Pastor Matt Harris knows the blessing of fellowship within the church body. This led him to begin Neighbors House Church last year, a collection of house churches that meet weekly in private homes in northeast Indiana. On August 20th, Neighbors House made its first commitment to do a Sunday morning gathering as a collective group. This gives each house church a chance to share what God has done, to worship together, and for everyone to celebrate God’s faithfulness.
Gathering corporately is a special time, but the heart of their ministry, Pastor Matt says, happens in the living room. Like the early church in the New Testament, Neighbors House devotes itself to scriptural teaching, fellowship, and breaking of bread as one church body. “We meet together, we eat together, we pray together, we study together, and we laugh a lot and have fun.”
Two house churches have formed since Neighbors House began in 2022 with 60 people gathering each week in total. “People keep bringing their friends and saying, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for,’” Matt says. “It’s exciting to see how God is working.” As the groups grow, the natural next step is multiplication across new living rooms where God’s word can continue to be studied and shared.
Pastor Matt can see the impact this intimate and relational setting is having on people who’ve struggled to connect with others in church in the past. One man shared his journey to faith, how he began seeking Christ by attending Neighbors House, and how a fellow member led him to Christ. Both men shared with great excitement at one of Neighbors House’s corporate monthly gatherings, and the whole church was blessed by how God moved.
“I’ve never been more encouraged in my ministry career than I am right now,” Matt says, “we love doing church like this, we love knowing people and growing with them, to learn from them and to see things in their life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
