Biblically, the church isn't a building, it's a people.

As you read through the Bible, you’ll see several key metaphors used to describe the church:

• A body made up of many members (Romans 12:4–5; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27)
• The bride of Christ (Ephesians 5; Revelation 19:6–8)
• A flock to be cared for by shepherds (Acts 20:28–29; 1 Peter 5:2–3)
• A family that we’ve been adopted into (Galatians 4:5), where we relate to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.(Matthew 12:48–50; 1 John 4:20; 1 Timothy 5:1–2)

What these biblical metaphors all share is this: they point to the church as a people, not a place. You don’t go to a body, you’re either part of it or you’re not. You don’t attend a family, you belong to it.

There is no scriptural passage that directs believers to "go to church." What we see instead is a call for people to become part of the Church. In the early church, if you were a follower of Jesus, you were by definition part of the church. If someone wasn’t part of the church community, no one would have assumed they were walking with Jesus.

To belong to the church meant being committed to its life, its people, and its mission. It meant living with and for one another in meaningful, everyday ways. When we start to treat “church” as just something on our calendar, something separate from our actual life, we disconnect from what it means to be the church. We make it something outside ourselves, it becomes a building or an event, instead of a people we belong to and walk with.

The church is not made of brick and mortar, it’s made of people. People who love God and love others, who celebrate and grieve together, who bless their neighbors and serve the world around them. It's people who love and listen well to those who do not yet follow Jesus. It's people who know how to rest, how to work, and how to live for the glory of God. 

God is calling us to recover this vision: to see the church not as a place where believers gather, but as the people of God, living united as His Body in the world.

We believe that real discipleship happens around tables, not just in rows. Home groups create space for people to be truly seen, known, and shaped by the way of Jesus , not as spectators, but as participants in a spiritual family.

In a world that's increasingly disconnected, we want to build the kind of community where faith isn’t just taught but practiced together — where prayer, Scripture, confession, and hospitality aren't events, but part of our shared life.

Gathering in homes mirrors the rhythm of the early Church (Acts 2:42–47) and helps us cultivate deeper relationships, authentic accountability, and spiritual resilience in a way a crowd alone can’t.

Psychologists and neuroscientists agree that real change happens slowly through relationship, repetition, and proximity. British anthropologist Robin Dunbar’s research shows that deep trust and belonging tend to form most naturally in groups of about twelve to twenty people. 

We gather in homes because transformation was never meant to happen in isolation but in the context of committed, everyday community.

While deep formation happens in small communities, the Church is also called to gather as one body for worship, teaching, celebration, and shared mission.

Jesus did not just gather twelve around a table. He also preached to the five thousand. The early Church did not only break bread in homes; they also gathered publicly at Solomon’s Colonnade. From the beginning, the people of God lived in a rhythm of intimacy and transcendence, of close-knit circles and public witness.

Throughout Scripture, we see the Church assembling to encounter God's presence, proclaim His Word, and bear collective witness to His Kingdom (Acts 2:46, Hebrews 10:24–25, 1 Corinthians 14:26). Corporate gatherings create space for worship, prayer, communion, and a shared sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. They remind us that we are part of a greater story and a global Church, a visible city on a hill for a watching world.

Our corporate gatherings create space for collective worship, the preaching of the Word, prayer ministry, communion, and a shared sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. They remind us that we are part of a greater story and a global Church, called to bear witness to Jesus with one voice.

We believe both rhythms are essential. House-to-house and temple courts. Intimate tables and wide-open doors. Small enough to be known, big enough to be sent.

In the early Church, the rhythm was both gathering publicly and meeting daily in homes (Acts 2:42–47).

But every local church must be faithfully shaped around the needs, habits, and culture of the people it is called to reach.

In many contexts, a weekly Sunday service plus midweek small groups flourishes, and we celebrate that.

But in our context, we believe it’s vital to put small gatherings and corporate worship on equal footing. We want to avoid treating one as the “real church” and the other as an optional add-on.

In the minds of many today, “church” already means Sunday morning. To reimagine church as a people, not just a place or a program, we have to lift decentralized, smaller group gatherings to the same level of visibility, priority, and sacredness.

Alternating our rhythm is how we live that out, by teaching from day one that the Church isn't just something you attend. It's something you are, wherever you gather in His name.

For some, the front door to a body of believers is one to a building with a corporate gathering but for many others, it’ll be a front door to a home that looks nothing like a normal “church”. We firmly believe both are integral to the life of a believer, but we cannot force spiritual formation, only cultivate it. 

Our house gatherings are designed to be full expressions of the Church. We listen to a teaching, share Scripture, worship, pray, eat, and practice life-on-life discipleship. The setting may be a living room instead of a sanctuary, but the sacredness remains the same.

Our house gatherings are not isolated micro-churches. Each gathering is led by trained leaders who are equipped, connected, and accountable to the pastoral team and the larger church body.

We are committed to unity in teaching, mission, and spirit, whether we meet in a home or a hall.

We believe clarity is a form of hospitality.

We provide simple schedules, communication tools, and reminders to make it easy to know when and where we’re gathering. Whether you’re joining us in a home or at a larger venue, you’ll always know exactly where to find us.

Additionally, when we find our “hub” we will have a small group meeting in that location every Sunday.

We’re so glad you love gathering for worship!

We believe corporate worship is powerful and necessary, and we gather corporately 2-3 times a month (plus special events).

We invite you to lean into the full rhythm: corporate weeks to celebrate together, house gathering weeks to be deeply known and shaped in community.

However, while we’ll always emphasize the need for both large and small community, we recognize that a conventional Sunday corporate gathering is preferred for many. If so, we know many churches in the Pittsburgh area that we love and partner with regularly, and that we could help you get involved with. 

Send us a message at info@homechurchpgh.com, and we’ll work with you to see if where might be a good fit.

We believe kids are a vital part of the Church, not just the future of it.

At our corporate gatherings, we offer clean, safe, and fun kids ministry environments where children are loved, discipled, and taught the way of Jesus at an age-appropriate level. Parents can worship with peace of mind, knowing their kids are being cared for by trained volunteers in a safe and joyful space.

In our home gatherings, we equip leaders with "Kids Church in a Box" — a fully resourced kit with games, activities, Bible lessons, video worship, teaching clips, and even interactive games. Everything is designed to make it simple for any home group to create a meaningful, engaging environment for kids. Whether in a large gathering or a living room, our heart is to help families grow in faith together.

Note: Every leader and volunteer who serves with kids will be thoroughly background checked to ensure safety and care are a priority - no matter where we gather. 

Right now, our goal is to help teens connect with the incredible work happening through Pittsburgh Metro Youth for Christ. We believe in partnering with trusted ministries already making a difference in the lives of students across our city.

Youth for Christ offers regular gatherings, mentoring, and events that help teens build lasting friendships and grow in their relationship with Jesus. You can find out more about their ministry at yfcmp.org.

As our church grows, we are praying and planning toward developing additional opportunities to disciple and invest in teens through Homechurch as well.

We’re not measuring success by attendance charts or event size. Most biblical metaphors about growth (seeds, vineyards, trees) assume delayed, slow, underground growth before anything is visible. Success for us isn’t “Did 500 people come to an event?”

It’s “Is the unseen root system healthy enough that in five years, they’re still abiding in Christ and bearing fruit?” 

We’re asking:

• Are we being formed into resilient disciples/apprentices of Jesus, who look more like Him, spend more time with Him, and do the same things He did? (Gal. 4:19, Romans 8:29, Matt. 7:24-27)

• Jesus said, “Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn 13:35).  In the same vein as Jesus teaching, John Mark Comer said, “Love is the acid test of spiritual formation.” The telos of the spiritual journey is to become the kind of people who receive and give the love of God. Are we growing into people pervaded by love for God, one another, and our neighbors? (Matthew 22:37-40, Jeremiah 29:7)

• Is there reproducible, generational faith happening (that may or may not be evidenced by attendance at Homechurch)? (Matt 28:19-20, 2 Tim 2:2)

• Are we practicing the Way of Jesus in everyday life? (Matthew 7:24-27, John 14:15)

If the answer is yes, we’re right where we need to be.

Yes! Homechurch is a part of the Assemblies of God fellowship and is being launched as a Parent-Affiliated Church (PAC) under Allison Park Church.

This means we are planting as a distinct new congregation under the spiritual and organizational covering of Allison Park, operating with their support and accountability while establishing our own church family here in Pittsburgh.

We are currently in the final stages of completing all PAC documentation and setup through our district and Allison Park’s leadership team.

Being a PAC allows us to stay focused on discipleship, outreach, and building healthy foundations while benefiting from the wisdom, systems, and relational covering of an established church.

We are grateful for Allison Park Church’s investment and partnership as Homechurch grows toward becoming fully self-sustaining.

For all information regarding giving, navigate to our giving page below. 

Homechurch is not just about meeting in homes. It is about becoming a home for the spiritually homeless. We believe church should feel like home, not like a performance, an institution, or a place where people stay strangers.

We exist to help people abide in Christ, be rooted in His love, and find a true spiritual family. Anchored in John 15:4 and Ephesians 3:17–21, we desire to see people find their home in Him and to be formed into the likeness of the One who first made His home in us.