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Simple Church #Giving Tuesday

I would like to take the opportunity of #GivingTuesday to celebrate God’s provision for our family through this unique ministry we call Simple Church Alliance. For the past ten years, our family has received support through friends and strangers alike who believe in the Kingdom work of encouraging and equipping house church leaders across the region.  As the landscape of the church continues to shift here in the US, we believe that in many ways we are only getting started with what God has for us. This year, we would be grateful for your prayers and support. There is a… Read More »Simple Church #Giving Tuesday

Your Marriage Is A Ministry – Keep it Simple Podcast #137

Reminder: This Sunday evening is our House Church Connect Dinner! RSVP today! 5-6:30pm! Details on our website! For those of you who are married, do you look at your life together as a ministry? Do you think about all the people you will influence during your lives? Today, Tom and Gavin talk about a little known, but very influential couple from the book of Acts named Priscilla and Aquila and the tremendous influence they had on Paul, Apollos, the Church then and Christianity today. Thanks for liking and subscribing and sharing! Comments also are always welcome! Also available in audio… Read More »Your Marriage Is A Ministry – Keep it Simple Podcast #137

House Church Connection Dinner – Sun, Nov 6

UPDATE: Location moved to the Duerson’s home. Let’s connect! – Sunday November 6th! House church (or what also can be referred to as “organic church” or “simple church”) communities are springing up all around. We’d love to provide a time for fellowship, prayer, and encouragement for these communities in the area! In addition, we always want to give people in house church an opportunity to connect with others on a similar path. Please join us for a special House Church Connection Dinner as we come together for a meal and to discuss the question, “Where does a house church fit… Read More »House Church Connection Dinner – Sun, Nov 6

A Conversation With Felicity Dale

I was excited to continue my “Simple Church Conversations” series with Felicity Dale, one of the pioneers of the recent house church movement in America. Felicity, along with her husband Tony, have been very active in planting simple churches for more than 30 years. Felicity is the author of Simply Church, An Army of Ordinary People: Stories of Real-Life Men and Women Simply Being the Church, and Small Is Big!: Unleashing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches. Referenced resources…. A simple guide to hearing God https://simplychurch.com/a-simple-guide-to-hearing-god-3/ Felicity Dale Blog www.simplychurch.org House2House.com – great resources and teaching/training Felicity’s books on… Read More »A Conversation With Felicity Dale

Hospitality and Simple Church

Today, Tom and Gavin discuss hospitality and its impact on people. Hospitality – serving others – is not easy. It can be hard work and frankly, not many people know how to do it well. It seems to be a dying art in our modern culture. But if practiced consistently, hospitality can bring people closer to each other and to God. As followers of Christ, we would do well to rethink the importance of hospitality to our Christian witness. Thanks for liking and subscribing and sharing! Comments also are always welcome! Also available in audio only: Spotify link: https://tinyurl.com/msmwe4n6 Apple… Read More »Hospitality and Simple Church

Waiting and Watching In Ireland (By Sandra Haven)

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6) It was just one week earlier that I went to the retreat in Stanford for the Simple Church gathering of various house church leaders.  That was on September 10th.  I wasn’t really sure why I felt prompted to go, just to say goodbye to good friends I thought.  I don’t know when or if I will return to the States so I thought maybe God would speak to me there about my unknown future.  Just one week prior to the retreat my sister came from… Read More »Waiting and Watching In Ireland (By Sandra Haven)

Simple Church Retreat Recap

Recently, we concluded our annual Simple Church Retreat. We were blessed to welcome friends from Alabama, Ohio, Eastern Kentucky and Central Kentucky to The Stanford Inn at Wilderness Road.

This year our conversation centered around the idea of simple church as a way of life–not a “ministry” or “way of doing church.”

Hot Tub Baptisms

Recently we had the privilege of baptizing two of our children, Beau (12) and Neva (9). It was such a blessing for friends and family to join us for simple church and to celebrate this special occasion. It was wonderful to hear the verses they shared and the personal encouragements they passed along to our children as they publicly declared their desire to follow Jesus in their lives. How wonderful it is to celebrate the new birth that Christ has granted to all of us!  

Keep it Simple Podcast #134 Bart Scarborough (Part 2) – Simple Church Conversations

Check out round two with Bart Scarborough as we dive deeper into our conversation about what it means to walk with Jesus… and not run.  How the spiritual disciplines impact living in His love and help us to avoid religiosity.  UPDATE: We look forward to being with many of you this weekend at the Simple Church retreat!  We are welcoming so many new folks it’s going to be exciting to see how the Lord encourages us all!  Please let us know how we can serve and encourage you where you are as you seek to walk with the Jesus and… Read More »Keep it Simple Podcast #134 Bart Scarborough (Part 2) – Simple Church Conversations

Keep it Simple Podcast #133 Bart Scarborough (Part 1) – Simple Church Conversations

Recently I was able to continue the “Simple Church Conversations” series by interviewing a good friend, Bart Scarborough. Bart is currently operating a spiritual retreat center in Georgia called The Ancient Way Farm. In this podcast we discuss the current unhealthy trend of frenetic ministry and encourage a more focused but slower, deliberate way of healthy ministry through reflection and relationship.  As you will hear me share in my introduction, the topics we cover in part 1 (and part 2 …coming soon) are very close to what I think God is up to in “simple” church.  I hope you enjoy… Read More »Keep it Simple Podcast #133 Bart Scarborough (Part 1) – Simple Church Conversations