by Quan Wei
Gospel Herald Reporter
Wed, Jan, 26 2011 03:32 AM PT
Chinese churches have mushroomed in the United States over the past two decades, particularly in immigrant-rich areas such as Los Angeles, New York, and the San Francisco Bay area. Whatever the nature of these churches — denominational or non-denominational, traditional or charismatic, remote or urban — all of them were founded with the dream of creating spiritual and cultural community, while building a bridge of faith between their new and native lands.
Dr. David C. Yang
New York-based physician Dr. David C. Yang was an elder in one such church, whose Taiwanese founders had grown it from a small group meeting in a high school gymnasium into a congregation of hundreds over the case of 15 years. Yet after working hard to help the church achieve its decades-long goal of constructing its own building, Dr. Yang grew concerned that the huge effort needed to achieve this material goal was not necessarily paying off in better fellowship or more efficient proclamation of the Gospel.
Seeking answers for the feelings of frustration that he was experiencing, Dr. Yang came across a book by Wolfgang Simson, Houses That Change the World: The Return of the Home Churches. Upon reading it, he became deeply impressed by its message of return to simplicity and focus on small, close-knit groups of brethren. He shared the book with his pastor and fellow church ministers, hoping to inspire them to introduce the "Home Church" model as a network of self-sufficient satellites that he believed would complement the organized church.
The concept proved controversial, and few of his coworkers were won over. After a long period of prayer and meditation, Dr. Yang finally decided to start a Home Church network independent of his former congregation.
The first Staten Island Home Church meeting took place in February 2004, bringing together a handful of Christians to worship in Dr. Yang's living room. It has continued to grow and split off new groups ever since — with dozens of homes now hosting worship gatherings each week.
Hoping to inspire others to embrace the Home Church model to extend or enhance their worship of God, Dr. Yang shared with The Gospel Herald the philosophical and biblical basis of the Home Church concept. Rather than being a new movement, the Home Church is in fact a way of going "back to the future," inspiring and reviving the modern church using the principles of the early church.
Question #1: Is the Home Church a new concept?
The Home Church was a model commonly adopted by the Early Church.
Yang: As recorded in Christian history, the first church was built in the third century, with construction being completed at Alexandria 325 year after its commission by the Roman emperor Constantine. Prior to Constantine the Great, the Roman Empire had always regarded Christianity as an "illegal religion," and prohibited the church from owning any property. As a result, during the New Testament era and the period that followed, believers gathered in small groups of families (see Rom 16:5; 1 Cor16:19; Phm 1:2) until Constantine "professionalized" the church.
This means that the Home Church is the most original form of the church: The first church in the west was founded at Lydia’s home in Philippi, in Macedonia. Even today, the modern church planting movement has relied heavily on the Home Church concept; the growth of the Home Church "movement" has merely built upon these examples to create permanent networks of Home Church gatherings.
Question #2: Isn't a church a building?
A church is not a building — it is a gathering of the faithful.
Yang: Christian history has shown us that a church does not necessarily have to have a sanctuary, and a gathering that takes place in a sanctuary is not necessarily a church. In short, a church is not embodied in a physical construction. A church exists in any place where born-again Christians gather in the name of Jesus, worship God and preach the Gospel. While sacred places and formal rituals are inspirational and uplifting, they are secondary elements to the spiritual family of Christ-followers themselves. The Home Church concept seeks to return to that fundamental concept, so as to reconnect with the vital origins of Christianity and its role as a way of life.
The truth is that for all of the advantages of the traditional church, there are also drawbacks. Traditional churches offer expansive community and many ways for believers to interact with one another. Yet this can also make services feel overwhelming and impersonal. Traditional churches provide a rich array of programs. Yet these programs require time and expense and administrative focus that can take away from the core basics of worship and evangelism. Home Churches, as a stand-alone network or as a complement to traditional churches, offer a simpler way of peer-based worship that enables engagement and participation by all members, with no resource requirements beyond what the members provide themselves.
Question #3: What are the advantages of the Home Church's small size compared to traditional churches?
The Home Church encourages people to think of church as “home”
Yang: It's often noted that traditional churches are program-oriented —they are focused on bringing people to the church. This can result in highly structured worship services that present a "learning curve," and that require orientation and introduction for newcomers and nonbelievers to feel comfortable. Traditional churches do their best to welcome new people to congregations, but fitting in can still be an intimidating prospect.
In the Home Church, people quickly find themselves feeling at home because they are in a home! Home Churches are all about bringing the church to people.
The hosts of a Home Church gathering, whom we usually refer to as " 家長 - Spiritual Heads of The Family", act in the role of the mother and father of a large family, welcoming members and helping them get comfortable as soon as they enter.
The goal of the Home Church is to make worship into a part of one's lifestyle. Location, time, day of week are secondary to that notion, and as a result, we make them flexible.
For Staten Island Home Church, families take turns to host gatherings — not just in order to share the burden, but so that we can share our lifestyles with one another. There is of course no pressure to host; families are used by God to host gatherings at their homes based on their availability and resources.
Gatherings are usually held on weekdays at 7:30 pm or 8:00 pm. Members often come 15 minutes in advance to prepare themselves with prayer, then share dinner together. Dinner is not just about a meal, but about creating a time when everyone can relax and share their lives, testimonies and prayer requests, to bring everyone closer together. We try to make sure the preparation of the meal will not become a burden for the host by asking everyone to bring a dish, pot-luck style - another way that we seek to make the experience a shared one.
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Gospel Herald Reporter
Wed, Jan, 26 2011 03:32 AM PT
Dr. David C. Yang
New York-based physician Dr. David C. Yang was an elder in one such church, whose Taiwanese founders had grown it from a small group meeting in a high school gymnasium into a congregation of hundreds over the case of 15 years. Yet after working hard to help the church achieve its decades-long goal of constructing its own building, Dr. Yang grew concerned that the huge effort needed to achieve this material goal was not necessarily paying off in better fellowship or more efficient proclamation of the Gospel.
Seeking answers for the feelings of frustration that he was experiencing, Dr. Yang came across a book by Wolfgang Simson, Houses That Change the World: The Return of the Home Churches. Upon reading it, he became deeply impressed by its message of return to simplicity and focus on small, close-knit groups of brethren. He shared the book with his pastor and fellow church ministers, hoping to inspire them to introduce the "Home Church" model as a network of self-sufficient satellites that he believed would complement the organized church.
The concept proved controversial, and few of his coworkers were won over. After a long period of prayer and meditation, Dr. Yang finally decided to start a Home Church network independent of his former congregation.
The first Staten Island Home Church meeting took place in February 2004, bringing together a handful of Christians to worship in Dr. Yang's living room. It has continued to grow and split off new groups ever since — with dozens of homes now hosting worship gatherings each week.
Hoping to inspire others to embrace the Home Church model to extend or enhance their worship of God, Dr. Yang shared with The Gospel Herald the philosophical and biblical basis of the Home Church concept. Rather than being a new movement, the Home Church is in fact a way of going "back to the future," inspiring and reviving the modern church using the principles of the early church.
Question #1: Is the Home Church a new concept?
The Home Church was a model commonly adopted by the Early Church.
Yang: As recorded in Christian history, the first church was built in the third century, with construction being completed at Alexandria 325 year after its commission by the Roman emperor Constantine. Prior to Constantine the Great, the Roman Empire had always regarded Christianity as an "illegal religion," and prohibited the church from owning any property. As a result, during the New Testament era and the period that followed, believers gathered in small groups of families (see Rom 16:5; 1 Cor16:19; Phm 1:2) until Constantine "professionalized" the church.
This means that the Home Church is the most original form of the church: The first church in the west was founded at Lydia’s home in Philippi, in Macedonia. Even today, the modern church planting movement has relied heavily on the Home Church concept; the growth of the Home Church "movement" has merely built upon these examples to create permanent networks of Home Church gatherings.
Question #2: Isn't a church a building?
A church is not a building — it is a gathering of the faithful.
Yang: Christian history has shown us that a church does not necessarily have to have a sanctuary, and a gathering that takes place in a sanctuary is not necessarily a church. In short, a church is not embodied in a physical construction. A church exists in any place where born-again Christians gather in the name of Jesus, worship God and preach the Gospel. While sacred places and formal rituals are inspirational and uplifting, they are secondary elements to the spiritual family of Christ-followers themselves. The Home Church concept seeks to return to that fundamental concept, so as to reconnect with the vital origins of Christianity and its role as a way of life.
The truth is that for all of the advantages of the traditional church, there are also drawbacks. Traditional churches offer expansive community and many ways for believers to interact with one another. Yet this can also make services feel overwhelming and impersonal. Traditional churches provide a rich array of programs. Yet these programs require time and expense and administrative focus that can take away from the core basics of worship and evangelism. Home Churches, as a stand-alone network or as a complement to traditional churches, offer a simpler way of peer-based worship that enables engagement and participation by all members, with no resource requirements beyond what the members provide themselves.
Question #3: What are the advantages of the Home Church's small size compared to traditional churches?
The Home Church encourages people to think of church as “home”
Yang: It's often noted that traditional churches are program-oriented —they are focused on bringing people to the church. This can result in highly structured worship services that present a "learning curve," and that require orientation and introduction for newcomers and nonbelievers to feel comfortable. Traditional churches do their best to welcome new people to congregations, but fitting in can still be an intimidating prospect.
In the Home Church, people quickly find themselves feeling at home because they are in a home! Home Churches are all about bringing the church to people.
The hosts of a Home Church gathering, whom we usually refer to as " 家長 - Spiritual Heads of The Family", act in the role of the mother and father of a large family, welcoming members and helping them get comfortable as soon as they enter.
The goal of the Home Church is to make worship into a part of one's lifestyle. Location, time, day of week are secondary to that notion, and as a result, we make them flexible.
For Staten Island Home Church, families take turns to host gatherings — not just in order to share the burden, but so that we can share our lifestyles with one another. There is of course no pressure to host; families are used by God to host gatherings at their homes based on their availability and resources.
Gatherings are usually held on weekdays at 7:30 pm or 8:00 pm. Members often come 15 minutes in advance to prepare themselves with prayer, then share dinner together. Dinner is not just about a meal, but about creating a time when everyone can relax and share their lives, testimonies and prayer requests, to bring everyone closer together. We try to make sure the preparation of the meal will not become a burden for the host by asking everyone to bring a dish, pot-luck style - another way that we seek to make the experience a shared one.
Continue reading here
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