Why Micro (House) Churches

There are various names for micro churches such as cell groups or house churches. The idea of the church has been almost universally associated with a large building. Biblically informed Christians know that the church is people, not a building. In this model the micro churches can meet at any location that will meet the space need. More often than not micro churches will meet in larger homes, but if necessary it can meet in another location. And as we multiply micro churches we will meet together in a larger congregational gathering. But the core of the church, where most of the pastoral care and discipleship occurs, will be at the micro church level.

The First Christians Met In Small Gatherings in Homes

The first Christians met wherever they could, the most popular setting clearly being private homes. Please take the time to read a few of the most obvious references to the use of homes in the New Testament: So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. – Acts 2:46

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. – Acts 5:42

. . . he came to the house of Mary . . . where many were gathered together praying. – Acts 12:12

• Likewise greet the church that is in their house. – Romans 16:5
• Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. – Romans 16:23
• Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. – 1 Corinthians 16:19
• Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church that is in his house. – Colossians 4:15
• To Philemon our beloved friend . . . and to the church in your house.- Philemon 1-2

Other examples could be given, but even these few seem to establish a clear pattern. In fact, we believe a convincing case can be made for the claim that local church mentioned in the New Testament met in a home. This does not negate the gathering of a larger group of believers together in what we call the Congregation. In Acts the early church also met in the Temple. There is a good balance of large and smaller expressions of the church gathering.

We chose to be a church of micro churches rather than a church that has small groups. Most small groups are different in scope than micro churches. Small groups tend to meet sporadically through the year and even the month. Be limited in size to 10 or 12 people and are very homogenous by age or life stages. Many of the things that occur in small groups also happen in micro churches, but some things do not such as worship and celebration of baptism and the Lord's supper. Also the leaders in small groups are not responsible for the spiritual care and training of the small group members. Small group leaders are not called elder/pastors. Also, micro churches are inter-generational and function as churches with the leadership of an elder/pastor responsible for the spiritual care of the house church.

A Natural Setting For Fellowship

During micro church meetings, we enjoy facing one another in a warm, familiar environment, rather than sitting in rows looking at the back of someone’s head while most of the activity takes place up on a stage. We often stay late, discussing personal or church matters and doctrinal issues. Sometimes, advice or counsel is sought by one, and given in return by another, or even several. Sometimes, two or three will find a quiet place to pray together. All in all, it is like a family reunion—and we get to have one every week. This kind of fellowship certainly can take place in an auditorium setting. But in a micro church it is natural—it is built in—it is virtually guaranteed! And think of this: Even as we grow large in numbers, we will never lose the familiarity and intimacy that we have experienced in our beginnings! Instead, we will be forming new micro churches—teaching others how to experience this same kind of rich Christian fellowship.

A Well-Tended Flock

Pastors have the God-given responsibility to diligently feed, guard, and care for whatever flock has been entrusted to them (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-3). They are also informed that they will one day give an account of their care to the Chief Shepherd (Hebrews 13:17; James 3:1; 1 Peter 5:4). Any pastor who takes this responsibility and accountability seriously should shudder at the thought of giving an account for two hundred, let alone two thousand or more. Our micro churches are led individually by leaders who are biblically qualified as elders (or pastors—the terms are interchangeable). This means that each elder is responsible for the care of as few as ten or fifteen, and as many as twenty-five or thirty people. By having multiple micro churches with multiple elders, we will be establishing an extremely broad leadership base. All of this will result in a well-tended flock.

The Design For New Testament Instructions

The New Testament is filled with instructions for the life and health of the church. It takes no profound reasoning to conclude that when the New Testament authors gave written instructions to the church, they were writing in light of what they knew the church to be—small assemblies meeting in homes. Now think about this: If the church were later transformed into something that had never been seen or anticipated by the authors of the New Testament, the instructions they gave to the early church might not be as readily applicable to the new form. As an example, consider this principle in light of all of the “one anothers” in the New Testament—the commands to know, love, guard, and care for our brothers and sisters in Christ (i. e. John 13:34-35; Romans 12:10; Galatians 6:1,10; Colossians 3:12-16; 1 John 3:16-17). Certainly these are faithfully kept in many larger assemblies, but it seems impossible to overlook the fact that increased size usually means increased difficulty in keeping them consistently—the increased potential that at least some will fall through the cracks. And it also seems evident that in order to keep these commands to love and care for one another, larger bodies need added structures and programs which in turn necessitate additional burdens of administration. We could multiply examples. But suffice it to say that in at least this one case, the instructions are much easier to follow consistently in a smaller gathering. We would even suggest that these instructions were designed for small gatherings.