Are We A House Church?
We do meet in our homes. We see in principle, in the scriptures, the example to do so whenever possible. Yet it is not a command. We do see how the Lord would have us benefit thereby, so we would be reluctant to not gather in a home setting. Even so, we understand there are those that meet wherever possible under their circumstances. We know of the Lord's people in parts of the world where homes are no larger than a small room and we realize it would be near impossible for them to gather there. So they meet outside, or rent a small building. Actually, there are many places where other arrangements might be necessary. Meeting in a home is not a defining element before the Lord as to whether or not a gathering is a true church and we would not want to give the impression that it is.
Also, we are not quite sure what the term "house church" might conjure up in the minds of others, seeing that there are a number of different reasons why people choose to meet in their homes versus a building; some of which we would have no affinity with. So again, we meet in our homes out of obedience to our understanding of the Lord's will for us...what is central to a gathering of believers is that Jesus is recognized as Lord and obeyed, collectively as well as individually, being led by the Holy Spirit even in the matter of where they are to assemble.
Anyway, we have been described as a "home church"; a "house church"; an "interactive meeting"; a "Brethren style church"; a "gathering in simplicity"; a "simple church"; an "early church model assembly"; a "first century style church"; a "fellowship"; an "open church"; a "biblical church"; an "unorganized church"; a "non-institutional church"; a "primitive church"; a "relational church"; an "ekklesia"; "God's house", and probably a few others I can't recall. That list may give you some idea, if you are accustomed to any of those terms, of how some have seen us. We, however, choose not to label ourselves.
A brother in the assembly created this relevant tract.
House Church
For over 300 years, the first years of the church, believers met in their homes. It was during this time, as the result of the Gospel of Jesus Christ going forth, that the world was turned upside down; and this was accomplished without programs, incorporated ministries or non-profit organizations; only simple believers sharing the simple truth. God did send out apostles, however, men chosen to do foundational work, but they too had no ties to any institution. They were their own men, answerable to God alone. Yes, many did assist them in different ways but there were no strings attached.
So, all in the church, as individual believers was taking the initiative to share with others the Gospel, and as a result, many were saved. In face to face relationships in their everyday lives, they shared what they knew; which was that Jesus Christ is Lord. Each of their homes became a center of outreach: They dialoged with their neighbors and others in their community; they fellowshipped with believers, praying and praising God; all taking place in, and going forth from, their homes; for they had no such concept of church as a building. Church and worship was their lives, which primarily was in their homes; and from there, truth went forth into the world.
When they gathered as a church, they, again, gathered in each other's homes; homes sanctified as holy by God's presence. Which presence was there because they believed; because they were Christians; because Christ had promised to be with them wherever two or more gathered in His name: He was in their midst as Lord over His disciples. They had all received the gift of the Holy Spirit, which made them into a body, the body of Christ. Each member who had been in fellowship with God in preceding days would have been supplied to be able to build up those they loved. No one looked to the leaders as the sole ministers of blessing for the church but they looked to all who were in the assembly. The leaders were indeed there to minister but they were also there to oversee; making sure the opportunity for the free expression of Christ in each member was maintained; and that the expression was according to the manners God had instructed them in. So, let us, like the early believers, see church as our lives and our homes as holy for the gathering of God's people. Let us no longer think of it as external to us, as a building, an organization or an institution but as Jesus our Lord with us.