House Church Talk - public meetings

[Dan Beaty]

Bruce,

You make a good distinction between meetings for the building up of the
church and evangelistic meetings.

Visibility could be accomplished in many ways, and could also accomplish
different things. The suggestions of meeting in public places centered
around one response to my question. Regular church meetings in parks etc
could have the side effect of reaching the lost.

OTOH, evangelistic outreach meetings can build up the community life of the
church as well.

I do agree with you that some confusion does exist here. Watchman Nee and
others distinquish between "the Church" and "the Work." But some overlapping
is unavoidable, IMO.

My desire is for house churches to become more visible to both other believers and the
lost. I am hoping HCs in free countries can become less of an underground
movement and more of what Christ has actually called us to be, a "City on a
hill that cannot be hid."

Wouldn't it be great if the day came when people in general saw church
meetings in homes as at least normal? Like in the First Century?

Dan Beaty
Columbus, Ohio USA
www.livingtruth.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bruce Woodford" <bwood4d at hotmail.com>
To: <House Church Talk  at housechurch.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2004 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: House Church Talk -  public meetings


Hi Folks,

I've been following this discussion the last few days and have a few
comments and questions:

First of all, Dan, if your questions about increasing visibility of house
churches is to get other BELIEVERS to see house churches as  viable,
profitable and scriptural places to gather for edification, I'm all for it.
If we can invite other believers into our homes for hospitality,
encouragement, fellowship etc, what opportunities we have for interactive,
participatory, one anothering ministry which many will not even think of as
"church"!!

However, if house churches seek to have public church meetings in order to
evangelize the unconverted, I really wonder if we understand the scrioptural
purposes of church meetings at all!