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Houses, not Halls

People, not procedures

How do you see your home? As a sanctuary? A place where you can relax, unwind, and leave the cares of the world behind? If your answer is ‘yes’ to questions like this, you may be at least half-way to making your home a church! From the beginning of the first church, people met in homes, and as the church grew, so did the number of these little churches (Acts 2:46; Romans 16:5). Every believer’s home was a house of God. Given the rate of growth implied in Acts, we can imagine that there were a great many of these! With this remarkable growth came the rise of local leaders, sometimes referred to as elders (Greek: presbuteroi). These local shepherds or rabbis providedpastoral care, teaching, and oversight within their house gatherings. Their appointment (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) was based on spiritual maturity and character, rather than status or wealth. They were not paid for their ministry but were employed like every one else. Some leaders, such as the apostles, held pastoral roles involving a broader oversight of the emerging church. The New Testament uses the term presbuteros (elder) and episkopos (overseeror bishop) interchangeably in most contexts (cf. Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5–7), referring in each case to mature, spiritually grounded individuals who shepherd the flock of God. These roles were collegial, not singular, promoting mutual friendship, support, and accountability. Love, not law, drove this movement.

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