People in our network who welcome the church into their homes.
Hosts are people in our network who welcome others into their homes for house church.
In the New Testament, Christians met in people’s houses as their regular way of gathering. We do the same. A host opens the door and makes room for the Body to worship, pray, study the Word, and encourage one another.
The church is the people. The house is a focal point where fellowship happens.
A host may or may not be an elder. Opening a home does not make someone an elder, and serving as an elder does not require hosting. They are different functions.
The New Testament names households where the church met, including hosts who are never called elders:
Hosts help to facilitate how we meet on Sundays.
They welcome people into their house, both those who already gather there and those coming for the first time. They make the space work for the morning: places to sit, the children, the kettle, the table. They help the gathering keep a simple shape so worship, the Word, prayer and one another are not lost in the logistics. They are the practical point of contact for that house — when it meets, whether it is available, and how a new person is folded in.
The gathering does not belong to the host, but it is in their house, and normal guest and host hospitality should apply. Everyone who joins shares the responsibility of tidying up once the gathering is finished. The host makes the meeting possible. The Body makes it a gathering of the church.
Hosts also aid in creating the environment that we aspire to — the one anothers.
The New Testament’s picture of a healthy church is reciprocal: love one another, welcome one another, serve one another, bear with one another, offer hospitality without grumbling.
A host helps to make this a reality.1 Peter 4:9; Romans 12:13; Hebrews 13:2