This self-paced 7-session video course will walk you through 7 values from Scripture around church. After walking through the course, we give you notes that will help you then start a group of your own over 7 weeks. Here are the seven values we will cover:

1. we are a spiritual family

2. we are one part of the broader church

3. we value future multiplication into other houses

4. Jesus is the head of the church

5. the Spirit is our guide

6. the Scripture is our treasure

7. everyone participates

One of the challenging things about leading a house church in the West is not knowing others on the same journey. We hope that our app provides connection for those that wish to embark on the house church journey. After you complete the course, connect with other house churches in various locations within the House Church Group on the Dwellings App, where we can share ideas and stories of how God is at work. 

We have spent years studying the places in the world where Christianity is growing the fastest, where the house church is often the model. We have spent even more time studying the early church, where believers met as church in their homes.

We are convinced that the house church is one important option for gathering as the church. It can be a better option for those who are isolated watching church online, or for those who would never enter the door of a traditional church. It can be an option for churches that are wanting to build leadership within a larger expression, or for people without a strong existing church in their area. It can work alongside and in support of other church models, serving its own unique role in the Church.

House churches are prevalent across the world. In China, there are 160-200 million members in more than 10 million house churches. Since the 1990s house churches have experienced huge growth in Egypt, Iran, South Korea, and India. 80 million people in India alone meet in house churches. All of these countries have experienced the birth of large house church networks, and have become modern-day apostolic centers.

In America, the last Barna study conducted several years ago says there are over 10 million people are in house churches - about 5% of the population. German missiologist Wolfgang Simson published a global status report on house churches in 2021. His conclusion was that the house church is “the fastest growing expression of Christ-followers on the planet.”

The house church is actually the oldest form of church there is. The church, however, is about people, not places, so it would be wrong to idolize any location a church chooses to meet. The word church in the New Testament is a translation of the word ekklesia, which means “called out ones” or “assembly.” It never refers to a building or place.

The Bible frequently refers to the early church taking place in people’s homes. Here are some verses that show examples of a variety of people who opened up their homes.

• “The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.” (I Cor 16:19)

• “Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.” (Rom 16:5)

• “And Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house.” (Phil 1:2)

• “Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.” (Col 4:15)

• “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. Greet Priscila and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.” (Rom 16:1-27)

Forms of church, in and of themselves, are neutral according to Scripture; there are varied venues for people to gather as the church, including the home.

Some house churches are thriving and healthy, and others are unhealthy and unbiblical, because their focus is not on Jesus or the Scriptures. This is true, however, in all models of church. It is essential for of us to keep our eyes on Jesus, the Word, and his Spirit.

Some of us need permission to gather in a different form, and the Bible gives us plenty of room for creativity in how and where we meet. As John Piper stated, “Nowhere in the New Testament is it commanded or forbidden that local churches meet in homes. It is perfectly acceptable that they do and acceptable that they don’t. This is not something God thought it wise to regulate. No doubt, I think, in part because of the incredibly diverse cultural situations the church would find itself in for the next two thousand years: under trees, in garages, in stores, in cellars, in caves, in cathedrals, in homes.”