If you’re looking to understand the purpose, heart, and practicality of house church from people who have been doing it for years, you’ve come to the right place. The “Why House Church?” podcast was created for everyone on a house church journey–whether you’ve just been introduced to the idea or you’ve been doing this for years.
Our hope is that our episodes add perspective and testimony to the possibilities of what the Lord can do and is doing through the house church structure.
Contact us at https://www.whyhousechurch.com/contact with questions/suggestions about a current or new episode
Whether you’re looking to start your own house church or join an existing one, we share our take on what the most important elements of each look like. Individual house churches vary widely in how structured or unstructured their “onboarding” processes are, but they share a common thread of open conversations about concerns, beliefs, expectations, and commitment from the very beginning. Similarly, starting a new house church often begins with some of those same relationally focused conversations, just on a different scale (and, as Luke and Collin clarify, NOT by poaching Christians from other churches). Check out the episode for deeper conversation on what we’ve seen set up new house churches and new relationships within house churches for the most success.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
5 Mar 2025
Communion
In this brief episode, we talk about communion and what that can look like in a house church, whether that’s a full meal or simply bread and wine. More importantly, we talk about what it means to remember the sacrifice of Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our joyful reconciliation with God. We also share about the equalizing nature of the communion table when we have a shared meal as the royal priesthood. For more about that, check out our article “A Glimpse into Gatherings: Approaching Fellowship, Communion, Partnership, and Edification” on WhyHouseChurch.com (https://www.whyhousechurch.com/post/a-glimpse-into-gatherings-approaching-fellowship-communion-partnership-and-edification)
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
15 Jan 2025
House Church: Fad or Return to New Testament?
In this episode, we talk about what factors might be behind the growth of the house church scene in modern times. Why are so many Christians moving towards more intimate faith communities in the 21st century? Is it just part of a fad to “fight the system,” another season of revivalism that will fall away? Or is it an instinctive return to the biblical ways of the earliest church? (Spoiler alert: we think both of those views are unfair). Join us in unpacking the complexity of modern revivalism, declining trust in institutions, and the impact of the “Age of Information” for Christians today.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
15 Oct 2024
What Is House Church?
In this episode, we give a wide-reaching but practical answer to the questions “What is house church?” and “What do house church meetings look like?” We explain how we separate ourselves from a set liturgy and instead set each meeting’s structure by navigating different seasons and needs. In all of the variety of meeting structures, though, the focus is always on becoming better representatives and disciples of Christ who make disciples.
For an even wider view into what house church meetings might look like and include, check out the article series on our website, A Glimpse into Gatherings (https://www.whyhousechurch.com/articles). There, you’ll find a more detailed explanation of why we let go liturgy, as well as examples of how we’ve seen house churches include scriptural study and reading, fellowship, edification, worship, and prayer in their gatherings.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
13 Sept 2024
Rethinking Accountability
In this episode, we explain how accountability can actually be done more easily and effectively in a house church setting. As part of that, we look at some of the larger systematic issues with accountability in practice, doctrine, and leadership within the institutionalized church. Then, we dive into how the house church structure can help us avoid those same pitfalls and help us constantly encourage and challenge one another to better reflect the image of Christ.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
2 Aug 2024
Red Flags
In this episode, we talk about “red flags” or warning signs of unhealthy or even dangerous patterns in faith (or other) communities, including some that point to cult-like behavior. We split these concerns up into a tier list. “Tier S” starts off with the most dangerous and difficult concerns to come back from, and we progress through to the “F Tier” red flags, which are odd and even goofy idiosyncrasies that depend on context to determine if they’re actually worrisome. Through each of the tiers, we share about times we’ve seen the house church structure serve as a solid foundation for noticing, addressing, and overcoming some of these concerns. We also point out that many of these concerns are systematically ingrained in the modern institutionalized church, which can make them difficult to see and unlearn in other settings.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
16 Jul 2024
Troubleshooting Common House Church Issues
In this episode, we talk about some of the most common struggles we see house churches experience, including both over and under structuring their gatherings and difficulty developing healthy patterns for leadership. Sometimes, these happen when we run from any sense of organization out of fear of falling back into those old ways. That often starts from an unhealthy form of “deconstruction,” which we take a moment to address in the first half of this episode. Other times, these struggles come from a tendency to lean back on and rebuild old institutionalized ways when we aren’t sure what to do. Here, we suggest foundational and practical ways to move forward from both issues by bringing the focus away from liturgy and titles and towards purpose and people.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (http://whyhousechurch.com/contact)
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
7 Jul 2024
Trailer
Check out this trailer for a brief introduction about the Why House Church podcast.
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
25 May 2024
Concerns with the Institutionalized Church
In this episode, we begin to address the elephant in the room: why not institutionalized church (featuring side tangents on blood letting, neck popping, and more). At the core of our concerns, we discuss how institutionalized church structures inherently encourage a consumeristic and individualized approach to faith, as opposed to a participatory and communal approach. We also talk about how popular house church voices too often unfairly blame the people in these churches as the problem when the issues are about the structure, not the hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If you have questions about this episode or requests for a future episode, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at whyhousechurch.com/contact (whyhousechurch.com/contact).
Intro/Outro music: Too Close-Instrumental Version by Peter Spacey and Danny Feels (https://open.spotify.com/track/7mlKzafFBGEckoMmVVSuWw?si=7920d22ebda54b2f)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Contact Why House Church?
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Why House Church??
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
