A GROWING FAMILY…

In the Beginning, God Created a Family…

God established the first family in the Garden of Eden and it did not take long for that initial family to experience challenges that seem very contemporary--jealousy, marital conflict, sibling rivalry, and even murder--challenges that led to the breakdown of the family. That trajectory has continued to this day. To some degree, all of us experience some level of breakdown in our families, and many of our greatest problems individually and as a society stem from breakdowns in the family.

God’s New Family Through the Gospel…

God anticipated this breakdown and set forth a plan in Jesus Christ to establish an enduring family. It is a family made up of people from all nations who share his name, who consider each other as brothers and sisters, who consider God their Father, and who devote their lives to his purposes.

The Local Church as the Family of God…

This global family expresses itself in local churches all over the earth. Jesus Christ calls local churches households of God and these households are devoted to the greatest purpose of all time--to demonstrate the full scope of God’s wisdom to all creation, showing the world what the grace of God can do to bring people together in unity and love as a family. As a local church, we are grateful to God for making us a part of His family and are devoted to his purpose to grow us together as a family in Jesus Christ and the Spirit.

...OF HOUSE CHURCHES...

House Church--The First-Century Church Service

The book of Acts records early church meetings consisting of large group meetings in the temple in Jerusalem and in houses. As the gospel spread beyond Jerusalem and throughout the Roman Empire, worshipping in the temple was not an option. They met primarily in homes. This continued for the first three centuries of the Church. Christians met in homes to celebrate and worship Jesus Christ, to read and discuss the Bible, to participate in the Lord’s Supper, and to encourage one another in fellowship and service. As the church is literally the family of God, local churches that met in homes were able to maintain a familial characteristic, which enabled them to develop the deep trust relationships required in the life of the church.

Throughout history, segments of the Church around the world have followed this practice to create and enjoy the type of familial environment envisioned by the New Testament. Twin Cities Church has chosen to follow this pattern of meeting for this purpose.

House Church--A Model for Today

One of the shortcomings of contemporary local churches are weak community experiences-- experiences of being a family together. Close, enduring, and trusting relationships are needed to create the type of community envisioned by Jesus. They can’t be programmed or planned from a central headquarters or developed in large events. They must happen in the context of familial relationships. Our House Churches meet weekly to share a meal, celebrate the Lord’s Supper, worship, read and study the Bible, pray, and serve each other and their neighbors. The relationships formed in the House Church then extend out into the weekly lives and contexts of its members as they increasingly become family to each other.

...FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY

For The Happiness of the Nations

God’s plan was never to create a people who lived for themselves. The first promise God made to the man Abraham to make him a family included the promise that through his family, all of the nations of the world would be blessed, which means “to make happy.” Abraham’s family would bring happiness to the nations of the earth. The Apostle Paul called this the gospel.

We Experience Grace to Show Grace to Others

The Spirit of Jesus Christ directed the Apostles to preach the gospel, establish churches, and equip these churches to maturity. As mature Christians and churches they were to live in the world in such a way that exemplified the grace and love God showed them. This lifestyle of grace was to permeate their lives as citizens, employers, workers, and neighbors. They were instructed to be ready for every opportunity to do good to others and to meet the pressing needs of the world around them. This was similar to the instruction that God gave the exiled people of Israel, who had been taken captive by other nations. Rather than rebel and fight against the hostile governments who took them captive, they were to pray for the city they lived in and to seek its welfare.

Seek the Welfare of the City

Jesus teaches us that we are in exile...we are not at home. We are waiting for the return of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. But the Kingdom of God is also now, through the Spirit that indwells us. So, as we wait, we also pray for the good of the city and seek its welfare. And in doing so, we manifest the grace of God and take every opportunity to explain the hope of the gospel that energizes us to do good works among a hostile people.