Recently, a woman attending a mountain house church was baptized. This Muslim background believer (MBB) has been attending the house church for several months. After she was baptized, she explained, “When I believed, I felt some peace but still felt distracted, but now there is a new more complete peace that I feel.” 

For Muslim-background believers, it is common for the act of baptism to be a bigger deal than a verbal decision to follow Jesus. Why is that? The weight of these decisions is reversed from the Western world for MBBs. In countries like America, the verbal decision of following Jesus is a major decision. It is not something people say if they don’t really mean it. Once the decision is made, usually life changes come with it. At that point, baptism is usually the next logical step, though not as much emphasis is placed on it. A church will typically walk alongside the new believer, discipling them in their new faith and eventually encouraging them to be baptized, the outward sign of obedience to Jesus.

For Muslim-background believers in countries like Indonesia, actions are much weightier than words. It is easier for someone to say they believe. The act of baptism is harder for many new believers. There is a finality to it. It is an outward sign that shows others that they are truly leaving their old ways behind. They are starting a new life following Jesus. It is common to have someone profess faith, but not want to move forward with baptism for a long time. For many in the Muslim world, persecution becomes much worse after baptism. 

Please pray for courage for new believers to take this step of faith. Pray also for protection for those that do.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The post What Baptism Means for Muslim Background Believers first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

Many Christians in these areas cannot even get building permits to have a public gathering place for church. Their governments and communities make it very difficult for them to do this. So they gather together in homes to fellowship, worship, and study scripture together. Sometimes in extremely persecuted countries like Iran or China they are called underground churches. If they are caught worshipping God and reading the Bible together, they could be imprisoned or killed. So they have to be very secure when the gather together.

Practical and Reproducible

This is why house churches are practical and reproducible in many countries around the world. Meeting in smaller groups doesn’t attract a lot of attention. They can meet in different homes on different days in case secret police are tracking them. Believers also don’t have to pay for a building to have church. In many developing countries, Christians do not have the funds to pay for all the expenses to have a building, equipment, etc. House churches make it easy for them to gather and worship together.

It is also easy to reproduce a house church! Say someone in a house church starts sharing the gospel with their coworkers. Then their coworkers place their faith in Jesus. Instead of inviting their coworkers to their house church, they start a new church with the group of new believers. The person discipling them, leads the church and trains the new believers to share their faith with their families, friends, and neighbors. If more people come to faith, they can join that church or the person who led them to faith can start a new group with them. This is how house churches reproduce quickly and the gospel spreads rapidly. A house church that reproduces to the 4th generation is called a church planting movement.

Acts 2 Church

House churches may sound similar to small groups or Bible studies in your church. In fact they are very similar! But house churches keep all the functions of a church described in the New Testament. They study scripture, worship and pray together. There is teaching, communion, baptism, giving and sharing the gospel with others. House churches actually look like the New Testament church described in Acts 2:42-47.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

From this passage we can see what church looked like in the early days. And church should look like this today too!

The Acts 2 church included:

• apostles’ teaching (now the apostles’ teaching is the Bible)
• fellowship
• breaking of bread (communion)
• prayer
• signs performed
• believers together
• everything in common
• sold property and possessions to give to those in need
• met together everyday
• ate together in their homes
• praising God (worship)
• favor with all people
• growing numbers of those being saved (evangelism)

These are the core tenants of what church should look like. No where in the Bible does it say you have to rent or buy a building to have church. Meeting together with believers is what matters and you can do that anywhere! Is it okay to have a designated building for church? Of course! Just remember that “church” is the people, not the place.

Does your church look like the church in Acts 2? What is missing? What is being added? God has placed each of us in our families, jobs, and neighborhoods for a reason. He wants to use us to share the gospel with those who don’t know Him yet. Maybe God will use you to start a house church with your family, friends, coworkers, or neighbors!

The post What Does House Church Look Like? first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.

A red carpet laid over the cement floors, crackers and tea set aside for the Lord’s Supper. Manu busy bodies hummed throughout the home. One by one, family members and neighbors found their way to the carpet getting settled in for worship. Bu Endah began with a greeting, then together, we one by one, shared what we were thankful for. We praised the Father for what we got to see Him do over the past few weeks. As we moved into the day’s lesson, we read, re-read, and recited how the disciples asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray.“

Later, as observations were shared and questions raised, the group savored the words of Jesus’ prayer to our Father in heaven. We prayed for the Kingdom to come and our daily bread. We prayed for the giving and receiving of forgiveness, and our deliverance from evil. Ending our time in worship, we broke bread, sipped the tea, and received forgiveness for our sins in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now nourished by the Lord, the group began preparing the delicious home-cooked lunch to fill our rumbling tummies. As individuals rushed to fill their plates, Bu Siti sat still. She leaned over, looking Bu Endah in the eyes, “Before today, I didn’t understand how to pray. Thank you for teaching me. I know now how to pray”. Having known the Father hears her every thought and even those words unspoken, Bu Siti now felt the confidence to speak with the always open, always available ear of our sweet Father. As a result, she continues to teach her young two daughters how to pray and talk with their Father.

The post Teach Me to Pray first appeared on Pray For Indonesia.