106. House Church Is Church

While I was away for research month, I heard the news that KSC had to cancel their Sunday service due to parking lot repair. This kind of situation can always happen to a church. But what caught my attention was what KSC did. Pastor Kwack asked all shepherds to have Sunday service in their house churches. And the beautiful thing was, every shepherd and shepherd’s wife was on board without hesitation.

I’ve visited a few mega-churches during the research month and they do Sunday service exceptionally well. Great preaching, skillful musicians, perfect lighting, well-arranged service programming and amazing facility. Many people think all mega-churches are money-hungry, power-driven but nothing can be further from the truth. There are many healthy mega-churches that are very effective in reaching out to the unchurched people and doing great things for their community and global mission.

But my question was, “Would they have a place to gather if their Sunday service were to shut down?” Most likely, they will stay home. All the churches I visited do some type of small group ministry. And these small groups are grouped based on gender, age, and common interests. In one church, there were hiking small group, hip-hop dance small group or bible study group. Nothing wrong with that. But I did wonder if they would gather in these small groups for a service if their Sunday service were to get canceled.

Then I looked at our church. All shepherds are used to hosting their members every week and follow meeting guide so that their house church fulfills all the intrinsic purposes of a local church. In other words, they are leading a “church” every single week. So when the Sunday service was canceled, they had no problem meeting in their home for a service. Even without the building to gather, these 20 something house churches were having “church” service at homes. Then I looked at the churches found in the New Testament Church. We are not perfect but I found many similarities.

House Church is not perfect. But it is undeniable that it is very close to the New Testament church. New Testament churches were house churches that were scattered in each region. I’m very grateful that we get to partner in restoring the church that God always had in mind. Whether our building is off-limits due to weather or unforeseeable circumstances, we will always have house churches scattered across GTA, gathering to invite their unchurched friend, having fellowship and praying for each other and those who are serving in mission. I think it is a beautiful picture.