“Travel Troubles”

Saturday, June 22, 2013

If there is not a non-liberal church of Christ in our hometown, and one doesn’t have means to drive to another congregation in the next town over... can you just hold services in your own home with other christians in your family (like father, mother, grandmother, etc.)?

Sincerely,
Soul Seeking

Dear Soul Seeking,

There is nothing wrong with holding services in your home as long as you are honestly starting a congregation.  Philemon had a congregation that worshipped in his home (Phm 1:2).  However, starting a congregation from scratch is a very big task and not to be taken lightly.  Local churches are required to evangelize and teach the community (Acts 11:26) and perform all the acts of worship each Lord’s day (singing – Col 3:16, praying – Lk 18:1, studying – Acts 2:42, taking the Lord’s Supper – Acts 20:7, and taking up a collection to keep the church growing – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  Are all of those things that your family is ready to tackle on its own?

If not, the other option is to find a way to get to the congregation that is close by.  Public transportation or (preferably) other kind-hearted brethren with vehicles are great options.  Remember, no matter what toil you must go through to make it to services… you are storing up treasures for yourself in heaven (Matt 6:19-20).

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