Hospitality and House Churches in the Book of Acts
Quick Summary
The Book of Acts reveals that early Christian communities gathered primarily in homes, where hospitality became a spiritual practice essential to the gospel's expansion. From the fellowship of believers in Jerusalem to Paul's ministry in Ephesus, houses served as centers for worship, teaching, and communal life, while the welcome extended to travelers and strangers became a concrete expression of the gospel's boundary-breaking power.
Introduction
When we read Acts, we often focus on dramatic events like Pentecost, Stephen's stoning, or Paul's conversion. But underneath these headline moments runs a pattern that made everything else possible: the opening of homes and the practice of hospitality. The early church had no church buildings. Believers met in houses, ate together in homes, and depended on the generosity of hosts who provided space for the gospel to take root. Understanding this domestic infrastructure helps us see how Christianity actually spread and what values shaped the earliest communities.
The Jerusalem Church and Breaking Bread at Home
The earliest description of church life in Acts 2:42-47 centers on homes. After Peter's Pentecost sermon led to three thousand baptisms, these new believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). While they continued meeting in the temple courts for public teaching, they "broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" (Acts 2:46). This detail matters. The home became the primary location for the distinctive Christian practice of sharing meals, likely including the Lord's Supper. The phrase "breaking bread" appears repeatedly in Acts (2:42, 46; 20:7, 11; 27:35), signaling not just eating but communal fellowship that expressed the unity of Christ's body. In a culture where sharing a meal created bonds of obligation and belonging, eating together in homes made the church's message about a new family in Christ tangible and real. The practice extended beyond meals. When believers shared their possessions, selling property and distributing to anyone in need, houses became spaces where economic redistribution happened. Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira sold property but held back part of the proceeds, their deception exposed when they brought their offering. The home was not a private retreat from church life but the very location where church life happened.
Houses as Centers for Prayer and Gathering
Throughout Acts, houses function as gathering places for prayer and worship. When Peter was imprisoned by Herod, the church gathered at Mary's house to pray for him (Acts 12:12). After his miraculous escape, Peter knew exactly where to find the community: at Mary's home, where "many people had gathered and were praying" (Acts 12:12). This wasn't a special prayer meeting but apparently the normal gathering place for at least part of the Jerusalem church. Mary's house in Jerusalem, identifiable by her son John Mark, becomes a named location in the narrative. The specificity suggests these weren't random homes but recognized centers of community life. When crisis struck, believers knew where to go. The house provided both physical space and social infrastructure, a place the community claimed as its own even though it belonged to a particular family.
Hospitality as Mission Strategy
As the gospel expanded beyond Jerusalem, hospitality became crucial to mission work. Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch led to baptism but no mention of ongoing community, since the eunuch continued his journey. But Peter's visit to Cornelius demonstrates the power of household hospitality. Cornelius invited Peter into his home, gathering his relatives and close friends. The Holy Spirit fell on this household gathering, and Peter stayed "for a few days" (Acts 10:48). The extended stay cemented relationships and provided time for teaching. Hospitality created space for the Spirit to work and for new believers to be grounded in the faith. Paul's missionary journeys depended entirely on hospitality. In Philippi, Lydia opened her home after her baptism: "If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house" (Acts 16:15). Her home became the base for ministry in Philippi and the gathering place for the new church. When Paul and Silas were released from prison, they returned to Lydia's house to encourage the believers before leaving town (Acts 16:40). In Corinth, Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla, fellow tentmakers who provided both housing and work (Acts 18:2-3). Their home hospitality extended for eighteen months while Paul established the Corinthian church. Later, in Ephesus, this same couple would host Apollos and instruct him more accurately in the faith (Acts 18:26). Their household functioned as a theological training center and mission base.
The House Church Model
Several passages make clear that homes weren't just places for missionaries to stay but the regular meeting places for local congregations. Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders includes his reminder that "I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house" (Acts 20:20). Teaching happened in homes, not just in public spaces like the lecture hall of Tyrannus. In Troas, the believers gathered "to break bread" on the first day of the week in an upper room (Acts 20:7-8). Paul taught until midnight in this house church setting. The detail that "there were many lamps in the upstairs room" (Acts 20:8) emphasizes the domestic setting. When Eutychus fell from the window, the story continued in the house, with Paul breaking bread and talking until daylight (Acts 20:11). This marathon gathering shows the intimate, extended nature of house church meetings.
Hospitality Crossing Social Boundaries
One of the most significant aspects of hospitality in Acts involves crossing social and ethnic boundaries. Peter's initial reluctance to enter Cornelius's home highlights how radical this practice was. Jewish purity laws made table fellowship with Gentiles problematic. But Peter's vision of the sheet prepared him to accept Cornelius's invitation. When Peter ate with Gentiles, he faced criticism from Jerusalem believers who heard he had "gone into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them" (Acts 11:3). The controversy centered on hospitality and table fellowship. The Jerusalem Council's decision about Gentile believers addressed, in part, how Jewish and Gentile Christians could share meals together. The restrictions on food (avoiding meat sacrificed to idols, blood, and strangled animals) aimed to make table fellowship possible between groups with different food practices. Hospitality required negotiation and compromise, but the early church committed to finding ways to eat together across cultural lines.
Houses and the Expansion of the Gospel
The pattern of gospel expansion in Acts follows household conversions and the opening of homes. The Philippian jailer's household believed and was baptized, then the jailer "brought them into his house and set a meal before them" (Acts 16:34). Hospitality immediately followed conversion. The home became the first expression of new faith and the natural gathering point for the emerging church. When Paul arrived in Rome, though under house arrest, he could receive visitors. For two full years, Paul "welcomed all who came to see him" in his rented house, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about Jesus (Acts 28:30-31). Even in chains, hospitality continued. The house became the venue for gospel witness, whether the host was a wealthy merchant like Lydia or a prisoner like Paul.
Practical Application
The house church pattern in Acts challenges contemporary Christianity in several ways. First, it reminds us that church isn't primarily about buildings but about relationships forged in everyday spaces. The early Christians didn't wait for proper facilities before gathering. They opened their homes, shared their tables, and created community in domestic settings. Second, hospitality in Acts was strategic, not just friendly. Opening homes advanced the gospel. When we welcome others into our lives and living spaces, we create opportunities for transformation that polite Sunday morning gatherings can't match. True hospitality involves vulnerability, the willingness to let people see how we actually live. Third, the crossing of social boundaries through shared meals in Acts confronts our segregated churches. If Peter had to overcome his scruples to eat with Cornelius, we must examine what barriers we maintain. Who isn't welcome at our tables? What discomfort are we unwilling to endure for the sake of gospel unity? Finally, the house church model suggests that smaller, more intimate gatherings might be essential to discipleship, not optional supplements to "real church." The early believers devoted themselves to fellowship, and that devotion happened primarily in homes where people knew each other's names, needs, and struggles.
Conclusion
Hospitality and house churches in Acts weren't incidental to the Christian movement but foundational to it. Without buildings, budgets, or professional clergy, the early church thrived because believers opened their homes, shared their meals, and welcomed both friends and strangers. From Jerusalem to Rome, from Jews to Gentiles, the gospel spread through networks of hospitality. Houses became holy places not because they were consecrated buildings but because they were spaces where the Holy Spirit was at work, creating the new community Jesus promised. The question for us isn't whether we have the right facilities but whether we have the generosity and courage to open our lives to others for the sake of Christ's mission in the world.
Cross-References
Romans 16:3-5 (Church meeting in Priscilla and Aquila's house)
1 Corinthians 16:19 (Aquila and Priscilla's church in their house)
Colossians 4:15 (Church in Nympha's house)
Philemon 1-2 (Church meeting in Philemon's house)
Hebrews 13:2 (Entertaining angels through hospitality)
1 Peter 4:9 (Offer hospitality without grumbling)
3 John 1:5-8 (Supporting traveling ministers)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did early Christians meet in homes instead of church buildings? Early Christians had no church buildings for practical and theological reasons. Practically, they were a new, often persecuted movement without resources or legal standing to construct dedicated facilities. Theologically, they understood the church as people, not a place. Homes provided intimate spaces for fellowship, teaching, and the Lord's Supper that aligned with Jesus' emphasis on community and shared life.
What role did hospitality play in spreading the gospel? Hospitality was essential to mission strategy in Acts. Traveling missionaries like Paul depended on hosts who provided food, shelter, and a base for ministry. Homes became the first gathering places for new converts, creating immediate community. When believers crossed ethnic and social boundaries to share meals, they demonstrated the gospel's power to unite diverse people, making hospitality itself a form of witness.
How did house churches function in the Book of Acts? House churches served multiple purposes. They were gathering places for worship, teaching, prayer, and breaking bread together. They functioned as mission bases where apostles stayed and taught. They provided venues for theological instruction, as when Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos. Some homes, like Mary's in Jerusalem, became recognized centers where believers knew to gather, especially during crises.
What can modern churches learn from the house church model? The house church pattern reminds us that authentic Christian community requires intimacy and vulnerability that large gatherings alone can't provide. It challenges our reliance on buildings and budgets, suggesting the church can thrive with simpler infrastructure. It demonstrates that hospitality, welcoming others into our actual lives and spaces, advances the gospel. Finally, it shows that crossing social boundaries through shared meals isn't optional but central to gospel witness.
Works Consulted
Banks, Robert. Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting. Revised edition. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994.
Gehring, Roger W. House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004.
Koenig, John. New Testament Hospitality: Partnership with Strangers as Promise and Mission. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Arterbury, Andrew E. Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in Its Mediterranean Setting. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2005.
Blue, Bradley B. "Acts and the House Church." In The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting, edited by David W. J. Gill and Conrad Gempf, 119-222. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
