Next Week: House Churches!
Early this week, the state government allowed for churches to begin gathering once again, with certain guidelines limiting the total gathered to 100, or 25% of capacity, whichever is less. Families may meet as individual units, spaced 6 feet apart, and congregational singing indoors is strongly discouraged. While the news of reopening is encouraging, we are still along way from what anyone would consider “normal.”
As churches begin the slow process of meeting with one another once again, leaders are faced with a number of opinions, hopes, desires, and questions. A graphic I came across this week paints the picture of what many pastors (myself included) are facing during this pivotal season:
I show you this, not to evoke your sympathy, only to illustrate the difficulty the church today faces. So, on Friday night, a small group of around 15 leaders from First Baptist Church met together and prayed. We asked for God’s direction, for his leading, to tell us how we should proceed, not just for the good of the members of our community, but for the mission of God itself.
We prayed. And we prayed. And we prayed some more. We asked that this would be God’s church, God’s mission, God’s work in the world. We asked for God to put us back together whatever, however, and however long it takes. We sought the Scriptures, we shared our reactions, and then we prayed. Again. And in the end, as a team, we believe God showed us the next step.
AN OLD IDEA MADE NEW AGAIN: HOUSE CHURCHES!
Beginning next Sunday, June 7th, we are going to transition to house church gatherings for at least the next four weeks. During that time, we will continue to pray and evaluate when it will be best to proceed with reentering the building. This next season will serve two purposes:
First, it will allow us to prepare the building for reentry. During the recent rains, several rooms suffered flood damage, including the kitchen area, Fellowship Center, and two of our kids rooms. In addition to replacing flooring, we will need to check for mold damage and other damage in order to ensure the safety of our community.
Second, it will reintroduce family and forge a new way of community life. This is a time to make intentional connections with one another, to develop deep bonds of support and spiritual friendship. We believe the best—and SAFEST—way to do that is by connecting in small, well-distanced groups that respect the health and well-being of every individual, while recapturing the beauty of participation in the community of Christ together.
There are still some details to finalize. We will be finalizing the list of house church leaders together in the next couple of days, and will prayerfully assign as many people as possible. We don’t want to leave anyone out, so let us know if you don’t here from us in the next week! Each house church will schedule Sunday mornings individually. We will continue to post online video sermons, worship, and kids materials for families. So, if you can’t make a group or aren’t ready or comfortable yet—and we completely respect and honor that, by the way!—you can still continue to worship along with us, and your house church will still be there for you, praying for you, serving you, and encouraging you along.
We pray that this next step is safe, respectful, permissible, AND beneficial. But more than that, we pray that the name of God will be made great among his people, and that this movement will serve as a testimony to his continued work in our lives.
It’s fitting that this Sunday marks the first day of Pentecost on the Christian Calendar. The disciples of Jesus were gathered together in Jerusalem when “a sound like that of a violent rushing wind [pneuma = spirit] came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.” The beginning of the church, the movement of God’s spirit throughout the world, it all started… in a house. As faithful followers of Jesus, as small a community as they were, they humbly met together to wait for God’s direction.
What happens next is incredible. As the Spirit dwells on them, and flames of fire rested on each one of them, they moved out into the city of Jerusalem and proclaimed the gospel in a diversity of languages and dialects. Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Egyptians, Romans, Cretans and Arabs—each heard “the magnificent acts of God in [their] own tongues.” From a small house church, God’s people were sent into society to proclaim the work of Jesus to nations. From there, as the church grew, even into the thousands, they never neglected to get together in their homes to praise God, eat food, and share real life.
You might call these humble beginnings. I say, this is exactly where God intended the life of the church to thrive. And it is for this reason that I am unbelievably excited to see where God takes us on this journey.
Jacob Parodi
Lead Pastor, First Baptist Church
