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Encouragements (5.7.15)

Just a few encouragements I want to pass along… –Brice Burton (originally from Somerset and now living Tacoma, Washington) joined our 1st Wednesday of the Month Google Hangout and shared of how he and his wife Becca have been really invested in a pub in their neighborhood. They now have a community of 20 or so “not-yet believers” that they meet with every Monday. They are starting to see many of those folks take interest in their home gathering and Life Transformation Groups. –I am excited for a young family in Elizabethown, Ky that is patiently and faithfully taking steps to see a simple church community birthed.  As we have talked weekly over the past couple of months, it is clear to me that God is starting to do some exciting things in and through… Read More »Encouragements (5.7.15)

The Spirit Is Moving! An Update On Our Journey! (Guest Blog)

To our brothers and sisters in Lexington (and wherever else these words might travel!), may our Master Jesus’ grace and peace be yours in ever increasing measure! We have found Him to be so good, providing for us everything we need at just the right time. We hope you will find encouragement in this brief update. As many of you know, we took Gavin’s challenge in early 2014 very seriously, and we prayed for the Lord to show us specific things He wanted us to do in that year for His Kingdom. He answered us very clearly! In response to His clear leading, we engaged with the local churches in our community in an attempt to partner with them in spreading the Kingdom here in Pendleton county, KY. There are 49 churches here that proclaim… Read More »The Spirit Is Moving! An Update On Our Journey! (Guest Blog)

Trying To Figure Out “Church?” Try this…

Neil Cole over at his Coleslaw blog recently wrote a post entitled “Jesus’ View of The Church.”  I thought that Neil had a great idea for anyone or any group trying to figure out what church should look like.  Spoiler Alert… this was the very last part of the post. Here’s a closing suggestion: Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle creating two columns. On the left write: “Who is Jesus?” and write down all the things you know about him (descriptions, names, powers). On the right side write: “Difference this should make in the way we do church.” Write down all the ways we should be different because of who Jesus is. I seriously doubt you can leave church the way it is in light of who Jesus truly… Read More »Trying To Figure Out “Church?” Try this…

House Church Multiplication In Appalachia

I often think about opportunities for simple or house church multiplication in my region.  When I pray, Appalachia frequently comes to mind.  Eastern Kentucky is often characterized by its economic and drug challenges.  However, when I think of of Eastern Kentucky and the Appalachian region, I see opportunity–opportunity for disciples and churches to multiply. A recent article online from the folks at Exponential about Clarence Greenleaf (1915-2004) highlighted the faithfulness he and his church family (Grundy Church) in the region.  While many the churches he helped plant ended up going the way of brick and mortar, he had a passion for church multiplication throughout Appalachia. Grundy Church had many strategies for multiplication. For instance, they sent a bus to one target area to bring in a dozen or more people to their services. That sounds… Read More »House Church Multiplication In Appalachia

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

Simple Church Hangout – March 4

NEXT HANGOUT:  WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4TH, 8PM EST The Simple Church Alliance desires to help people, regardless of location, to start simple church ministries and networks.  In 2015, we want to help those who want to multiply simple churches, but are geographically unable to join us for our monthly Simple Church Experience opportunities here in Central Kentucky.  Beginning February 4th at 8PM, and continuing on the first Wednesday of each month, meet us here to join a special Google hangout where you can meet and be encouraged by others on this journey.  We will post details and links to the hangout here on our website and on our Facebook Page.  If you know you would like to take part, please email us your Google email so that we can make sure you get connected to the… Read More »Simple Church Hangout – March 4

Every “Christian” Couple Should Talk About This

As my wife Karla and I have had the opportunity for informal premarital counseling experiences with several young couples, our own marriage has been strengthened as we have helped guide others through the process of answering some important questions: “Where will we live?”  “How will we raise our children?”  “How will we handle our finances?”   I believe that a continual open dialogue about these questions and others are essential for the unity of husband and wife as well as enjoyment of the marriage relationship.  For Christians, however, there is one question that precedes all of these important marriage questions.  I find, though, that this one gets much less attention than it deserves. “How are we, as a couple/family, going to actively participate in the Great Commission?” Even more specifically, I like to ask the… Read More »Every “Christian” Couple Should Talk About This

New Day of Month For Simple Church Trainings

Simple Church Training – Now on the THIRD THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH. UPDATE:  See HERE FOR DETAILS FOR JUNE 19! Each month we gather together for an informal “training” of sorts.  We find that providing an opportunity for those seeking to lead simple churches (or just looking for the encouragement to start) is helpful in encouraging one another and helping rotationally connect various simple churches.  There are now a couple of different simple church communities that primarily are gathering on Wednesday nights so we thought we would give thursday nights a shot so that some of those folks can benefit from the training opportunities.  Starting in June, we will shift our day to the third thursday of the month.  Same start time and place – 6-8pm at 3060 Harrodsburg Road.  So the next several training… Read More »New Day of Month For Simple Church Trainings

8 Ways To Start A Simple Church

There is no formula for how to start a simple church.  The Holy Spirit must be the Initiator and Leader if a real church community is to be birthed.  Even still, I have seen several ways God can use you to give birth to a new simple church family! 1. LTG – As you and a friend or two begin a Life Transformation Group (LTG) and you see that LTG multiply into two LTGs, a simple church can be formed. It’s logical and natural that you say, “why don’t we all share a meal together?” If married, the husband’s and wife’s LTGs can come together weekly for simple church! There are many advantages to this because the multiplication of disciples is the building block of the new simple church! 2. Just Start Gathering – Sometimes… Read More »8 Ways To Start A Simple Church