“I kept back nothing that was helpful,
but proclaimed it to you, and taught you
publicly and from house to house.”
Acts 20:20
I received a dream in which I saw fires bursting forth upon a flat, opened-up map of the United States. Fires were springing up in region after region. City after city. State after state.
Then I heard these words:
“House Fires—a fresh H2H Movement—where Acts 20:20 is the norm.”
After waking up, I saw a vision of a globe with small pinhole lights poking through. These little lights became small fires, which spread and grew into a global movement.
As I considered the dream and vision, this description came into focus:
An Acts 20:20 moment, where the gospel of the Kingdom is proclaimed through every possible public means, and people meet together, sharing their lives house to house.
Could we be approaching a fresh expression of something woven into the foundations of the early Church? I believe this picture invites us to pray, prepare, and make room for what the Holy Spirit desires to do.
Where Acts 20:20 Becomes the Norm
In Acts 20:20, Paul reminded the Ephesian elders that he had not withheld anything helpful from them. He taught them publicly and from house to house.
Notice the partnership: public proclamation and personal relationship. The message went forth openly, and believers shared life together in their homes.
Today, we have remarkable opportunities to proclaim the gospel through churches, public gatherings, broadcasting, digital media, and personal witness. Let us use every available means to make Jesus known! Alongside that proclamation, we need places where people can ask questions, receive prayer, develop friendships, and grow as disciples.
What happens after someone hears the message? Who will walk with them? Where can they learn to pray, understand the Scriptures, and put their faith into practice?
An open home can help answer those questions.
Around a table, people become known. We hear their stories. We discover their needs. We learn to bear one another’s burdens and celebrate what God is doing in their lives.
Small Fires with Far-Reaching Influence
In the vision, the lights began small. Then they became fires that spread and grew.
Do not despise a small beginning. A few people gathering faithfully to seek the Lord can become a place of encouragement and spiritual growth for many others.
Perhaps your beginning is a weekly meal with neighbors. Perhaps it is a gathering for worship and intercession, or a Bible study with several people who are hungry to learn. As believers mature, they can welcome others and help establish additional gatherings.
The invitation is to be faithful with the people and opportunities God has already entrusted to us. The call is for consumers to be producers and believers to become disciples.
Let us ask: Lord, what could begin in my home? Who are You asking me to welcome?
Gather People Where They Feel Cared For
Before feeding the multitude, Jesus instructed His disciples to have the people sit in groups. Mark 6:39–40 describes groups of hundreds and fifties, and Luke 9:14 records His instruction to arrange them in groups of about fifty.
These passages recount a particular miracle, but they also give us a practical picture to consider. Within the multitude, smaller groups provided a setting in which the disciples could serve the people.
A fresh H2H movement must include that kind of personal care.
Who notices when someone is absent? Who knows when a family needs groceries, when a marriage needs prayer, or when a new believer is struggling to understand the Word?
As we share our lives, we can respond to those needs with compassion. We can pray together and then take practical steps to help.
The love of Jesus becomes visible through His people.
Welcome the Holy Spirit
In 1 Samuel 19:20, Saul’s messengers encountered a company of prophets with Samuel standing as their leader. The Spirit of God came upon the messengers, and they also prophesied.
What an extraordinary interruption! People arrived with one intention and encountered the activity of God.
As we gather in our homes, let us welcome the Holy Spirit. Let us worship, listen, pray, and make room for the gifts He gives to strengthen His people.
We must also cultivate humility and discernment. Scripture provides our foundation. What is shared should be tested, and every person should be treated with dignity and gentleness.
Our gatherings should help people know Jesus, grow in truth, and become more faithful in everyday life.
Raise Up Faithful Leaders
A spreading fire needs tending. A growing movement needs mature care.
In Exodus 18:17–21, Jethro recognized that Moses was carrying more responsibility than he could sustain alone. He urged Moses to teach the people and appoint capable leaders who feared God, were trustworthy, and rejected dishonest gain.
Those qualifications deserve our attention.
As gatherings develop, we need leaders whose character can support their calling. We need people who listen, serve, receive correction, and handle responsibility faithfully.
Hosts and leaders also need encouragement, training, and healthy relationships with trusted church leadership. When difficult situations arise, they should have someone to call upon for wisdom and help.
Shared responsibility allows more people to receive care while helping leaders remain faithful over time.
Tend the Fire through Prayer
Every house can become a place of watchful prayer.
Pray for the families on your street. Pray for local churches, schools, businesses, and those in authority. Ask the Lord to make you attentive to people who are lonely, grieving, or searching for hope.
As you pray, listen. Open the Scriptures. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct your attention, and respond with practical obedience.
This week’s resources—The Lifestyle of a Watchman, Strike the Mark, and the Prayers that Strike the Mark Study Guide are selections which can support that journey of prayer, spiritual growth and authentic discipleship.
Study together. Discuss what you are learning. Put it into practice. Let the teaching become part of your daily walk with God.
Will You Open Your Door?
I keep returning to the picture: fires appearing across the United States, followed by small lights becoming fires around the globe.
It moves me to pray for homes filled with the presence of God and believers willing to share their lives. It stirs expectation for the gospel to reach people through every available public means, with personal discipleship taking root from house to house.
Perhaps your next step is simple.
Invite a few people over. Share a meal. Open your Bible. Talk about Jesus. Pray for one another to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ask how you can serve your neighborhood together.
House Fires—a fresh H2H Movement—where Acts 20:20 is the norm.
May we offer the Lord open hearts, open homes, and willing hands.
A Prayer for the Week
“Father, we bring this dream and vision before You. Give us wisdom to understand and faithfully respond to what You are showing.
Fill us afresh with Your Holy Spirit. Deepen our love for Jesus, establish us in Your Word, and teach us to care for one another.
Raise up faithful hosts, watchmen, teachers, and servant leaders. Strengthen the relationships that will help these gatherings grow in truth, humility, and love.
Let the gospel of Your Kingdom be proclaimed publicly through every available means. May people encounter Your love as believers share their lives from house to house.
Here are our hearts. Here are our homes. Lead us in the next step of obedience so we can participate in a fresh H2H movement. In Jesus’s Great Name, Amen and Amen.”
Dreaming Together!
James W. Goll
