples is a house church without direction, purpose, and life, and is in fact, in rebellion. Caught up in the newness of the ’freedom’ of house churches, they forget the divine plan and purpose. When Paul was speaking to Timothy about leadership he told him that a leader should ‘be apt to teach’. Furthermore, direction was given to the older women to teach the younger, older men the young men, and so on.

The application of this includes procuring materials appropriate for all age groups and levels of growth. Children’s material may be purchased if needed, various books and booklets for adults, teaching aids, creative ways to present the Word may all be presented. Disciples are made, and thought and planning needs to be spent on how the Lord would lead a house church in this application.

The methods employed will vary by region, culture, and background of those in the church, but the focus is the same: Teach people the Word of God.

3) Prayer

One would think that this essential element for a healthy, balanced house church need hardly be mentioned, but you might be surprised how many house churches don’t have an active prayer life. When Acts 2: 42 states the church in Jerusalem continued steadfastly ‘in prayers’ and the apostles said they would give themselves continually ‘to prayer’ (Acts 6:4), it demonstrates that prayer was a way of life, a lifestyle, not just ‘something we should have’.

I am not talking about an opening prayer as you start a meeting, or ‘saying grace’ before a fellowship meal. I am talking about prayer as a way of life. House churches should be quick to pray for one another, document prayer requests and answers, and have a means by which to contact members of the church for emergency prayer.

Again, to be healthy, not all prayer should be focused on ‘us 4 and no more’. Prayer should be also directed outward to ‘kings and all in authority’ (I Tim 2:2), for ministers of the gospel, as Paul asked for prayers (Eph 6: 18-19), and other concerns both personal, city and state wide, national and international.

When I see a house church without a strong heart to evangelize and teach it’s people, I also often see an inwardly directed prayer life in the group...and that’s not healthy. It’s easy to become focused on the enormous needs of individuals within the church, but purpose and direction must be given to even those most afflicted to turn their prayers off themselves and onto others.

The application of this will vary, but can of course include separate regularly scheduled prayer meetings, keeping a prayer journal for the church, posting requests via email, and so on. Think through how this element can be applied to your house church. Usually there will be one or two intercessors in a house church who can take the lead in this area and the Lord will lead them accordingly.

4) Worship

The worship of God as being an essential element may also seem so basic it need not be stated, but again, from what I’ve observed of what’s out there, it is lacking in some, but integral in healthy, balanced house churches.

Understand that I am not talking about debating a live guitar or keyboard versus using a CD or singing without accompaniment. I am talking about the focus of everyone in the house church being gathered for the purpose of worshipping Almighty God. I say this because there are some house churches whose primary focus is a meal, or prayer for one another and personal prophecy, or even to just ’wait before the Lord’ to see which direction he wants to go.

I am talking about the basic drive in believers to worship God, to establish an atmosphere of intimacy in which He may move. When Acts 2: 42 says the people were in ‘the temple’, it should be clear they were primarily there to worship. When Peter and John were released in Acts 4: 24, the churches’ first response was worship: "Lord, you are God, who has made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them..."

It was in the midst of worship in a jail in Philippi that an earthquake occurred that freed Paul and Silas, and the primary complaint against Paul in Acts 18:13 was that he ‘persuaded men to worship God contrary to the Law’.

Again, think about the focus of your group. Is the worship of God an essential element seen when you get together? Is the worship actual worship...or is it ‘I can run through a troop and jump over a wall’, focused on what he has done for us or making a request of him, rather than on God himself? Is the worship merely a means of gathering everyone’s thoughts on the things of God, or do you worship to truly ‘enter in’?

Worship allows the Lord to move in hearts and minds, truly living among us. Isn’t that what we really want in our house churches?

5) Fellowship

Acts 2: 42:

"And they continued steadfastly...in fellowship, and in breaking of bread..."

This essential element to a balanced and healthy house church involves the social aspect of human beings. We gather with people of common interest and those we genuinely like and enjoy.

Beyond that, the breaking of bread can refer to communion, as well as a common meal. Remember that in the culture of the day, the height of hospitality and principle means of fellowship, was a meal.

When we look at the meals in Jesus’ life we see; the wedding at Cana, Jesus anointed by a sinner in Luke 7:36-50, healing a man with dropsy in Luke 14: 1-6 at a meal, eating with sinners in Mark 2:15, a Sabbath meal in John 12, the Last Supper, and so on.

I had a friend from Malaysia tell me that he has had listeners burst into tears when he teaches new believers how Jesus was betrayed while at dinner by one of his closest friends. He explained that in Asian culture, sharing a meal is the highest form of fellowship and intimacy between friends. We need to keep in mind that the Bible is oriental and the ‘middle east’ is still the East.

Therefore our ‘breaking of bread from house to house’ is still the highest form of fellowship we have with friends. A betrayal from someone who once sat at your table hurts far more than being hurt by a casual friend. Being asked over to someone’s house for a meal cements relationships and forms long lasting bonds.

A couple of suggestions:

At CWOW we have established a policy following the example of ‘house to house’ seen in Acts 2: 46 and Acts 20: 20. That is that we only grow as we have 2 couples to share the burden of hosting, and we ask that they rotate ‘from house to house’ in hosting duties. The church can rotate to anyone in the church of course, but we don’t want someone to have the burden of it all being on their shoulders to host every time they meet.

There are house churches out there who meet only at one person’s house, but those are ones that are usually a bit off balance or are on their way there. Sometimes the people just look to their hosts for every answer because church is always at their house and they always lead. Then it becomes just a miniature of what they all left!

There are also churches that tend to be islands within themselves and led by a strong personality who sees the attendees as ‘their little flock’, Often this leader will have pet doctrine around which his or her world view is shaped, and anyone else is wrong if they don‘t agree with their pet doctrine.

I’m not saying a host can’t do so for some length of time...my wife and I hosted in our home for 12 weeks straight when we first started...but at some point it is healthy to share the duties.

There must be leadership, for we cannot throw out the Biblical mandate of elders and other leadership, but leadership is a job of impartation and example, not dominating.

Eventually leadership must reproduce itself, as Paul told Timothy to impart truths seen in him to others (II Tim 2:2). This is where new leaders begin hosting and leading alongside the established hosts and leadership.

Again, fellowship is important, and the burden for hosting and preparing need not be on any one person’s or household’s shoulders, but should be shared. You might think of yourself standing, shifting weight from foot to foot because one position becomes uncomfortable. So is it with fellowship. When the discomfort level rises, shift feet!

This brings us to our next essential element.

6) Corporate fellowship

On the heels of fellowshipping within a house church comes the need to fellowship with those in the body of Christ at large.

We know that the church in Jerusalem was a network of related house churches numbering in the thousands of people. But we also know that they were regularly ‘in the temple’ to worship. History records that the temple area was filled with columns and porches in which groups of 20-50 could gather to be taught and connect with others.

In other words, they came out of their houses to meet in larger settings, meeting members of other house churches, from other neighborhoods. This was also employed when decisions which affected the whole body needed to be made, for in Acts 6: 2 we see the apostles calling ‘the multitude of the disciples unto them’ when they needed to appoint deacons for the food service ministry.

In CWOW we schedule regular times (every 4-6 weeks) for all the Tulsa area CWOW’s to come together in a time of eating and fellowship. Whether it be an ‘all CWOW’ Easter meeting and breakfast, BBQ, or a time of food, fun and fellowship in a park, it is healthy to meet with others in related house churches.

Beyond that, it is healthy to be involved with what God is doing in your city or town. I think sometimes people in house churches are hesitant to become involved with city wide prayer meetings or other events because the concept of the house church is still a foreign language to many. When they ask, ’What church do you belong to?’ or ’What churches do we have represented here today?’, some feel inadequate and put on the spot to say, ’I belong to a house church’.

CWOW affiliates don’t have that problem, but some house churches remain unnamed, and it’s hard to scramble for an identity within a context the person asking the question can understand.

Some of the problems I’ve seen in house churches revolve around this identity problem. I think maybe that’s one of the things the Lord had in mind when he appeared to me and commanded me to start CWOW, and why he gave it it’s name. He wanted it to have an immediate identity. We have a mission to make disciples and that naturally flows to establishing the church in the home.

I’ve observed that many house churches that don’t meet with others outside of themselves often lack identity and purpose. They can also get off doctrinally. I mentioned earlier a group that got off into the inner healing teaching exclusively. In one city I was told that house churches ‘start and shut down, start and shut down’. My experience in that city is a lack of leadership, identity, and connection.

Without fellowshipping with others it’s very easy to get a defensive, even cynical view of ‘the church’ that we left behind. Conversations in house church meetings take on a tone of ‘us versus them’ and an arrogance creeps in that ‘we have the answers’.

Fellowshipping with others in the body, no matter what stream they are in, opens our eyes to what God is doing in the larger picture. It keeps us balanced.

Don’t be an island to yourself. Fellowship not only with those in your group, but look for the ‘city church’, that is to say, the church as a whole in your city or town.

I can also add that within the local house church there will be those who will come to the meeting in the house, but won’t come to a corporate time of fellowship. This is sad because they are missing a basic element to balanced Christian living...connection with other believers outside your ‘usual sphere’.

Often the people who fit this description are still dealing with hurts and issues within themselves, making external excuses about why they can’t or won’t come to the larger fellowship. I make this observation because many of these people have been either leaders in the past or potential leaders in the body of Christ, and the Lord would have them come out of their past or tap into their future, in part by moving them into the larger body of Christ.

A person who repeatedly turns down offers to fellowship with the body of Christ corporately cannot be considered for leadership because they don’t have the Lord’s heart for the ’big picture’, his body, and the world ’out there’. If they are placed in positions of leadership as they are, their leadership will turn gradually inward, and fall into error and separation from the rest of the body.

7) Travel, hosting, visiting

This seventh element that I’ve observed in healthy, balanced, house churches involves the continual exchange of people of similar faith. I think it’s a factor that is quite unlike anything in the pyramid structure we came out of.

The opening of homes to travelers and the sending of people to others in house church circles is basic and very healthy. Affirmation of each other and the sharing of ideas and talking through problems enriches everyone. The fact that we can see in the Bible ‘chapter and verse’ of these travels and hosting elements should not be a surprise, though it is often overlooked.

III John 5-8 talks about faithfully serving travelers, saying ‘we ought to receive such, that we might be fellow helpers to the truth’. (v8) Nearly everyone remembers Hebrews 13:2 and the exhortation to ‘receive travelers, for some have entertained angels unawares.’

The fact that Paul was regularly sending those people to various house churches can be seen in the ‘small print’ of his letters. He had Timothy stay in Ephesus (I Tim 1:3) while he went to Macedonia, Titus to Crete (Titus 1:5), Tychicus to Ephesus in 6:21, and he spoke of ‘Gaius my host’ in Romans 16:23. I could go on for pages talking about Paul staying with Lydia in Acts 16: 15, with other believers in Acts 21:4, leaving Silas in Antioch in Acts 15:34 and so on.

This seventh element is connected in part to church planting. The desire to meet with other believers who may be interested in starting a house church, or the evangelization of an area. It is not travel just for travel’s sake. There is purpose, direction, and impartation intended. It often involves visiting different cultures, such as when the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem visited the Gentile believers in Antioch (Gal 2:11-14)

Why is this seen in healthy house churches? Because again, it turns the eyes outward to the bigger picture of world evangelism. Look at the book of Acts and Paul’s letters. They are more than just the history of how the church grew, they show that they grew in part due to people traveling back and forth, sharing ideas, revelation, and concepts, being mutually enriched in Christ as a result.

With the church being based in the home, it is natural to host people in that home. I’m not suggesting everyone has to open their home, for there are people who have gifts of hospitality and are truly anointed to do so. These people in a house church are readily identified and will truly enjoy hosting people. So I’m not saying everyone has to host someone, just that hosting and traveling are a good part of a balanced house church.

I’ve stayed in homes all over North America and can truly say it’s always been a wonderful experience. The ‘real’ atmosphere of living with people automatically brings down walls, provides a chance to learn from each other, and then in turn those experiences are brought back to ‘home’ base.

8) Apostolic leadership

For quite some time I have looked at the differences between people who meet in a home and call it a house church, and those whose house churches were either started by or connected with, apostolic leaders. There is a marked difference in the previous 7 elements listed above, if they exist at all in house churches without apostolic leadership.

There is a basic anointing that exists when people get together in the name of the Lord for fellowship, the Word and so forth. But there is another anointing that seems to pervade the very atmosphere of a house church with purpose and God’s presence when that house church has apostolic leadership.

Consider the facts presented in scripture. All the churches were started by either an apostle or evangelist (Philip, Acts 8), except for Antioch in Acts 11:19.

The precedent set forth in Acts shows that churches can start without apostles initiating it, but then they linked up with the apostles soon after. Philip turned the new believers over to apostles Peter and John once he was going to leave the area. The same could be said of the church in Antioch in Acts 11. It wasn’t started by apostles, but soon came together with them and remained related from there on out.

There has been such abuse in the US and elsewhere by so called ‘apostles’ that I hesitate bringing these facts up because some may recoil, automatically seeing the principle through eyes of hurt and bad experience.

That is not what I am trying to do. But we must acknowledge that the existence of counterfeits confirm the existence of the True...there is no need for a false $20 bill if there isn’t a real one, and upon discovering the genuine, we must acknowledge and embrace it. In the same way, if people have only known the counterfeit apostle it may be hard to understand the true gift. So let the reader understand I am not talking to, or leading up to a power trip pyramid structure. I’m just making observations from scripture and what the Holy Spirit continues to do around the world today.

Based on these facts, that the only examples we have of church planting in the Bible show that it is done by apostles or becomes linked with apostles, we should be confident that this is the method God has ordained. Think of it; Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonica...all started by apostles. Beyond these regions and cities there was Antioch, Cyprus, Crete, Iconium, Lystra, Sardis, Thyatira and so on who were related to the apostles.

All started by apostles or linked with apostles and there is no other example in scripture for us to follow. So there is a marked difference between people just ’meeting together’ to have a house church, and those who are linked with an apostle.

What is the difference? I believe chapters 2 & 3 of the book of the Revelation demonstrates this difference. The Lord sends a message ’to the angel of the church at’ in each of the seven churches mentioned, indicating that they are the ‘behind the scenes’ spiritual authority assigned to the church for protection. In a few of the churches the Lord threatens to remove the angel, thus shutting down the church.

Some might suggest the word ’angel’ is a man, for in the pyramid structured churches we came out of some teach it was ‘the’ pastor, ignoring the fact that the first century churches weren’t ruled by 1 pastor, thus disqualifying that theory. So this argument falls by the way side quickly. The Greek language of this text is the word, angel, so we’ll leave it at that.

My point is that there are angels over all these churches, indicating the Divine Purpose for the existence of that church, and all of them were of course, started by apostles or linked with apostles. I believe the angelic covering, which shows the Lord ordained these churches and watches over them, is the difference between people just meeting and calling themselves a house church, and a house church started by or linked relationally with apostles.

Most everyone who reads this can remember a time when they walked into a church building or meeting and even though the Word may have come forth, there was an overriding sense of ‘deadness’ in the spiritual atmosphere. Others may have watched a church split and one group head off to start a church, but it only lasted a short time. It just didn’t ‘feel’ right. What you sensed was that there was no angelic covering ordaining the existence of that church. It should be stated that the angelic covering is an indicator that the Lord Himself has ordained that church to be there.

The first church I ever pastored, in the pyramid structure in about 1981, had no covering anointing. I wondered why, though the Word was anointed, it seemed to fall to the ground when I taught. The same 6 families that had hired me to be their pastor were the only ones to stay at that church. Finally, after about 6 months or so of this, I spent some time lightly fasting to find out why. On the third day the Lord told me: "I never ordained for this church to be started. I want you to shut it down and tell them I have churches for them to go to."

It turned out they were a bunch of Baptists who had gone Charismatic and were tired of their pastor wavering between ‘yes’ on tongues and ‘no’ on tongues, so they started meeting on their own in a trailer park club house. I told them what the Lord told me and we did shut it down. We remained on good terms with those people for many years, since then we’ve lost track of one another.

Though there were believers gathered together to have church, essentially a house church, there was no anointing from God for that effort. There was just something missing. That something was the angelic, God ordained purpose and covering for the church.

Perhaps some of you reading this can relate to house churches or pyramid style churches that seem OK, but something is missing. What Christians automatically look for, even on a subconscious level, is something in their spirit that says God has ordained this group. On many occasions there is no covering anointing and that is why people don’t feel the presence of the Lord in that place.

I’m not trying to oversimplify everything, but only offer an answer why some house churches seem to be ordained by God and others just seem to be a bunch of good hearted people meeting together. The answers are in the Word, and this is what we see.

The reader can refer to my book, Pursuing the Seasons of God for my experience during a visitation in which the Lord appeared to me to teach me, "How I start and shut down churches." During that visitation he introduced me to the angel over the church I was pastoring at the time. Jesus taught me just what I’m teaching here. There is a difference between believers just getting together and calling it church, versus having God’s ordained government and the anointing that goes with it. Since that time I’ve seen that angel over CWOW as well.

Don’t freak out because I used the word government. But the fact that the government rests on Jesus’ shoulders (Is 9:6) cannot be denied. The fact that Paul lists the 5-fold ministries as the foundations of this government can’t be denied, for even the walls of heaven itself are built upon the lives of the apostles! (Rev 21:14) So we should not shy away from these facts just because there has been abuse and misuse of these gifts.

Apostolic leadership in action

The truth is that Jesus told his apostles to submit to those they serve. Mark 10: 42-44 makes this quite clear, so the idea of a power hungry ‘apostle’ just doesn’t exist. Apostles are servants, teachable, content to wait their turn, eager to impart, and quietly confident in their purpose and destiny.

Ephesians 4: 11-16 tells us that the 5-fold gifts are given ‘for the perfecting of the saints’, and have a heart that wants every believer to be mature, knowledgeable and ‘no more children tossed to and fro’. Because of this fact, the apostolic team will always be looking outward to new territory, to reach everyone with Jesus and help them grow into all they can be.

This is one reason Paul just couldn’t sit still. Yes, he was at Corinth for at least 18 months and Ephesus for at least 2 years, but even then people were coming and going from new lands and churches. In Romans 15:19 he talks of going to modern day Yugoslavia and elsewhere talks of wanting to go to Spain...always someone else to reach!

That said of the apostles and apostolic team, the team of elders/pastors in whose homes the churches met, were focused on the local assembly. They weren’t thinking outwardly as their primary focus, their hands were full with the problems in their houses! They were glad to support Paul and partner with him spiritually, financially, and relationally, but they needed instructions on how to deal with issues in their homes. Paul’s letters to the churches and his subsequent visits were his efforts of maintaining relationship and helping the local leaders learn how to deal with issues.

Besides these things, there were also elders/pastors who were part of the apostolic team, but also part of the local house church. These people had a heart for new territory and outreach like the apostles and were part of that ‘team’, but they also loved being involved on a local level. They seemed to ‘float’ between house churches, going where needed. People like Timothy and Titus come to mind. They traveled with Paul, but their work also included staying behind or being sent out to establish local churches.

There is no example of a house church ‘all by itself’, that is, not associated with apostolic leadership. In other words, everyone was part of a network. They may have been linked with Peter, or Paul, or someone else, but there were no ‘Lone Ranger’ house churches.

Thus we see three elements involved in the apostolic leadership and network:

* The apostolic team
* The local elders/leaders
* The ‘floating’ elders/leaders

I have also observed that raising up leaders is often a shortcoming of some house churches. People mature only to the point that they are still under their local leaders. John Maxwell says of leadership, that on a scale of 1 to 10, if you are a 5, the people you oversee can never rise beyond a 4. Jesus said the student isn’t greater than his teacher.

One of the solutions for this is the ‘new life’ that comes through traveling and outside contact, and part of that is the 3rd group of leaders, the ‘roving’ elder. If an up and coming leader isn’t exposed to leadership outside their circle, they will never rise to the place of being able to replace that leadership if the need arises, or be able to plant new churches as the Lord leads.

The process seems to follow the way Paul imparted to Timothy. Timothy traveled with Paul, learning about God and the ministry, then Paul sent him to Ephesus for some ‘you’re on your own’ application. It was a successful method; Foxes Book of Martyrs records that Timothy stayed in Ephesus some 30 years, becoming elder/bishop over the area until he was killed for his faith in the year 97.

These ’leaders in training’ or ‘church in training’ may involve everything from basic discipleship study to some who have a heart to be a leader. Paul says in I Tim 3:1 that ’those who set their heart on being an overseer desire a good thing’, so there will be those who outright desire to be part of the leadership team.

I hope you can think through how the 8 elements are all related to the apostolic team, the local leadership, and the roving leaders.

Without the 8 elements there is no heart in a house church to link with others in the body of Christ. Without those elements there is no desire to win others to the Lord and raise up people who will reach out and plant other churches. All these ingredients mix together to represent Jesus Christ on this earth...in our homes, neighborhoods, and work places.

Summary:

The 8 qualities seen in healthy, balanced, house churches are:

* Evangelism
* The Word
* Prayer
* Worship
* Fellowship
* Corporate fellowship
* Traveling/hosting
* Apostolic leadership

These 8 elements flow within the network of a local church, an apostolic team, and ’roving’ leaders. Again, this is a study of traits seen in healthy, balanced, house churches around the world. I’ve seen many house churches who have just a few of these elements, and some with none at all, but they don’t go anywhere for lack of purpose and soon either stop meeting or become filled with people still searching for answers. Some are dominated by 1 person and the people are as impoverished in that house church as they were in the churches they came out of. In fact, some house churches are nothing more than a smaller replica of the pyramid structure!

By sharp contrast, those with all these elements are flourishing. I also should say that these things often come as part of the maturing process in a house church. Sometimes a house church will start by a group of people and it truly is started by God with an angelic covering in the Spirit as well. Then over time, maybe even a year or more, they begin to search out what is ‘out there’, sometimes unknowingly searching for an apostolic network to be related to, but they know they are wanting to be linked with others.

To me, this is a normal part of the maturing process. People meet, work through their war wounds, gain focus back on the Lord and off themselves, then he begins leading them into relationships with others. This stirring leads to a search for direction and purpose. Some think, ‘something is missing’ but they don’t know what. This is normal!

The next step, linking relationally to an apostle and network is the next step we see from scripture. The Lord leads. There will be those that ‘fit’ naturally and those that don’t. It’s not a matter of ‘try outs’ for an apostle, there will be an instant bond and witness in the Spirit, and felt in each person’s spirit, that there is a connection.

This is often done by meeting with and hearing the heart of an apostle or apostolic team, weighing out how the Lord is leading. Seeing who fits and who doesn’t with what is going on in that house church...this is a normal part of the process.

If CWOW can be of help to you please feel free to contact us. Often a weekend ‘house church seminar’, which models a house church and affords the opportunity to discuss and work through issues, may be helpful. Nothing more than picking up the airfare and receiving a love offering is required...we’re here to help! This is our call and mandate from the Lord, to start and help house churches.