How do I use the new Webinar Video to find a CORE4 missionary team?
- Pray about, and make a list of the people who God would have you invite over to your home to watch the webinar video presentation on a Saturday evening.
- Set a date, invite the people on your list, and watch the webinar. Depending on people's schedule you may have to show the webinar several times.
- At the end of the webinar showing, state your conviction to move forward and become a Simple Church missionary. (This process does NOT take a vote to see what the majority think.) Simply state your conviction and intention to move forward.
- Invite people to think and pray about this possibility because you are looking for a CORE4 missionary team.
- Invite the people to come back the next week (same time, same place) to start Phase One training.
- Assume that those who come back are ready to move forward with you.
- If you face any opposition, ask them to call Milton (USA and Europe) or Graham (Australia/New Zealand). We will answer all their questions and you will be free to stay focused on the missionary work of which God has convicted you.
As you listen to people's responses and comments, it will become evident who has caught the missionary vision of Simple Church. (And it will become evident as to who did not catch the vision.) Work with those who did catch the vision and press forward in Jesus' name.
When the CORE4 has completed Phase One training, contact the network and we will coach the CORE4 team through Phase Two training as you get ready to launch.
What is Simple Church?
Simple Church is a very old, new idea.
Simple Church is missionally designed to train and empower a grass-roots, lay-led global house church movement.
Simple Church is front-line missionary focused on reaching unchurched and secular people with the Everlasting Gospel of Jesus.
Simple Church is similar to Adventist Frontier Missions. But Simple Church is different. It focuses on western cultures that were once Christian countries but have again turned secular.
Simple Church can train you, no matter where you live.
Why was Simple Church birthed?
"Simple Church is lowering the bar on what it means to "do church" and raising the bar on what it means to "go and make disciples."
"In the west we have elevated how we do church to such a status that in most cases it takes a professional and often a professional team to pull it off each week."
Simple Church makes it possible for every Christian to be part of a New Testament house church missionary team.
Do I need to buy a Serendipity Bible for Simple Church?
The Serendipity Bible for group is an excellent resource to have. But it is not necessary to lead a Simple Church. Free leader's guides are being designed specifically for Simple Church. These leader's guides are unique. Each set of questions was written for and pilot tested in Simple Churches where secular and/or unchurched people are interacting with Scripture and with each other. Only then are these study guides made available for others to download and use.
Why not automatically connect house churches to local established congregations and pastoral leadership?
There are a couple reasons:
1) Pastors come and go. While one pastor may be supportive of simple churches, the next pastor may close them down.
2) House churches that are assigned to an established "mother" congregation are ultimately accountable to that church board. Typically church board manage and maintain an organization. Current trends have affirmed this maintenance focus.
Simple Church
makes it possible for front-line missionaries to put the new wine into new wine-skins.
What does the Simple Church Network do?
This network serves to educate local conferences and church administrators regarding the Simple Church paradigm.
Provides a structural umbrella under which Simple Church CORE4 planters can connect with other CORE4 planters in their mutual efforts to share the Everlasting Gospel.
Maintains accountability within and between CORE4 teams.
What makes this network different from other house church networks?
Simple Church is a global network.
Simple Church is not dependent upon or linked to established congregations. Instead Simple Churches are linked to each other.
Simple Church home-grows its coaching leadership. A simple church coach will have actually raised up and multiplied simple churches before they coach you through the same process.
As more house church networks and fellowships develop, how does a person understand the differences between them?
10 Questions you Need to Ask will help you identify the spoken or unspoken core values of a house church network or fellowship.
Many churches, conferences, and denominations are starting to use the popular “house church” lingo, but they do not all fully embrace the Biblical theology of “church.” The results are cosmetic adjustments that limit the lay power of a grass-roots movement.
What books should I read? (Listed in suggested order.)
Revolution by George Barna is a must read for anyone interested in house churches. He articulates the reasons why 20 million (between 2000-2005) left local typical churches in their search for God.
The American Church in Crisis: Groundbreaking Research Based on a National Database of over 200,000 Churches by David T. Olson, 2008, provides you with some of the most recent research on the spiritual and religious trends of North America.
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, will help one understand a number of the dynamics of the global network. This is not a house church book, but it address tipping point factors, what are often called movements.
Missional House Churches by J.D. Payne, 2007, chronicles a research study on house churches found in North America. Of all the books I've read, this book gives irrefutable statistical evidence as to why house churches cannot be ignored.
unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons is sobering.
The Search to Belong: Rethinking Intimacy, Community, and Small Groups by Joseph R. Myers explains a paradigm shift and what it means to "belong" in today's world. This book is very challenging, especially in how a church relates to the question of belonging.
Revolution in the church by Russell Burrill is a short and easy read that prepares the way for the coming Revolution.
Evangelism , and Gospel Workers , by Ellen White. These two books are recommended by Dr. Cho, pastor of the world's largest church in Seoul, Korea.
Fire Your Pastor: The Hope of a Lost World by Lonnie Wibberding. This book has an edgy title but it is well written and is recommended by Russell Burrill. A free PDF copy is available at www.FireYourPastor.org Lonnie is an Adventist pastor.
Recovering an Adventist Approach to the Life and Mission of the Local Church by Russell C. Burrill. Burrill carefully chronicles the development of early Adventism through the 21st century and uncovers issues that contribute to current conditions.
Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God (workbook) by Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude V. King, provides a breath of fresh air. For those who have grown up with a highly intellectual approach to spirituality, this book leads one to experience a relationship with God. Get a head start as this book is part of the Simple Church training.
Milton Adam's doctoral dissertation is a free download. The first page of the dissertatoin includes the 2010 Excellence in DMin Reserach Award presented by Andrews University.
How big did a New Testament house church get?
On average, 10—35 people.
How many people does it take to start a simple church?
Four lay-people. Two of the four serve as co-leaders, one as a host coordinator, and one as a details coordinator to take care of finances, membership, and miscellaneous details. These four lay-people are called the CORE4.
Out of all the research what are the more convincing reasons to plant house churches? There are four:
1) The average church in the United States will spend as much as 64 percent of its budget on staff salaries. Additionally, it will spend as much as 30 percent of its offerings on maintaining its buildings. Researchers say that churches spend between 82 - 96 percent of their financial resources on maintaining themselves. This does not include the millions that are spent on building bigger buildings. In 2001 “the total cost of Christian outreach worldwide averages $330,000 for each newly baptized person. The cost per baptism in the United States tops $1.5 million.”
In this Simple Church network, all tithe is given away to support full time missionaries around the world. And all offerings are used locally by the Simple Church gathering in which they are given to help people.
2) Smaller churches are more effective in growing than larger churches. Since house churches multiply before getting "big" they continually capitalize on this growth dynamic.
3) The younger the age of a church the more effective it is in reaching people. When a house church multiplies, it essentially resets its time clock as it starts over.
4) People are no longer depending upon "professionals" to tell them how to find God. They are taking this as their personal responsibility. This is a good thing.
“The new Revolution differs in that its primary impetus is not salvation among the unrepentant but the personal renewal and recommitment of believers. The dominant catalyst is people’s desperation for a genuine relationship with God. The renewal of that relationship spurs believers to participate in spreading the gospel. Rather than relying on a relative handful of inspired preachers to promote a national revival, the emerging Revolution is truly a grassroots explosion of commitment to God that will refine the Church and result in a natural and widespread immersion in outreach.”
What are people looking for?
To simplify their life
To
re-prioritize their lives
To cultivate a deeper walk with God.
Are there "poor" reasons for wanting to plant a church?
Unfortunately there are many. Only a few will be listed, but there will be common denominators that can be identified. Some of these reasons include: I don't like our pastor; I don't like the music in our church; I'm having some theological questions; I have to travel a long ways to church; I don't want to be accountable; I want to keep my tithe; and even, I just want to worship God.
Good reasons to plant a simple church? To reach unreached people with the Everlasting Gospel. Simple Church is front-line missionary work.
When did formal church buildings begin to replace home churches?
History tells us that Constantine's contributions to Christianity were many, including the following:
From informal home to formal church building*
From the seventh day Sabbath to first day Sunday worship**
From lay-led to paid professional clergy*
*Houses that Change the World by Wolfgang Simson
**From Sabbath to Sunday : A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity by Samuele Bacchiocchi
Simple Church is going back to the New Testament way of life: lay-people, leading home churches, on the seventh-day Sabbath.
Is Cell Church different than house church?
Yes, Cell Church still follows the basic Constantine format - weekend celebration worship services which usually take place in a public setting plus a pastor/staff who plans and coordinates the worship service. The cell groups meet during the week as do most small groups.
Is this movement primarily young people?
No. Researchers note that the house church movement crosses all generational lines. That means there are as many older people as middle aged and young people who are leaving the typical church to gather in house churches.
Is Simple Church limited to North America?
No. Simple Church is able to train you no matter where you live in the world.
Are Simple Churches (house churches) the same as the book called Simple Church?
No. The book, Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger is an excellent book that talks about simplifying the typical/average church. It is NOT talking about Simple Church House Churches, which is an altogether different paradigm. It can be confusing because both use the same term—Simple Church. Names for house churches include: Organic Church, Greenhouse, Simple Church, Mini Church, and House Church.
Is Simple Church a “new” idea?
House churches were the norm in the New Testament, as believers shared the Gospel of Christ in a secular culture similar to what is now seen in North America. We have come full circle. Today we again live in a secular western culture. House church may be new to us, but it is a very old “new” idea.
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