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Simple Church Retreat October 3-4 – Register Today!

Friends, Karla and I could not be more excited to welcome everyone back to Stanford, KY, for our annual Simple Church Retreat. We look forward to this time each year as an opportunity to connect with all of you. It is our deepest prayer that our time together will be a source of encouragement and refreshment for any believer in need of a reset—especially those of you who help facilitate simple or house church communities across the region. If you are new to house church or simple church, or perhaps simply asking questions about what it really means to be the church, this retreat is a wonderful opportunity to connect with others on similar journeys and take part in conversations that will hopefully help you discover God’s direction for this season of your life. You… Read More »Simple Church Retreat October 3-4 – Register Today!

2025 Simple Church Retreat

Sign up today for the 2025 Simple Church Retreat at the Stanford Inn at the Wilderness Road in Stanford, KY September 27-28.  Enjoy a wonderful time with others involved in simple church communities across the region, in this event’s thirteenth year! Space is limited so register today and get all the details HERE. The Registration Deadline is August 28th.  Too far away to join us? Bad timing?  We are always available to help you host a similar weekend in your neck of the woods!  Contact us for more details.

2024 Simple Church Retreat Oct 19-20

Come to Stanford, Kentucky’s second oldest town this year to connect with and learn alongside simple/house/organic church practitioners from around the region at the 2024 Simple Church Retreat/Conference October 19-20! Since 2012, we have hosted an annual overnight opportunity for Christians asking similar questions to come together for a time of equipping and encouragement—questions like: What is a church really and how simple can it be? What are the challenges we would need to overcome in order to be a part of a simple/house church? Am I even allowed to start a house church and if so how does that happen? What are the joys and victories people are experiencing in simple/house church communities? How does simple church fit into the bigger picture of what God is doing? If you have questions like these or… Read More »2024 Simple Church Retreat Oct 19-20

Simple Church Conference / Retreat – October 28-29

Come to Kentucky’s second oldest town this year to connect with and learn alongside simple/house/organic church practitioners from around the region at the 2023 Simple Church Retreat/Conference!  Since 2012, we have sought to host an annual overnight opportunity for Christians asking similar questions to come together for a time of equipping and encouragement—questions like: What is a church really? What are the challenges we would need to overcome in order to be a part of a simple/house church? Am I even allowed to start a house church and if so how does that happen? What are the joys and victories people are experiencing in simple/house church communities? How does house church play a role in the bigger picture of what God is doing? If you have questions like these or other similar ones, we know… Read More »Simple Church Conference / Retreat – October 28-29

Simple Church Retreat 2022 (Reg. Deadline Aug 22)

————- SEPTEMBER 10-11 REGISTRATION DEADLINE MONDAY, AUGUST 22nd!  DESCRIPTION Connect with and learn alongside simple/house/organic church practitioners from around the region at this year’s simple church retreat. We will take 24-hours to refocus on what simple church is about. Simple church leaders from the region will be facilitating times of encouragement as we look together into God’s Word, and enjoy meals at the Bluebird Cafe!  Come and be refreshed and encouraged by communion with friends and Christ “In total there are currently (mid 2021) at least 22.6 million house churches worldwide with a total of around 300 million members. They are, considering all internal and contextual factors, by far the most viral, adaptable and multipliable segment of Christ‐followers globally. If their number continues to grow at a very realistic rate of 20% per year, they will reach a… Read More »Simple Church Retreat 2022 (Reg. Deadline Aug 22)

Retreat Wrap-up

On September 25th and 26th, we resumed our annual Simple Church Retreat. Having missed this yearly time of fellowship, gathering with other simple church leaders again at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road was so refreshing. We spent the weekend reading and reflecting on a great little book by Henry Nouwen entitled In the Name of Jesus. Almost prophetically, Nouwen describes the kind of leader the church will need in the 21st century–lessons he learned once moving as a priest to a home for adults with disabilities. Kaleb Phillips, a dear friend and fellow simple church leader in Nicholasville, recommended the book. We have both been struck by how a person in a very different part of the Christian community could so deeply and profoundly expound on many aspects of leadership in the Kingdom that… Read More »Retreat Wrap-up

2021 Simple Church Retreat (September 25-26)

Karla and I would like to invite you to join us and others from simple church communities across the region this September 25-26, at the Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road.  My prayer is that this time will serve to refresh and encourage you as we seek clarity about what Jesus is up to in our day.  In the spirit of simple church, there will not be long presentations to sit through, but rather conversations to explore and relationships to discover and develop with others whose pursuit of Christ has led them (or may be leading them) outside the religious institutions that can typically define God’s family. This spot can feel like a lonely place, but you are not alone! We would love to have you join us!  Details and Registration HERE.  (Registration Deadline Sept. 3) The Destination… Read More »2021 Simple Church Retreat (September 25-26)

Save The Date: Simple Church Conference 2019

Hello friends! I just wanted to get this date on your calendar… September 21-22, 2019. We will be returning to the Wilderness Road Guest Homes and Rooms in Standford, KY this fall for our 8th annual Simple Church Conference! I hope you can make plans to join us! We will have more details coming soon.  If you are not on our newsletter, please email us to make sure you receive all the latest information on this conference and happenings with organic/simple/house church we are aware of in the region.  Thank you for stopping by and we hope to see you in September! More about The Wilderness Road Guest Houses in Standford, KY HERE.   Visit the Famous Bluebird Cafe Website

Simple Church Conference 16 Wrap Up

I want to take a second and thank everyone who came together this last weekend for the simple church conference.  As I shared at the conference, I had experienced a lot of resistance about the entire during the whole process of planning our time together–so much so that I knew the day had to happen!  I trust that the our time will together will continue to impact our faith journeys and our simple churches that we are connected too. For those that could not make it, allow me to offer a brief summary of our weekend: On Saturday morning, we saw folks from Lexington, Nicholasville, Wilmore, Louisville, Beijing China, and Washington DC come together to consider their call to live out the Great Commission.  Dana and Diego kicked us off with a wonderful time of worship… Read More »Simple Church Conference 16 Wrap Up