House church

A house church in Shunyi, Beijing.

In the People's Republic of China (PRC), house churches or family churches (Chinese: 家庭教会; pinyin: jiātíng jiàohuì) are Protestant assemblies that operate independently from the state-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and China Christian Council (CCC), and came into existence due to the change in religious policy after the end of the Cultural Revolution in the early 1980s. The TSPM was set up after the Communist Party established the PRC in 1949, for Protestants to declare their patriotism and support of the new government. However, by the time of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), all public religious practice came to an end; the government of the People's Republic of China officially espouses state atheism, and has conducted antireligious campaigns to this end.[16][17][18][19] Many churches, temples and mosques were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, which also criminalized the possession of religious texts.[19] Due to the changes in religious policy after the end of the Cultural Revolution, in 1980, the TSPM was reinstated and the China Christian Council was formed. Protestant congregations that wished to worship publicly registered with the TSPM, but those that did not were eventually termed house churches.[20]

Recent developments in the house church movement in North America and the United Kingdom are often seen as a return to a New Testament church restorationist paradigm, a restoration of God's eternal purpose, and the natural expression of Christ on Earth, urging Christians to reject hierarchy and rank, and return to practices described and encouraged in Scripture. According to some proponents, many churchgoers are turning to house churches because traditional churches fail to meet their relational needs and are not representative of the structure exhibited throughout the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles of the New Testament.[21]

Some who support the house church movement (associated with Jon Zens, Milt Rodriguez, Wolfgang Simson, Frank Viola and others) consider the term "house church" to be a misnomer, asserting that the main issue for Christians who gather together is not the location of the meeting, but whether or not Jesus Christ is the functional head of the gathering and face-to-face community is occurring.[22] Other names which may be used to describe this movement are simple church, "relational church," "primitive church," "body life," "organic church" or "biblical church."[23]

House churches can adopt an organic church philosophy, which is not necessarily a particular method, technique or movement, but rather a particular church expression that the group takes on when the organization is functioning according to the pattern of a living organism. The church represented in the New Testament is based on this principle, and both traditional & contemporary versions of "Westernized" Christianity has reversed this order.[24]

The origins of the modern house church movement in North America and the UK are varied. Some have viewed it as a development and logical extension of the Plymouth Brethren movement, both in doctrine and practice. Many individuals and assemblies have adopted new approaches to worship and governance, while others recognize a relationship to the Anabaptists, the Free Christians, the Quakers, the Amish, the Hutterites, the Mennonites, the Moravians, the Methodists, the much earlier conventicles movement, the Waldenses or the Priscillianists. Another perspective sees the house church movement as a re-emergence of the move of the Holy Spirit during the Jesus Movement of the 1970s in the USA or the worldwide Charismatic Renewal of the late 1960s and 1970s. Others believe that the House Church movement was pioneered by the Reverend Ernest Southcott in the 1950s, when he was Vicar of St Wilfred's Church in Halton, Leeds, in England. Southcott believed that if people would not come to church, the church must go to the people, and his book The Parish Comes Alive spread this idea widely among Anglicans.[25]

Limited financial resources can encourage church leaders to rethink the pattern of ministry and look for ways to forward the outreach of the church with unpaid members.[26]

The simple church movement is part of the broader house church movement. Simple church has also been influenced by overseas missions and the growth of church planting movements.[33] Church planting movements are spontaneously growing church multiplication efforts.

The missional Movement[34] has also influenced simple church.[35]

As in any decentralized, spontaneous movement, a variety of values are expressed in simple church. Due to the influence of some key groups and Acts 2:42-47, three overarching values have emerged in many circles. Adherents Paul Kaak (who began ministry in one of the largest and most systematized mega-churches in America) and Neil Cole originally articulated these values using the letters DNA. According to him:

• D – Divine Truth: Truth is the foundation for everything.[36]
• N – Nurturing Relationships : Healthy relationships are what make up a family. Love for one another is to be a constant pursuit of the family of God.
• A – Apostolic Mission : Apostolic means, simply, "sent".[37]

These values have since been promoted by House2House Ministries[38] and DAWN North America, and have been adopted by various groups such as New York's MetroSoul[39]

Adherents of George Barna and Frank Viola's book Pagan Christianity point out a number of reforms that organic churches often advocate.

• The belief that modern clergy is a vestige of Roman pagan religion that was absent from the early church and is largely at odds with the true priesthood of all believers. The movement sees the institution of the clergy at odds with passages like Matthew 20, Matthew 23, 3rd John, and the message in Revelation regarding the deeds of the Nicolaitans (Greek-literally those who triumph over the people). 1 Corinthians 12-14 paints a picture of an every-member functioning church meeting entirely at odds with the modern religious service which is performed by professionals for an audience. However, some believe this view does not take into account the Jewish and synagogue based nature of the ekklesia, which explains the talk of elders and deacons found in the New Testament. In reply, many simple churches do recognize elders and deacons according to the biblical standards laid out in Timothy and Titus but believe these people emerge over time as their character becomes descriptive of these roles. In an environment where people are free to express their gifts, such people can emerge. Also, being an elder or deacon does not mean this person dominates the meeting. 3 John rebukes Diotrephes the elder who had to be first and was dominating. The simple church largely believes the idea that an elder or deacon is not a license for some to minister and others to be passive.
• Valuing the Lord's Supper occurring as a regular, recurring full meal celebration rather than a short religious ritual. The early integration of the home based ritual into the public synagogue-like meeting functioned to reduce the symbolic nature of the act to a private moment, replacing its symbolism of fellowship and dedication to the Lord. This was complete by the time of Constantine, when home based agape feasts were banned. However, this history does not in itself devalue the need for the larger synagogue-like meeting for prayer, ministry of the word and singing. Simple church adherents also enjoy occasional and even monthly larger gatherings that do this very thing, though they emphasize the smaller meeting of the ekklesia as the environment for spiritual growth.
• Organic churches tend to place less emphasis on the building or meeting place. To this end, Neil Cole, an adherent of simple church, states that "buildings, budgets, and big shots," tend to do more to contain Christianity than allow it to spread.[40] However, this statement against larger sized churches does nothing to substantiate its claim.

In the early twenty–first century the growth of the movement had increased news media coverage during the early 2000's. However, the house church movement saw a resurgence following the Covid-19 epidemic, after Christian believers were forced to meet in more intimate, home-like settings, and after the traditional Westernized church model seemed to fail to meet members' needs during and after the epidemic:[41][42][43]

Many books have been written on the simple church movement, especially by insiders (see House Church, Further Reading). In the early twenty-first century, books began to appear by those studying the movement from a more objective view, including George Barna's Revolution.[44] Barna says that "revolutionary" expressions such as simple church will soon account for one third of American spirituality.[45]

Visibility of the movement also increased due to national and regional gatherings of various kinds. Among which include the Church Without Walls International in Broken Arrow, OK, USA, and various other locations throughout the US.

How the simple church movement relates to constructing a theology and ecclesiology is the subject of much debate, especially with critics of the movement.

Several prominent voices have serious concerns about simple church. For example, J. Lee Grady (Charisma Online Editor) says such a movement wants to "reinvent the church without its biblical structure and New Testament order – and without the necessary people who are anointed and appointed by God to lead it. To follow this defective thesis to its logical conclusion would require us to fire all pastors, close all seminaries and Bible colleges, padlock our sanctuaries and send everybody home..."[46] Grady and other critics worry that the simple church movement could encourage people to leave more traditional forms of church, which could lead to further collapse or decline of Christendom.

• Atkerson, Steve (2005). House Church: Simple, Strategic, Scriptural. NTRF. ISBN 0-9729082-1-8.
• Banks, Robert. Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Historical Setting (1994). Peabody: Hendricksen, ISBN 978-0853642510.
• Banks, Robert and Julia, The Home Church: Regrouping the People of God for Community and Mission (1998). Peabody: Hendricksen ISBN 978-1565631793.
• DeVries, David (2010). Six-Word Lessons to Discover Missional Living: 100 Six-Word Lessons to Align Every Believer with the Mission of Jesus. Bellevue: Leading on the Edge International. ISBN 978-1-933750-26-2.
• Fenn, John (2010). Return of the First Church. Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 978-1608442201.
• MacHaffie, Barbara J. (2006). Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition (2nd ed.). Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress. ISBN 0-8006-3826-3.
• Osiek, C.; Margaret Y. MacDonald (2006). A Woman's Place: House Churches in Earliest Christianity. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress. ISBN 0-8006-3777-1.
• Simson, Wolfgang (2001). Houses that Change the World: The Return of the House Churches. Authentic. ISBN 1-85078-356-X.
• Viola, Frank, and George Barna (2008). Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. Carol Stream: BarnaBooks. ISBN 978-1-4143-1485-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) A scholarly work based on the Bible and church history that reveals the origins of contemporary church practices such as the modern pastoral role, pulpits, church buildings, dressing up for church, tithing, seminaries, etc. Reveals that many of these practices are rooted in a mixture of the New Testament with Old Testament and Roman pagan practices.
• Viola, Frank (2008). Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook. ISBN 978-1-4347-6875-9. A constructive follow up to Pagan Christianity; explains the purpose of Christian fellowship, spontaneous church meetings (1 Cor. 14:26), and the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet. 2:9). Extensive bibliography of organic church literature.
• Viola, Frank (2009). Finding Organic Church: A Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Sustaining Authentic Christian Communities. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook. ISBN 978-1434768667. A practical follow up to Reimagining Church; explains the biblical models for planting and nurturing organic church communities along with how to navigate them through the common problems they will inevitably face.
• Zdero, Rad (2004). The Global House Church Movement. Pasadena: William Carey Library Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87808-374-9.
• Zdero, Rad (2007). NEXUS: The World House Church Movement Reader. Pasadena: William Carey Library Publishers. ISBN 978-0-87808-342-8.
• Bio, Ed Stetzer (25 May 2017). "Some Quick Thoughts on House Churches: The Good, the Bad, and Why You Should Be Open to Them". Christianity Today. The Exchange.