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Question 5

Bercot highlights that the first Anabaptists met in homes at night, three or four times a week, often taking communion each meeting; what does their pattern imply about the New Testament assumption of church as a shared life rather than a weekly event, and what would have to change in our schedules and priorities to recover even a fraction of that?

Another way to ask: The first Anabaptists met in homes at night three or four times a week and often took communion each time. What does that say about church being a shared life, not just a weekly event, and what would you need to change in your schedule to move even partway toward that?

Direct Answer Bercot’s description implies the Anabaptists treated church as an ongoing shared life centered on Christ, not a once-a-week service—and recovering even part of that would require major shifts in how we value time, fellowship, and “being together.”

Support from Transcript:

The Swiss brethren “met in homes, generally at night in secret,” showing church as a living community rather than a public institution.
Bercot says they met “three or four times a week,” because “the love of God was so strong in them, they wanted to be together all of the time.”
He adds there was “really nothing else in life that compared to their newfound joy in Jesus Christ.”
They “typically… shared communion every time they met together,” meaning communion was frequent and relational, not occasional.
Their meetings happened under persecution, yet their devotion increased rather than decreased.

Discussion Follow-ups Bercot doesn’t give a modern program, but his point presses us: what competes with fellowship—entertainment, overload, privacy? Would our lives show that Jesus is our main joy?

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