Eastern Downs Church of Christ
Sharing Christ on the Darling Downs
- P.O. Box 39
Drayton North QLD 4350
Phone: (07) 4614-0996
Click here to email us
> What We Believe
Why House Churches
The Eastern Downs Church of Christ was launched officially in April 2008 though some families had been meeting for several months prior to this. Initially, we met in homes because we were small, it was convenient, there was no cost involved, and it met the needs of the group.
From the inception of the church we believed there was merit in developing house churches and the people in our church love this format. There are a number of reasons we believe that house churches are a viable way for the church to exist in Australia in the 21st century.
We do not believe that house churches are the only way to meet (or even necessarily best in all situations) and as we work to begin churches in other communities in coming months and years it is almost certain that we will use community centres or public halls in some locations.
Below you will find some of the reasons why we believe meeting in homes is a good choice for us.
It is a Biblical Model
For the first three hundred years nearly all churches met in homes. In the New Testament a number of passages speak about such churches (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2.)
While these passages do not say that churches should only meet in houses, they do show that the home was the common place where Christians met in New Testament times. Certainly today, a house continues to be an acceptable place to gather.
In many parts of the world, houses are the most common place to meet. Even in our country, a growing percentage of new churches are meeting in homes. This parallels the experience of the first churches found in the New Testament.
It Makes Sense Financially
In many churches the offerings are primarily spent on buildings and personnel. Often the offerings primarily benefit the members directly or indirectly. In fact, it is common for many church budgets to allow for only 10-20% of the church funds to be spent on missions, evangelism, and benevolence.
In the house church, costs are much lower. While there are still some expenses for printing and supplies, most of our offerings can be used to benefit others and not ourselves. For instance, in our church budget 50% of our giving is designated for overseas mission work and most of the remainder goes for local evangelism and benevolence.
Years ago, land and buildings were not as expensive as today. In our current environment, it would take a minimum of hundreds of thousands of dollars to construct an adequate church building. This is not financially practical for us to consider.
It Makes Sense in our Busy Schedules
Church buildings require regular maintenance. Every week someone must clean the building and more extensive scrubbing is needed from time to time. Buildings also require painting and repairs of all sorts on a continuing basis. The grounds must be mowed and gardens require time and expenditure. Churches find it difficult to find the number of people required to volunteer their time for the necessary jobs around the building. This is especially true with the hectic schedules most have today.
Though many gladly donate their time and efforts to keep buildings and grounds tidy and attractive, those hours are not available to invest in other efforts.
It Allows Everyone to Participate
The small numbers present in a house group mean that everyone is able to participate in the meetings. We want everyone to grow in their faith so we encourage people to ask questions, seek advise, and contribute their thoughts.
Meeting in large numbers in church buildings usually means that the entire gathering is directed from the front and a relative few people will participate in any way other than during the song service, the Lord’s Supper, and perhaps the offering.
We encourage people to share their prayer requests along with the joys and challenges in their lives. We work to develop authentic relationships where each member really knows the others.
Typically in our Sunday morning gatherings we share in light refreshment after our meeting. Our Sunday evening group shares a full meal after the Bible study and Communion time. This gives us the time to really share our lives together.
It is Reproducible
Our goal is to reproduce and multiply house churches across the Darling Downs. The first house church officially launched in April 2008 and the second group began in January 2009. We expect to launch a third group in 2010. To keep the groups connected, we have a monthly meeting all together in a hall, park, or community centre.
Within our congregation, every member is being equipped and encouraged to share their faith with their friends, neighbours, and family. We hope to see dozens of these house churches established in the coming years. We believe this will be an effective method of sharing our faith.
As stated at the beginning of this article, we do not believe that house churches are the only way to meet. In fact, our next planting effort may take place in a community centre. Even if this is the case, we believe it is important to have times where people share with each other in their homes. We want to have authentic fellowship with each other and we want every member to participate in the work of the church.
From the inception of the church we believed there was merit in developing house churches and the people in our church love this format. There are a number of reasons we believe that house churches are a viable way for the church to exist in Australia in the 21st century.
We do not believe that house churches are the only way to meet (or even necessarily best in all situations) and as we work to begin churches in other communities in coming months and years it is almost certain that we will use community centres or public halls in some locations.
Below you will find some of the reasons why we believe meeting in homes is a good choice for us.
It is a Biblical Model
For the first three hundred years nearly all churches met in homes. In the New Testament a number of passages speak about such churches (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 2.)
While these passages do not say that churches should only meet in houses, they do show that the home was the common place where Christians met in New Testament times. Certainly today, a house continues to be an acceptable place to gather.
In many parts of the world, houses are the most common place to meet. Even in our country, a growing percentage of new churches are meeting in homes. This parallels the experience of the first churches found in the New Testament.
It Makes Sense Financially
In many churches the offerings are primarily spent on buildings and personnel. Often the offerings primarily benefit the members directly or indirectly. In fact, it is common for many church budgets to allow for only 10-20% of the church funds to be spent on missions, evangelism, and benevolence.
In the house church, costs are much lower. While there are still some expenses for printing and supplies, most of our offerings can be used to benefit others and not ourselves. For instance, in our church budget 50% of our giving is designated for overseas mission work and most of the remainder goes for local evangelism and benevolence.
Years ago, land and buildings were not as expensive as today. In our current environment, it would take a minimum of hundreds of thousands of dollars to construct an adequate church building. This is not financially practical for us to consider.
It Makes Sense in our Busy Schedules
Church buildings require regular maintenance. Every week someone must clean the building and more extensive scrubbing is needed from time to time. Buildings also require painting and repairs of all sorts on a continuing basis. The grounds must be mowed and gardens require time and expenditure. Churches find it difficult to find the number of people required to volunteer their time for the necessary jobs around the building. This is especially true with the hectic schedules most have today.
Though many gladly donate their time and efforts to keep buildings and grounds tidy and attractive, those hours are not available to invest in other efforts.
It Allows Everyone to Participate
The small numbers present in a house group mean that everyone is able to participate in the meetings. We want everyone to grow in their faith so we encourage people to ask questions, seek advise, and contribute their thoughts.
Meeting in large numbers in church buildings usually means that the entire gathering is directed from the front and a relative few people will participate in any way other than during the song service, the Lord’s Supper, and perhaps the offering.
We encourage people to share their prayer requests along with the joys and challenges in their lives. We work to develop authentic relationships where each member really knows the others.
Typically in our Sunday morning gatherings we share in light refreshment after our meeting. Our Sunday evening group shares a full meal after the Bible study and Communion time. This gives us the time to really share our lives together.
It is Reproducible
Our goal is to reproduce and multiply house churches across the Darling Downs. The first house church officially launched in April 2008 and the second group began in January 2009. We expect to launch a third group in 2010. To keep the groups connected, we have a monthly meeting all together in a hall, park, or community centre.
Within our congregation, every member is being equipped and encouraged to share their faith with their friends, neighbours, and family. We hope to see dozens of these house churches established in the coming years. We believe this will be an effective method of sharing our faith.
As stated at the beginning of this article, we do not believe that house churches are the only way to meet. In fact, our next planting effort may take place in a community centre. Even if this is the case, we believe it is important to have times where people share with each other in their homes. We want to have authentic fellowship with each other and we want every member to participate in the work of the church.