The believers first met in the homes beginning on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:46). Three thousand met from house to house. The Greek indicates that they met according to houses, which means that every house had a meeting. There was a meeting in every new believer’s house. This could only happen by the Spirit. Furthermore, there were many calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21).
In the home meetings, according to Acts 2:46 and 5:42, there were preaching the gospel, teaching the truth, breaking bread to remember the Lord, and prayers. The saints around the time of Pentecost broke bread every day, that is, they had the remembrance of the Lord by practicing the Lord’s table. The saints also prayed in their homes. Acts 12:12 tells us that when Peter was released from prison, he went to the house of Mary where a group of saints were praying.
Meeting in the believers’ homes is for all the members of Christ to function. In any big meeting it is hard for the saints to function. But in a small meeting with four or five, or two or three, even a small boy or girl could function. He or she could say, “The Lord Jesus loves me, and it is so good that I love Him.” This is a small function, but do not despise it. The new believers will function in a small way at first, but from that point, they will continue to progress in life and in function. By the functioning of all the members, the small home meetings will grow and be built up. When a new couple brings forth a little infant, they have the faith that their family will be built up. The same applies to the home meetings. We should exercise our faith and practice the home meetings with much expectation.
In Matthew 18:20, in speaking about Christian gatherings, the Lord Jesus used the number of two or three: “For where two or three are gathered together into My name, there I am in their midst.” Two or three is a precious number in the Bible, and should be the starting number of the church life. When the church becomes big through the home meetings, the big meetings will be meaningful. But when the church does not have anything and expects to have a big meeting, that big meeting may be empty. To start the church life from a small meeting of two or three is best.
All of us like to start a meeting with a lot of people, yet the more people you have as a start in a meeting, the more trouble you will suffer. In 1949 when we began the ministry on the island of Taiwan, we called a conference. On the first Lord’s day morning, close to four hundred came. Most of them were newcomers who had just come from mainland China. They were Christians who did not have a place to worship, so when they heard about the gathering at the meeting hall, they came. When I looked at the number, I realized that it was too many, so I immediately gave a message saying, “The church here does not help people in marriage, nor does it help people get jobs, nor does it help people financially. The church here only preaches Christ and ministers Christ to people as their life supply. If you are seeking after Christ you are the right person to come here. Otherwise, you have the wrong place.”
I then gave an illustration about the different kinds of restaurants among the Chinese people. There are the Shanghainese who like to eat Shanghai food and the Cantonese who like to eat Canton food. Different Christian assemblies stress different things like different restaurants. If you are Shanghainese and go to a Cantonese restaurant, you will feel that you are in the wrong place, because you cannot get the Shanghai food. Then I told them again, “The church here does not help people in marriage, finance, or employment. We only help people to know the Lord Jesus, receive Him, and enjoy Him. If you are such a person, you have come to the right place. Please continue to come.” After I gave that message, half of the number returned for the next meeting. I said to myself, “These are the genuine ones seeking after Christ Himself.” When the saints recorded the names, there were nearly two hundred. This number formed the start of the church life in Taiwan. To begin the church life with a lesser number is better. Do not despise the small meetings. In these small meetings, we should preach the gospel, teach the truth, break bread to remember the Lord, pray, and give the opportunity for each attendant to function.
The church should also have large meetings in a larger place for the whole church to come together (1 Cor. 14:23). There are two kinds of meetings: small meetings in the homes of the believers and large meetings in a larger meeting place. These large meetings should not be held often. To have these larger meetings should not be a constant practice. If you practice the large meetings constantly, you will deaden the situation. You must learn to have the two kinds of meetings.
We must be balanced. God’s design of our body is symmetrical. We have two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, two lips, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, two thighs, two legs, and two feet. On the one hand, we need to begin the meeting in small homes; on the other hand, when the need arises we should hold large meetings in a larger meeting place. In the larger meeting place, we should not have any definite speaker with all the congregation listening to this speaker. We must kill this practice. In such a meeting all the attendants should participate in the building up of the church through their functions (1 Cor. 14:26). When we come together one may have a revelation, another may have a hymn, another one may have a teaching, and others may have another portion. Everyone can and should have something of Christ for the meeting. We all need to have something so that we can function in the meetings for the building up of the church.
In both the small and large meetings there should be no chairman, no leaders, and no formalities. This will annul Christianity. If the chairman, leaders, and formalities are taken away from Christianity, there is nothing left. In every meeting all the attendants should participate. They can pray, offer some praise to God, call a hymn, take the lead to sing a hymn, read the Scriptures, or give a testimony. This makes the meeting different from Christianity. By practicing to give time and opportunity to all the attendants to function, all the saints may render their help, and the entire church will get the benefit (1 Cor. 14:26, 31).