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what to expect at house church

House churches are small groups that meet in homes* to eat together, share life together, laugh and cry together, encourage one another, and explore how to live out our faith together.
  • Eat together.  The house church gathering begins with a shared meal. Eating together one of the most important ways we deepen our relationships.
  • Happy/sad.  During the meal each person is invited to share, “What is something from this past week you felt happy about and one thing you felt sad about?” This is a great way to get to know one another and find out what is happening in each others’ lives.  Our children love happy/sad!
  • Children.  Most, but not all, house churches include children.  After the meal and happy/sad, the children go off to play and the adults move in to deeper sharing.
  • The Three Loves.  Most weeks, our sharing in house church follows the outline of “The Three Loves”—loving God, loving our neighbor (those not a part of our church), and loving one another (the church family).  We often follow this format for our sharing, including our discussion of how to apply the Scripture from our Sunday teaching to our lives.
  • Praying for one another.  We close our house church by sharing, “What do you need Jesus to do for you today?” and praying for one another.  Sometimes men and women divide up and pray separately.
  • Caring for one another.  In our house churches, we care for each other. Participants contribute to a kitty that pays for child care, may be used to purchase food, and, most important, is used to meet compassion needs within the group, such as car repairs, or extra expenses due to illness or lost work.  Giving and receiving is part of what binds us together into family.
  • Serving together.  House churches also serve together, such as helping house church members move or do work projects at their homes.  We also find join in joining together to serve others.
  • Daily life.  As a house church becomes family, members spend time with each other outside of house church meetings.  They share meals, give rides, ask each other for help, babysit for one another, and check in with each other by phone.  For many of us, our house church relationships become deeper and safer than those of our blood family.
  • Transformation.  Through the love we experience in our house churches, we are challenged and encouraged to entrust our whole lives to God and one another and allow God to change us from the inside out. We hear amazing stories of growth, healing, and transformation all the time from the people in our house churches.
* One house church outgrew its home and meets at the church.