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The meetings of the local church held in homes in Atlanta are very precious. I have received a lot of spiritual help through these meetings. I was born and raised in a Christian family. Because of this, I grew up attending many different kinds of meetings like children's meetings, young people's meetings, and Lord's table meetings. Although these meetings of the local church are very enjoyable and enlightening, I was not able to participate actively in these gatherings due to my shy personality. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:31, reminds us that “You can all prophesy one by one”. Prophesy in this verse means speaking for God and speaking forth God into others. Since we can all prophesy one by one, I should be actively participating in Christian gatherings by praising, singing, and even speaking something of Christ that I have enjoyed. This was very much practiced in the large church meetings but I wasn't able to participate until I started practicing in the home meetings.
The home meetings usually are attended by people of various backgrounds. Since these meeting are held in homes, the kids of the hosts are usually around. In addition to this, college students, young working persons and even elderly, experienced ones attend these meetings. Because of this, the conversations in these homes are very diverse, yet focus on Christ. It is very touching to see how the Lord is experienced by people of all different backgrounds. Since the atmosphere in the homes is much more informal, the meetings do not follow any schedule. Everyone is free to call any hymn he/she likes, pray, and share on anything they have experienced. It is such an intimate atmosphere that helped me to break through my shy disposition. It wasn't until I opened up my mouth to speak, that I realized how God was so rich to me. The portion that each one of us shares benefits the others. God is infinite. It takes the portion of all the believers to even give us a taste of His riches. I believe that the home meetings are spiritual incubators that speed up the progress of a Christian in his Christian life.
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