Is there a difference?

A few times over the years, whenever I talked about our house church with a few Christians, some would say things like, “Oh ok, you have a small group in your home. I have one too.” I kinda felt like they were saying, “Ahh, that’s cute.” They kinda think that house churches are just glorified small groups. However, I believe there are many differences of a small group at a traditional church vs a house church. Of course, this is depending on how individual house churches and small groups are organized and run. Here are five ways that small groups are different than house churches.

Small groups are optional.

House church gatherings are the only option available.

I remember when I was a pastor at a few traditional churches. I would go on stage on Sundays many times throughout the year to get people into small groups, because everyone knows that’s where real growth happens. It’s not just sitting in pews every Sunday. We made sign ups easy. We had multiple groups at different times to fit every kind of schedule. We had testimony times of what God is doing in small groups. We would then get a bump in participation. However, statistically speaking, the majority of the congregation never attended a small group. No matter what we did, the congregation looked at intimate, smaller groups that are aimed for spiritual growth as optional.

But in a house church, there are no options. You are thrust into an intimate group of people aimed for spiritual growth as the only option available. In a traditional churches with small groups, they averaged maybe a 35-40% participation rate. And this is being generous. In house churches, it’s literally 100% participation.

Small groups are a sub-ministry of a larger community.

House churches are the community.

Now this isn’t necessarily an advantage to house churches, but it is a distinguishing factor. Small Groups have to follow the programatic approach to the larger ministry rather than be autonomous. House Churches operate very organically instead of organizationally, so the structure of it is different. Many times, the small group leader is micro-managed to fit a certain mold. Here’s a tangible illustration. I believe that communion should be participated in through smaller groups around a meal. But many traditional churches only participate in communion on the large Sunday gatherings, and some churches only do it once a month! But this is just a person preference (that has biblical grounding FYI). But this shows that small groups have to operate as a sub-ministry of the church and can’t really operate as the church.

Small groups are usually segmented.

House churches are diverse.

Not every traditional church does this, but I would say most church small groups segregate men and women and certain age groups. While there are some advantages to this, I don’t think it’s a great long-term solution. This is because younger Christians need the mentorship of older ones, and older ones need the help of the next generation. Similarly, men need to see perspectives from women, and women need to hear from men. This helps us grow as a multigenerational and egalitarian community.

House Churches operate where young people and even children are invited into the communal discussion. Men get to hear perspectives from women rather than just being in our own masculine echo-chamber. Most small groups operate in these internal echo-chambers, which isn’t a great long term discipleship plan.

Small groups are topical.

House churches are holistic.

Again, not every small group does this, but around 80% of the groups that I’ve ever encountered are topical or go through curriculum. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Curriculums are great! But if all we every do is topic after topic, or curriculum after curriculum, and we don’t have the option to be flexible, go through Bible reading plans, or have open times to practice spiritual disciplines, then it just turns into an institutional school.

Instead, house churches try to operate like Jesus Dojos, where instead of learning in a classroom setting we practice what we learn in the gathering and outside the gathering. Instead of focusing on curriculum, house churches focus on the holistic needs of the whole church, and go from there.

Small groups are seasonal.

House churches are continuous.

Most small groups go in seasons or semesters. Many times when the curriculum ends, they’re encouraged to go to a completely different group in the next semester with new group members and new leaders. While there might be some advantages to this, I don’t think they outweigh the cons. I believe that transformation happens over time through suffering and with a covenant group of friends. If small groups are short and over quickly, people are not invited to stay with the same group of friends to grow together. In our House Church, we continuously meet with the same group and grow together through a long period of time. The only exception is when another trained leader leaves to start their another house church. But I think that kind of growth is a good problem and can be worked out.

Short-Term VS Long-Term

Now, the things that small groups do are great! I’ve heard so many great testimonies of how small groups have changed peoples lives. Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! These small groups might look like some house churches, but for the most part these difference are actually what make house churches really stand out.

In my opinion, the biggest common denominator with these distinctions is that small groups focus more on short-term discipleship, house churches really focus on long-term discipleship. Again, some will disagree, and that’s fine. This is just my perspective after leading a house church for a few years and leading small group ministries for many years in a traditional church.

So hopefully this video helped you understand the difference between small groups and house churches. No matter which one you’re a part of, the goal is to grow as an apprentice of Jesus and live in community in your local church. I hope this blog helps you love the church and love Jesus more and more. God bless y’all.