Temple Court and House to House

One of the questions that comes up when people consider being a Simple Church is “Do I stop going to meet with other Christians in a larger group?” In other words, what about the more traditional practice of gathering for church in a conventional setting like a sanctuary or auditorium with a worship team and a preacher? The wonderful example that we have from the Book of Acts is that there is a place for both the small gathering of church in a home as well as the larger gathering of church in a more public place.

We know that the Christians in Jerusalem met both in the Temple Court…

Simple Church or Small Group: What’s the Difference?

For people who have been part of a conventional church with a building and some type of Small Group or Cell Group ministry, the question often gets asked, “Isn’t Simple Church just a new name for Small Groups or Cell Groups?” It is a good and honest question. On the surface they look nearly identical. In both you are likely to have groups of a dozen or so people who gather on some regular basis. In both groups there will likely be some discussion of the Bible as well as time for prayer. There will be fellowship and some degree of building relationships. But once you get beyond…

Back to the Future: An Old Way to Be the Church Again

In the first few centuries of Christianity, the church was generally much more simple than most people experience today. Part of the reason for that simplicity was that everyone believed that they were in some way called by Jesus to serve in ministry. That does not mean that they all were paid employees of a church staff. It means that they saw themselves as vital members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and as such they served others in Jesus name.

They didn’t have a bunch of “ministry programs” in the first century. For the most part people just did the things that the Lord…

I Have Seen the Unicorn

Sitting talking to my friend Brian about Simple Church/House Church theory and why a mega-church like Northland is getting involved in helping start Simple Churches. Suddenly Brian says to me, “A good Simple Church is like the unicorn. I have heard that there is such a thing and it sounds cool, but I have never seen one. Have you?” “Yes Brian” I replied, “I have seen the Unicorn and it is a beautiful site”. His face lit up in anticipation of hearing about this mythical church creature.

My most recent sighting of the Unicorn came a few months ago in…