If you are blessed to own or rent a house, a place that you call home, guess what you have a church! I write this article for those of you that spend your Sunday mornings or whenever you teach little ones in another room and not in Big Church. It is so important that you are still fed, and that the Word is still penetrating your life.

You too need community, you may have little ones running around you on a Sunday morning, however you too need adult time, lively discussion and learning. More than most it is so important that you find yourself a really good home group.

Over some 20 years my husband and I have run a home group, which means that we have opened up our home on a weekly basis to meet with other Christians, to learn more and to pray together. In our time we have been to other home groups, some we have enjoyed, some we have learnt very little and some were so sociable I’m not sure Jesus was invited into the room. Also over the years we have been to many churches that like to call home groups different name, varying from “Life Groups” to “Connect Groups”, the list could go on, but here’s the thing, if it happens in your home, then to us it is a “home group”.

Opening up you home is an absolute privilege, a privilege that others would leave there homes and come and be with you and worship and learn together. I would encourage you to either attend a good home group or start one up, you are a leader in the Children’s Ministry, don’t think you ever wouldn’t have the capability to lead a home group. If you are wondering what a good home group looks like, here are the qualities to look for or to work towards creating.

1. Firstly it’s all about Jesus !

   It really isn’t about being sociable with each other, that comes with it and you will find the best of friends that you do life with through a good home group. However if it is all about the food and the wine and the pizza and the cake - it is no longer about Jesus. He really has to be the reason for meeting. I have heard people that run groups say, “we haven’t met for a few weeks so let’s just meet up and have a meal”. This is no longer about Jesus is it, it’s about a social gathering with food, which is great, but don’t let it encroach and steal from your time with Him.

2. Size matters !

   If you find yourself in a group of more than 10-12, honestly it’s not going to be a great group, there won’t be space for your learning or your voice. Groups of 15-20 people morph into social church, rather than intimate home groups. Also, you need this to be a confidential and private space, if the group is to big, people won’t feel they can share private information.

3. Structure is key

   What you want from the leaders/hosts of your home group is structure. You want someone that is willing to lead, and lead well, if the chat and social part at the beginning is going way to long, you are going miss out on either prayer, discussion or learning. When I need people to move on from their cup of tea and piece of cake at the beginning I start putting the volume up to a great song called “Be still, for the presence of the Lord”. Look it up and listen to it, the words are amazing for reminding people that Jesus is with us in this place and it is time to sit down and focus on Him.

4. Looking forward to the same people

   When you are new to a group, it’s not easy, but believe me if you have been welcomed into a group, and your enjoy it, grab it with both hands. That group should be the same people that you see each week or fortnight, that you can build a level of trust with. If the group you attend, sees different “visitors” coming and going each week and different, new faces all the time that group is never going to have the trust circle that it will need.

So, what should you expect, or deliver to that group to make is a successful home group?

1.A good routine

Meeting expectations is important, your group should follow simple rules to make it a success

• A start time followed by sociable tea, coffee and cake (30 mins)

• Coming together around a table or in a lounge area with an open prayer.

• An open discussion where people in the group briefly share where God has been working in their lives, a time to reveal revelation and miracles that may have happened to you to encourage the group.

• A time of bringing your prayer requests to the group a time of open prayer, we close prayer time with beautiful worship music so people can be still and know He is God.

• Next a time of learning, in our home group we have covered an amazing amount of learning subjects, with fantastic teaching videos, open discussion and real “meat” rather than a milk version of what you may hear on a Sunday morning. It is so important for you and others to feel they have learnt something within the group to grow your faith.

• We often stop the learning video and discuss what is going on, especially if people don’t understand a point, everyone will learn from everyone that way. We have a policy that anyone can ask to stop what we are watching at any time.

• A finish time, a good home group lasts 2 and half hours, if you are still going at 11pm your group won’t last long.

You will find that from good home groups, you will start to do your life walking with great friends whom you trust and treasure. If you want to start a home group, or go to one and don’t know how, use the contact email on this site and ask any questions. If you run a home group and would like some ideas for great content that have your home group asking for more, then once again use the contact email we would be so happy to help you.

Meeting in homes to learn is exactly how Jesus started his church, in an ever changing world where we have people falling out with church (people), but not with God and left adrift the home church is there for them. See the reading section “Church Hurts” for help with this.

If we have a home, we have a church, I believe nothing pleases Jesus more that a small group of people gathering where they live to worship Him, to pray to Him and learn more about Him. Find a group, start a group and ask the Almighty to Bless it and then watch the fruit in those peoples lives.