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Updates & Prayer Requests

* We recently hosted author Wayne Jacobsen and his wife Sara for a day retreat/conversation. I was blown away by the response with almost fifty folks joining us in Lexington from as far away as Oregon, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee! I also was grateful that so many families in the region discovered us and connected with other believers.  We continue to witness a growing hunger for people to “find church” outside the box! If you are not familiar with Wayne, he helped contribute to the book The Shack; however, I highly encourage checking out the books Finding Church, He Loves Me, and So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore?  If you happen to pick up a copy and read it, let me know!  I’d love to discuss with you!   Wayne and Sara… Read More »Updates & Prayer Requests

Duerson Family Year End Update! (by Karla Duerson)

  Dear Family and Friends, This year has been an amazing one for us. In February, our friends called us to see if we’d like to buy the house they had been renting to another family for the previous seven years. It is a house that I’d always admired for its living space and placement on our street. On Valentine’s Day, our friend showed Gavin and me through the home. We took a walk around the block afterwards and decided, with excitement, that we would love to make the house our home. We made our best offer and they accepted! The timing of it all was astounding. We were able to sell our home quickly and began a few updates in the new home before having to move out of ours in July. The help… Read More »Duerson Family Year End Update! (by Karla Duerson)

What A Night!

Thanks to everyone who made it out last night to our Simple Church Alliance network Christmas gathering!  It was a great time and I only wish I could have spent more time getting to know all the new folks a bit more and connecting with old friends! …Hopefully we will see everyone again soon in 2017! * You can check out some photos from last night HERE. (if you have some good ones please shoot them to me if you don’t mind!) * We recorded the music and hope to have “A Simple Church Christmas Vol.2” available by next Oct.  You can download Vol. 1 free HERE. * If you had friends that came and would like to be included in simple church e-newsletters/updates, please shoot me their emails or have them email me.  The Facebook group and page are also good for staying connected to other simple… Read More »What A Night!

Summer Updates (in Photos)

Summer Updates It’s hard to believe that we are about to turn the page on yet another summer!  I wanted to take a few seconds and share some byte-sized updates from simple church happenings.  Thank you for having covered many of these opportunities with prayer. University of Kentucky Simple Church Training         Zumé Project – Kentucky   Summer Celebration Gathering       Water Blast Camp     Awaken Conference in Paintsville, KY     Regional Gathering with Gospel Fellowships       Simple Church Conference Coming Up! Golf Church Finally… What is going on in your neck of the woods?  We would love to hear about what God is doing in your life and in your simple church!  How can we pray for you?  Any news to pass along?  Let us continue… Read More »Summer Updates (in Photos)

NPR All Things Considered: Simple Church

Recently, National Public Radio featured simple/house church ideas.  “All Things Considered” aired House Churches Swap Steeples For Sofas and Say Thay’ve Never Been Closer.  You can listen to the feature and read a related article here.  I am grateful for their coverage and am not surprised that it appeared on the show since more people are moving to simpler forms of church life.  Overall, I thought the story was done well, but like anything squeezed into 3:30, much was left out.  Here are a few thoughts I had after listening to the story: * The reporter states that “everyone just talks about what’s been weighing on them.”  While I’m uncertain if those in the community would describe themselves that way, I encourage people to each bring a message that has been “weighing on them” as… Read More »NPR All Things Considered: Simple Church

5 Encouraging Things So Far…

This was going out to the “prayer list” at First Alliance Church. Thought I’d share it here too! ————— Hello First Alliance!  God is continuing to grow and lead us in the formation of the “new church.”   Let us thank Him together for what He has done! Name. We have settled on a name: “Simple Church Alliance.”  We feel this name most clearly explains what we are:  an alliance of simple churches.  Plus, the use of “alliance” identifies us with the C&MA! Depth. God is really bringing a spirit of transparency into the groups.   As a result, real needs are being addressed. Connecting. We are beginning to see individuals and families who are not connected to the body of Christ start to identify with some of the simple churches. Partners. The C&MA Ohio Valley District… Read More »5 Encouraging Things So Far…

Letter to First Alliance Members

Hello First Alliance! Thank you for allowing me to brief you on the “church plant.”  By God’s grace and leading, and the blessing and encouragement of Steve Elliot and the entire FAC staff, a team from our church is planting a network of simple churches.  In a simple church network, the “front door” of the church is the home or other places where people live.  A simple church gathering involves eating, worship, teaching, prayer, missions, and accountability to one another. Larger gatherings for all the simple churches (what we call Celebration Gatherings) still occur, but are not the primary emphasis of the network. In keeping with the Lord’s leading, we are ready for the network’s “soft launch.”  It is a soft launch because everyone will continue to be members of FAC until the umbilical cord… Read More »Letter to First Alliance Members