Police in Secret Churches

Today on my coaching call, I was with my dear brother from Africa, we discussed starting little churches. We discussed how simple little home-based churches are important in places where the authorities are hostile.

As we discussed, he tells me of the Bible Study he began with a local family. The apartment he is in right now, while we are on this call, belongs to this family. The dad used to work in the police department (he's retired now) and the apartment community was specifically designated for local police officials and their families.

In this Bible study, the father came to faith while this man’s wife and daughter were already believers. The group grew and ultimately included two high level local police officers within the department.

My friend told me, if this group would have been open and public, it would have been shutdown quickly, even by the police officers who attended. But, because they have been discreet, it gave a place for the police officers, who are often required to be the persecutors, to hear and receive the Word of Christ. Isn't this what we see in Acts? The church enters into the community, often through someone's home, even in the midst of adverse circumstances and outright persecution.

My brother told me that had we been doing this training together when he started his Bible study, he believes that Bible study would have turned into a church and could have multiplied into multiple churches by now.

He did what he knew to do which was study the Word and God moved powerfully. Several were saved through this small Bible study. Now most of the Bible study group members continue to serve the Lord in local churches. But there's still a great need to teach and train ordinary believers to lead churches out of their home.

Where we live, a larger church is not a place where a police officer can easily come and hear the Word of God today. Just think of Nicodemus, Cornelius, and the Philippian jailer.

Pray with us for the multiplication of many many micro-churches across this city.

---

Author: David Brown, SRC missionary, Asia