House churches are autonomous local churches. Seoul Baptist Church is the united entity of these house churches. A united body needs to exist because certain things can be done more effectively this way than by individual groups. For example children's education, mission projects, community service, and in-depth Bible studies. Because Seoul Baptist Church is solely the united body of many house churches, one cannot be a member of Seoul Baptist without first becoming a member of a house church. Apart from its house churches, Seoul Baptist does not exist. Since they were instituted, house church attendance had always been higher than Sunday worship ...

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On Sundays I come to church early in the morning to pray. While driving, I rehearse that day's sermon. I am often so focused on my rehearsal that I forget that I am driving. On one such Sunday morning a while back, I was rehearsing on the way to church. A traffic light turned red and I stopped without thinking, continuing to rehearse. Then I heard a tap on the window. I had been so absorbed in my rehearsal that it startled me. I saw a Hispanic man motioning for me to roll down the window. I cracked it open and asked what he wanted. It was difficult for me to fully understand his broken English, but based on words I made out like "Long Point", "pay", ...

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A few years ago, a well-known elderly pastor visited our church. He wanted to understand the difference between small groups in traditional churches and our house churches. To him, the difference was slight; house church meetings just emphasized sharing more. After several minutes of deep thought he slapped his knee and exclaimed, "Traditional churches attract people through preaching and various programs and assign them to small groups, but house churches reach out to non-believers and send them to Sunday services. The roles are reversed, right?" Right! Small groups are subgroups that take care of existing members whereas house churches are ...

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When Missionary Kim (whom the Thailand house church supports) visited our church, I joked to him, "I hope you are praying for us at least once a month." "Once a month?" he said. "No. Every day." As if afraid to sound like he was exaggerating, he explained further: "When sending us mission funds, most churches just send us a check. But the Seoul Baptist house church sends us not only money, but also personal letters including members' prayer requests. I have come to know the house church members intimately, and I cannot help but pray for them every day." I think one reason why so many people are saved through our church and why our members say that ...

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As you know, my wife and I visit a different house church each week. On occasion I find people who used to belong to a different house church. This might be a good time to remind everyone of our church's policy on switching house churches. It is our church's policy that you cannot leave a house church once you become a member. The reason for this is that the house church is the training ground for Jesus' disciples. Becoming His disciples means that you are becoming more like Him. One way in which this is accomplished is through human conflict. As you work to love people who are unlovable, live with people who are quarrelsome, and accept people who ...

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There is a close relationship between spiritual growth and worship. People who are spiritually vibrant are also really into worship. Conversely, people who seem to be backsliding spiritually do not enjoy worship. If you consider your own life, you may see that periods of spiritual growth were times when you worshiped wholeheartedly, and that periods of spiritual stagnancy were times when you worshiped half-heartedly. It is hard to tell whether you grow spiritually because you engage in meaningful worship, or whether you have meaningful worship experiences because you are growing spiritually. But there is undoubtedly a correlation between spiritual ...

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Many of our members say that their church life is one of the main reasons for their happiness. This has happened because we make God's desire our number one priority. God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). God does not want anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance (1 Pet 3:9). The happiness we experience is a reward from God for seeking to fulfill his wishes. Some say that it's impossible for them to find non-believers even though they're willing to help others come to know Christ. Their difficulty is understandable, since the Korean-American population in Houston is limited. But that does ...

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