The Four Objectives of a House Church

I consider myself a person who likes to visit others and spend long hours listening to the interesting stories of grandparents, the wittiness of children, and the different complaints from parents. My first mission started in the backyard of my house. I remember that twice a week all the children in the neighborhood gathered to sing, jump, play and listen to Bible stories. Although we did not have a specific name, it became a children’s club or “the little church”, as they called it; later it became a preaching point. In those early days, the leader and I did not have clear objectives of what we wanted to do, we only wanted to live with the little ones in the neighborhood and share the gospel with them. It was a time of learning and of course, also of a lot of fun with the mischievous boys.

The Church Planting Movement has been growing because a lot of emphasis has been placed on going to the corners of cities or rural areas where the gospel has not yet reached, to preach strategically.

The house church planting movement arose out of that need, and the wonderful thing is that it gives us specific goals or guidelines that, by following them, will not only give us numerical results, but will also transform the way we do church, starting from the inside: with the family.

Our training in the past few months has presented us with four goals that we must put into practice when initiating intentional meetings in homes:

For each stage of the house church planting process, the goal is to:

• Teach. At all times it is necessary to share a portion of the Word through Bible studies, and as the process progresses, topics or studies of discipleship (“light and solid food”) will be shared. Families should be allowed to share their understanding of the topic and give their opinions. As we teach, it is necessary to also listen.
• Practice. House churches begin with the members of a house; with the passage of time, neighbors and relatives will be added. It is necessary to attract new families to have these meetings in different houses of the community and to be able to practice each teaching in small groups.
• Share. A person can share six different aspects with their group (potentially we will share these in a future article), while motivating the attendees to be dynamic and participate.
• Apply. After many months of prayer and teaching, the participants or members of the house church will be ready to multiply and apply what they have learned.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Each of the objectives will help us to direct the ministry, to provoke a revival in the houses that we wish to reach.

It is God’s desire that each person engrave His Word in their hearts, teach it, practice it, and reach out to others.