• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In
MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission MattersNew
          • Missio Nexus
          • People First HR
          • Members Only Feed
        • Blogs
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mission Advisors
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Alliance for Benefits
    • Bible CertificateNew
    • Church Missions Coaching
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • ImproveNew
    • Mission Jobs
    • Publish
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission App
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Premier Events
          • Mission Leaders Conference
          • On Mission
        • Upcoming Events

          • Essentials for Fundraising and Development for Missions Agencies
            Thu Apr 22 2021, 01:00pm EDT
          • Webinar: The Blessed Alliance—Men and Women Serving God Together
            Thu Apr 22 2021, 02:00pm EDT
          • Innovation Labs - Session 4
            Tue Apr 27 2021, 10:00am EDT
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missiographics
          • Mission Handbook
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Submit Data for Mission Handbook
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Essentials for Fundraising and Development for Missions Agencies
    Thu Apr 22 2021, 01:00pm EDT
  • Webinar: The Blessed Alliance—Men and Women Serving God Together
    Thu Apr 22 2021, 02:00pm EDT
  • Innovation Labs - Session 4
    Tue Apr 27 2021, 10:00am EDT
  • Renew: CEO & Spouse Retreat
    Tue May 4 2021, 03:00pm EDT
  • Church Mission Leaders Peer 2 Peer: Diaspora Ministry and the Local Church
    Wed May 12 2021, 01:00pm EDT

View all events »

Topics

author interview Canada CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting Conference Proceedings COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Discipleship Evangelism Focus Future Globally Engaged Churches Innovation Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 MLC2021 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Personal Productivity Podcast Presenter Research Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached Weekly Roundup Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

House Church and Mission: the Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity

Posted on October 1, 2005 by October 1, 2005

by Roger Gehring

Roger Gehring comes to the rescue of those in search of more than popular accounts of the rise of house churches.

Hendrickson Publishers, P.O. Box 3473, Peabody, MA, 01961, 2004, 408 pages, $30.00.

—Reviewed by Mike Barnett, professor of church planting and global Christianity, Columbia International University, Columbia, South Carolina and John Brady, regional leader of Northern Africa and the Middle East International Mission Board (IMB).

We are in the midst of a renaissance of house churches around the world. We cannot deny it, but how can we explain it?

Roger Gehring comes to the rescue of those in search of more than popular accounts of the rise of house churches. At last we have a readable, scholarly, in-depth analysis of the biblical reality and early history of house churches and their role in mission. Gehring’s gold mine of scholarly research identifies the house as a key component for the birth and expansion of the Christian faith. His thesis provides a “rock solid foundation” (311) for those who hold to the viability and vitality of house churches and small groups today.

The most avid house church advocate will be amazed at the biblical evidence for house church strategies. What role did houses play in the strategy of Jesus before and after the resurrection? How did Jesus’ model transfer to the first church in Jerusalem? What about Paul’s work among Gentiles? What went on within the house church? What archaeological evidence is there for the scope and scale of households of faith? These questions and more are carefully answered.

Gehring offers a fresh look at the pattern of mission used by Jesus himself. He systematically unpacks the context and text to reveal the link between the message and work of Christ and the oikos (house or home). He does not shy from controversial aspects of first-century life. He deals with the realities of slavery, the role of women and the absolute power of the householder over family. He relates these issues to both the gospel and the broader ecclesia (church). Positive and negative aspects of oikos culture are identified and changes prescribed in the household codes of Paul’s letters are highlighted.

Though house churches are seen as the “incubator and nucleus of the mission church,” Gehring proposes a balanced tension between house churches, the local church (whole church in one location) and the mission as essential for the health of the church universal (300).

House Church and Mission deserves a wide reading by the missions community. It joins solid, detailed, biblical research with questions of practical mission work. Though the study assumes the reader has some knowledge of Greek, the lay leader will benefit as well. Biblical scholars will likely cherish this volume as an important resource for years to come.

—–

Copyright © 2005 Evangelism and Missions Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from EMIS.

�

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsBook ReviewsEMQSectionVolume 41 - Issue 4

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Home
  • Directories
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Join

  • Join
  • Benefits
  • Learn
  • Meet
  • Engage

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

About Us

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources
Missio Nexus Logo

© Missio Nexus. All rights reserved.


PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

Annual Sponsors

ECFA Logo Brotherhood Mutual Logo

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks