SUMMARY OF QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

December 8, 1998 W/38 Respondents

From Adults and Children in the HC

1.  What is your understanding of what a “house church” is?

“It is a body of Christians meeting in a house.”

“It is not where we worship but how.  It must be spiritual and real.”

“Where two or three are gathered together, He will be right there.”

“Church is nothing more than Jesus Christ revealed in His people.”

“Church is what is according to the mind of Christ.”

“A body of Christians who have committed themselves to meeting in homes for worship, service and fellowship.”

“A body of believers who are joined together simply by their love and devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“As exemplified in the New Testament of believers meeting for worship and fellowship.”

“A group of believers who meet in a house setting with emphasis upon ministering spiritual gifts.”

“A group of people meeting in a home for the sole  purpose of loving, lifting up and edifying each other in the Lord and edifying the Lord.”

“Meeting with others who have totally surrendered to Jesus and hear His voice and obey Him.”

“A group of believers who gather together in homes for the purpose of seeking God and His Holy Spirit, the teacher, and for the edification of each other.”

“Follows the New Testament church example and throws off formality, liturgy and programs.  It encourages all persons to actively participate as the Spirit leads them.”

“A gathering of believers who come together in homes to worship the Lord in a more relaxed atmosphere.”

“A body of believers that are called to come out of denominationalism to form a more personal and smaller setting for believers to bear burdens and hold each other accountable to the Truth of Christ.”

“A group of believers meeting together in homes to primarily worship God, equip or prepare believers for the work of the ministry, teaching and to evangelize the world.”

“A meeting of Christians from house to house as modeled by the New Testament believers.”

“A group of people getting together in the Name of Jesus for the simple reason that it is not the building that God is in, but is where two or more people are gathered.”

“A gathering of believers in homes.”

“A fellowship of believers meeting from house to house as in the New Testament.  They are usually united around the common belief that the institutional church has lost touch with the people and dedicated more to buildings than the gospel.”

2.  When did you begin your involvement in the “house church”?

“1979…late 70’s… 1980… 1981… 1982… 1985… since 3 years old…

young boy…when I was a young boy…teen age girl”

3.  Why did you choose to become a part of the “house church”?

“Felt that the modern church had lost sight of its mission.”

“God added us to the church.”

“Closer, more meaningful and intimate fellowship through which the unfeigned love ofChrist could be shared with His Body.”

“To have the opportunity for the “pastor/shepherd” to equip the saints for ministry, thereby allowing the “priesthood of believer” to become a reality.

“To experience teaching that had more than milk…in-depth teaching that allowed those in the “nursery” to grow up and become able ministers.”

“To be a part of a church whose income was not largely consumed by such worldly practices of building fund interest payments, parking lot paving, repairs, a/c repairs, etc.”

“It was God’s choice, not mine.”

“We had specific instruction from the Lord to do so.”

“Scriptures of the New Testament on house to house meetings totally lined up with the Word and the Word and the Holy Spirit’s leadership.”

“My husband was led of the Lord to be a part of the house church and I knew that hisspiritual covering would prosper, protect and guide our family.”

“There is more fellowship and ministry between people; you are encouraged to interact; it is also family oriented and families don’t split up.” 

“The father’s take spiritual leadership role and the children get to see their fathers and mothers worship.”

“Because it is a family-like atmosphere, less formal surroundings with trusted friends.”

“Because there is a closeness with everyone.  It is a family of brothers and sisters in Christ.”

“Because I felt the unmistakable leading of God to do so, so as to give myself and my family the best possible church to grow in the Lord.”

“It was not a choice since my father began and led the concept.”

“Daddy was the leader and that settled that.”

“Dissatisfaction with the “main stream” type churches.”

“I left the institutional ministry after being disillusioned with the liberal trends and I was tired of “playing church”!

4.  What are the positive things that you experienced in the “house church”?

“A very sweet fellowship…worship was Spirit led.”

“Learned to truly feed on the Word and let it penetrate my life.”

“Learned my responsibility for teaching and raising my children according to the Word.”

“Unity, love, acceptance, and openness were wonderful.”

“Being set free from sins by confession which resulted in greater love, prayers, sincere caring, support and encouragement from the body of believers.”

“Fellowship was wonderful.”

“Simplicity was wonderful.”

“The leaders and other members provided spiritual guidance and protection.”

“The church was an offering of praise and worship to the Lord.”

“Learned to release my home and personal belongings to the Lord.”

“All ages, including the children, were a vital part of the worship.”

“There was a freedom to offer songs, Scriptures, insights into the Word and to share burdens.”

“Children were able to see a church in motion and not stuck off in some separate program.”

“Children were able to witness firsthand their parents rejoicing, hurting, praying and forgiving thus demonstrating that there is no better way to learn than to watch their parents.”

“All money collected went for good causes such as teaching ministers, needy, and it was distributed by the elders.  Nothing was spent on upkeep, buildings, literature, or utilities.”

“Closer fellowship with God and the church…more personal accountability…our children learned at an earlier age than most the basic life principles from the Word of God.”

“The body ministering one to another…the emphasis was upon anointed Biblical teaching instead of organization & program requirement.”

“The most satisfying and complete walk in the Lord that I have ever experienced, since or before.”

“I have not had such peace or settling in my spirit anywhere else other than the house church.”

“You got to really know people better…there was more fellowship and ministry between the people…interaction made the church what it was intended to be…it was family oriented…the fathers took the leadership role and the children got to see parents really participate in worship.”

“Family like atmosphere…less formal surroundings…trusted friends.”

“Closeness with everyone…it was a real family of brothers and sisters in Christ.”

“Learning of true Biblical principles instead of traditions…experiencing true worship of God…developing a close brotherly relationship with other believers…being a participant and not just a spectator.”

“There was more one on one atmosphere to learn and worship…more intimate.”

“There was closeness…closer knit group…the fellowship meal made everyone feel like one big family.”

“Fellowship and meals together.”

“Laying aside of traditionalism and denominationalism that was stifling our spiritual growth…a return to Biblical family structure and order that brought peace to all members of my family…strong Biblical teaching.” 

“Daily fellowship from home to home that replaced “going to church’…proper church discipline…strong family accountability.” 

“Miracles God worked among us that gave evidence of His blessing…going to other church fellowships and sharing what God was doing and seeing their great excitement…going to South Africa.”

5.  What are the negative things that you experienced in the “house church”?

“Some believers had not experienced the filling of the Spirit and thus kept getting ahead of the Holy Spirit and couldn’t be quiet and still and let the Lord lead… that caused a death of a vision.”

“All leaders did not share a common vision of what we were about…some were there for the wrong reasons…pride had a tendency to bring about division in leadership and the church became divided against itself.”

“Too many people trying to bring about outward conformity rather than bringing the light from the Word and then leaving it with the Lord…harshness in discipline…the balance of mercy and truth was skewed.” 

“There was a danger of a young man without children, what he thinks he knows may be an entirely different matter when he experiences it himself.”

“The tendency for some in leadership to control others instead of leading by example and Biblical teaching, and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the changing in people…gifts of the Spirit were not always used for fear of not being under proper authority.”

“Not all the members and leaders were totally committed to the house church…some seemed to led by feelings, some needed to prove something, and some need to weld power over others.”

“The enemy crept in and used the prophet/elder through a spirit of control, manipulation, pride and legalism which caused the awesome work of God to be plowed under, but praise God, the roots are still alive…he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing…Satan used him to effectively bruise, wound, crush and eventually scatter the sheep…anyone who disagreed with him was labeled rebellious, yet there was no joy, peace, love, kindness or compassion…there was never a  spontaneously spoken prophecy given under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.” 

“One who walks in authority must be dead to self and one in whom the Holy Spirit completely controls…purity of the motives of the leadership must always line up with the Word.””

“A person who was set in authority used his position to control other people and the direction for the entire group…he wanted everything done his way.”

“Personal conflicts affected the entire body…some conflicts need to be brought to light but always done out of love…the church tended to focus more on “conflicts” than focusing on Christ.”

“By in large, some were hearers of the Word and not doers of the

Word…a lot of people could not, or would not, get past their personal problems so that they could commit or dedicate their lives to God in service.”

“There was a tendency of some toward a “shepherding movement” where things were lorded over you…there were certain abuses of “power”…the authority that God gives the leadership should be used to lead and guide the church, not to control all aspects of a persons life…a lot of this was done by one leader.”

“Too much, MR. LAW!”

“Run-away, unchecked prophet and the leadership not understanding how to bring that under control.”

6.  In reflecting back over your “house church” experiences, what lessons did you learn that would help others in the future who might desire to be apart of a “house church”?

“Be sure there are a multitude of counselors, in which there is safety for where there is no counsel or wrong counsel, the people fall.”

“Expect to participate not be a spectator…be willing to live in a glass house…expect growing pains…throw away all your masks…be willing to submit to leadership with great joy…be sure your spouse is in agreement with the “house church” concept and that you are ready to assume your share of the load…no freeloaders in the “house church”.

“All leaders must have a shepherd’s heart…do not try to ‘drive’ the flock…every believershould be encouraged to weigh everything against the Word…nobody but the Lord can ever be blindly trusted…guidance, counsel, authority, dictatorship and submission can easily be entangled resulting in blindness and confusion.”

“Don’t expect perfection; just learn to trust the Lord and deal with imperfection and loveanyway…be aware that people will come who are irritants that you wish would go away but don’t you imagine that the disciples often wished that Peter would just go away too?”

“Don’t isolate yourselves from other local Christians…don’t think more highly of your way of meeting than theirs…just be obedient to your light and trust God with the others.”

“Be willing to be sensitive to the fact that people are at different levels and come from diversified backgrounds and beliefs."

“Always remember that being a part of a house church does not negate one’s direct relationship with the Lord. All words given by man must be compared to God’s Word and that the Lord can, will or not confirm any word given.”

“Always remember that the house church is for serious Christians…there is no playing church…you need to get right with the Lord before gathering with believers because you cannot pretend…be prepared for the power to experience real life changes.”“Learn to wait on the Holy Spirit…He has to be allowed to lead and teach…for some leaders this is scary for them because they not longer have control and can never know what will happen next…if everyone is truly in submission to the Holy Spirit there can not be disputes.”

“Must have feeling of cooperation and acceptance of everyone.”

“Seek the counsel of God before everything.  Let all actions, words, and deeds be done out of love and truth.”

“Be true, honest, transparent, committed, teachable, available and be aware of Satan’s constant interference in your life.”

“Be more cautious.”

“One of the elder/prophets assumed that he had to have all the power…the house church would still be in existence today if it had not been for that elder/prophet.”

“God was long suffering with us…how did we get by with some things?…It was only because God understood our hearts and our seeking to step out by faith and walk in a way that hadn’t been seen in the history of this nation.” 

“Learn to need each other…no one person has all the pieces to the puzzle…it is good to see how God puts the body together and how the gifts of the Spirit blossom among us."

7.  Would you consider being a part of a “house church” again?  If so why?  If not, why?

“We still worship in our home and take communion each Lord’s day for where two or more are gathered, Jesus is there.”

“Yes, I still believe the house church to be the first form of the New Testament church.”

“Yes, I will become a part of a hose church again, but only in the Lord’s timing…I know in my heart, without doubt, that it will come again, but I just not sure when…when the time is right, I’m in…I long for it.”

“Yes, in a heart beat…we have never been at peace anywhere since.”

“Yes, because it’s Scriptural and it’s the best way to edify one another.”

“Yes, I long to experience God as I did at that time.”

“Yes, my heart longs for the house church…I have not had the peace or settling in my spirit anywhere that I enjoyed during that time…I have not felt the love and guidance of a true pastor since then either…your purity of heart and genuine love allowed a real glimpse of our Heavenly Father…your Biblical teaching laid a solid foundation that the Lord has continued to build upon.”

“Yes, we want to be a part of a home church fellowship…since I have experienced house church, everything else seems so shallow, unsatisfying and empty.”

“Yes, I love the fact that one can come to worship and not have to worry about what to wear or what one looks like but is always accepted.”

“Yes, if the group is dedicated to growing as a family and growing individually in Christ…the house church is a great chance to not only come together and worship but to also fellowship with one another…I really enjoyed that aspect of it.”

“Yes, but I would have to pray and seek the Lord for a more specific direction.”

“Yes, for I know that the concept as a whole is Scripture based and that you can’t pour new

wine into old wine skins.

“Yes, I feel like most others churches today are too commercialized and have too many hypocrites who don’t live out their Christian lives on a seven day a week basis.”

“Yes, because of the closeness my whole family felt to the Lord during our seven years with the house church…we grew more in the Lord during that time than all our Christian lives put together.” 

“I believe that the principles we all learned, even though we are all scattered now, will be used in the future during the hard times of judgment that I believe God will be bringing on this country.”