Early Church Practices We Live Out Today

 A fresh breath of theological insight to me when I was desperately seeking God with the prayer, “Lord, there has to be more about your church. Help me discover it.”   —Reuben P., pastor, India

 

Your Small Church Can Have a Big Impact—By Following Early Church Practice

Every New Testament church letter was written to an illegal congregation meeting in a private home. That means the ecclesiology found in the epistles was designed for effective ministry in smaller churches—not large ones.

Want a quick overview?
👉 Click here to listen to a 20-minute introduction.

How Did the Early Church Really Function?

  • The Lord’s Supper then was radically different from how it’s practiced today.
    👉 Learn more.

  • Church meetings in the first century looked nothing like modern services.
    👉 Learn more.

  • Teaching methods used by the early church might shock today’s pastors.
    👉 Learn more.

  • Decision-making in the New Testament church was communal—not top-down.
    👉 Learn more.

  • Congregation size in apostolic times was intentionally small.
    👉 Learn more.

Discover the Difference

Explore free videos, audio, and articles at NTRF.org—resources designed to help churches recover the simplicity and strength of New Testament practice.

Churches that adopt Jesus’ approach are often:

  • More organic than organized

  • More like a family than a business

  • More relational than programmed

  • More informal than formal

  • Focused more on “one another” than on any one leader

  • Choosing authenticity over polished expertise