Thoughts On Housechurch/Simple Church?

Anyone belong to a housechurch...or a 'simple' church...meeting elsewhere than a purpose built building?
(i.e. coffee shop, park, pub, bar, schoolroom, house, flat, apartment etc) Small groups?

 

now there's an idea!

 

my simple church gathers in the pub

 

My family currently goes to a church that meets in a school. They also meet in small groups at members houses throughout the week. I do my best to avoid going (I work overnights on the weekend and am not a Christian).

 

Hey...just seen you're 23... watch out!

Rebelled...left my mom and dads 'church' when i was 13... then at 23 I actually became a Christian... went to quite a different type of church though

 

Well, my thing was never really about rebellion. I actually wanted to believe but found myself unable to and it has been a long time since then. My mom only recently found out because it was never about anyone else. I am not worried about rejoining the faith... if it happens then it happens. But I don't think it will happen. I have been to many different types of church. I actually spent a large chunk of my teen years in a very cultish churh (I talked about this in the cult section here... under have you ever been in a cult). I wasn't a believer at the time but I had to play along which sucked.

But if it happens then it happens. No worries.

 

Oh, I understand... sure... that would put you off...

Yeh, I nearly got involved with a cult-type 'church' when I was a newish Christian and didn't know much about real Christianity.

God still loves you, whatever.

 

Well, I was a non-believer before we got involved in that church. It didn't really put me off but it kindof sealed the deal. And I have nothing at all against Christianity or the people who follow it. My mom is worried that I am out to destroy her faith but that was never the case and never will be. I have a large chunk of my friends who are believers. I do not try to avoid contact with Christians (although I would prefer to sleep on Sunday after working all night).

The really sad part is how involved I was in the church while not a believer. I played the game like a pro and eventually became a youth leader and an assistant commander of the "boy scouts like" program the church had. I preached to the youth, went on summer missions trips, and worked as a technician at almost every service for years. So, I can pretend around people who would rather not know of my beliefs -- I usually do this if my beliefs would damage theirs.

But, getting back to the main topic... was there anything you wanted to know about people who went to churches that meet in non-church buildings?

 

I used to go to home groups. They were quite charismatic. Alot of laughing and crying, shaking, prophetic words etc. When i become a christian this movement hit the city i was living in. Also hit toronto at the same time. Sad thing is i fell away and don't know the way back.

 

no law that says Christians have to meet on a Sunday- it can be anytime...especially with simple type churches. It's basically relationships...

at least you're honest...

it's not particularly 'non-church buildings' (I'm thinking of - as that is quite common now...our last church which we left 18 months ago met in a school...and another one in a community centre...)

I'm thinking more of houses, apartments, flats, ...authentic living places, rather than artificially set up meetings...

I've got a web site (see my profile), which explains a lot about it.

thanks for answering.

 

yeh, I was part of that refreshing... it helped a lot as I was burnt out from giving out so much to my kids and counselling people.
Doing stuff for God just became one more ''duty'' instead of from love for Him.

He'll show you the way back ...it still is through the same Holy Spirit... but maybe you need to receive in a gentler way, this time... I don't know, as I don't know you...
but basically I just kept going from one conference, one meeting to another...and lost something... lost just me and Jesus along the way..

So, He's given me some breathing space these last 18 months and I'm getting to the point where I would like to meet with Christians again (besides ''my church'' which is my husband and kids and a couple of close friends at the moment).

Don't know if you felt like you need space to really get to know Him again...

 

Don't what the reason was. Never felt i was doing enough or believe enough or doing enough. I seen all these happy christians around me and i felt i didn't belong. Never felt a connection with God just felt i was trying to will it. But my faith lacked because i could never act the way i should if i trully believed.

 

Maybe you 'didn't belong' in the sense that you didn't really become a Christian... but perhaps just 'joined in' with the crowd?

I'm sure they wanted you to feel like you belonged (I understand that feeling- you just want the whole world to share in it ...)... but you need to belong to Him first.

You get born from a Father before you feel connected to brothers and sisters...
No connection, maybe not born from the Father...?
If you don't know how...pm me or something... or if there is a real Christian friend that you trust- who knows how to pray for others... perhaps you could ask him or her.
It's important.

(Love the deep down honesty BTW)

 

When I lived in CA they had a group that would meet and climb a mountain and then have a service. I thought this awesome, a true way to experience spirtuality in the presence of nature. Also, MCC (Metropolitian Community Church) churches are cool, because they love everybody, espouses everyone's beliefs and don't care what you wear.

 

Yeah, I really gotta find a small group or something...because big churches don't do anything for me, for the most part. Too crowded and such. Bah.

 

I don't think there's anything inherently virtuous about renting vs. owning a place of worship. Church-owned facilities can be a great benefit to the community, if they are used for outreach and not just a social club for church members. Of course, I'm discouraged by the extravagance of sprawling suburban megachurches.

 

we started as asimple church in a community centre we had 12 people,that was 7 years ago,now we have 470 people,and we use a school hall!

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with a church owning a building; it can be quite useful for ministry. The problem I see is that so many churches go overboard in the size and creature comforts of the buildings they construct.

I attended a church in college that bought and renovated an old Moose Lodge in the heart of downtown Champaign, IL. We invested a lot of what Habitat for Humanity would call "sweat equity" in acquiring the building and turning it into a place of worship and community outreach. I now attend a church in Portland, OR that's hoping to do something very similar with an old commercial or industrial site. I think that the modern equivalent of the New Testament "house church" concept is a vital small group ministry, in which personal intimacy and accountability can flourish.