Dear Pastor Bakir,
Thank you for your perspective. If any would like to contact you, they would need your e-mail address. Maybe you could post that at another time or register yourself and include your e-mail.Many who participate in ministry in house churches see that the purpose and function of the church is radically different than what most of us have observed in organized congregations which meet in "church buildings". Many folks in house churches not only desire communion with Christ, but they want communion with Him so they may minister Christ to each other as He ministers to them. They do not see first century churches being registered with any government agencies as government registration simply opens the door for government control.
All believers are ordained by the Lord Jesus, Himself, to bear fruit that remains (John 15:16), all are ministers (I Peter 4:10,11) and our giving is to be in secret.(Matt.6:1-4)
As no church in scripture had any building or salaried staff to maintain, there were no first century church collections for such purposes. In fact, the collections were all personal collections! Each one laid by himself as God had prospered him (I Cor.16:1,2) so that whenever any one became aware of a need (poor saints, famine victims etc) they had a "store" of resources "laid by" for that very purpose!
Those who have come to enjoy ministry in house church gatherings usually prefer to remain in that kind of setting because the larger a group becomes, the less intimacy and participatory ministry there usually is! When a group gets too large to meet in a home, it is a good thing to begin praying to know the mind of the Lord regarding who should leave to plant another house church!
As far as weddings go, the scriptural record is absolutely silent on the subject of "church weddings", or "clergy officiated" weddings. Rather, it would seem, marriages are family matters not church matters.
While many house church folks have a different perspective on worship and service than many of our brothers and sisters in institutional or organized church congregations, we clearly recognize that we are brothers and sisters in Christ with every truly born again child of God! So regardless of how we function, we are members together in the Body of Christ and need to minister to each other and be willing to be ministered to!
I hope you will visit us often.
Yours in Christ,
Bruce Woodford
Norwich, Ontario, Canada
Email this page to someone.
