The
simple church is an
Evangelical Christian movement that reinterprets the nature and practice of
church. A simple church may meet anywhere with or without trained leaders, formal
liturgy, programs or structures. To facilitate relationship, discipleship (spiritual formation), multiplication, mobility, and member ownership, a simple church is usually a
small group of no more than 20–25 persons. Most Church "programs" privately meet during some days of the week and discuss troubles that they are having with their faith, and personal life. Church "programs" are virtually nonexistent and small group participation is essential. The process of moving from worship to small group, small group to mission work, and mission work to worship is a primary focus. Authors Tony and Felicity Dale, founders of
House2House Ministries, have promoted the term "simple church" in their book "Simply Church". The term is often used interchangeably with other terms like organic church, essential church, primitive church, bodylife, relational church, and micro-church. In the early twenty-first century a number of established Christian denominations and mission organizations have officially supported efforts to develop house church networks.
Origins and influences The simple church movement is part of the broader house church movement. Simple church has also been influenced by overseas missions and the growth of
church planting movements. Church planting movements are spontaneously growing church multiplication efforts. The
missional Movement has also influenced simple church.
Values As in any decentralized, spontaneous movement, a variety of values are expressed in simple church. Due to the influence of some key groups and Acts 2:42–47, three overarching values have emerged in many circles. Adherents Paul Kaak (who began ministry in one of the largest and most systematized
mega-churches in
America) and Neil Cole originally articulated these values using the letters DNA. According to him: •
D – Divine Truth: Truth is the foundation for everything. •
N – Nurturing Relationships: Healthy relationships are what make up a family. Love for one another is to be a constant pursuit of the family of God. •
A – Apostolic Mission: Apostolic means, simply, "sent". These values have since been promoted by House2House Ministries and DAWN North America, and have been adopted by various groups such as New York's MetroSoul
Practices Adherents of George Barna and Frank Viola's book
Pagan Christianity point out a number of reforms that organic churches often advocate. • The belief that modern
clergy is a vestige of Roman
pagan religion that was absent from the early church and is largely at odds with the true
priesthood of all believers. The movement sees the institution of the clergy at odds with passages like Matthew 20, Matthew 23, 3rd John, and the message in
Revelation regarding the deeds of the
Nicolaitans (Greek-literally those who triumph over the people).
1 Corinthians 12–14 paints a picture of an every-member functioning church meeting entirely at odds with the modern religious service which is performed by professionals for an audience. However, some believe this view does not take into account the Jewish and synagogue based nature of the ekklesia, which explains the talk of elders and deacons found in the New Testament. In reply, many simple churches do recognize elders and deacons according to the biblical standards laid out in Timothy and Titus but believe these people emerge over time as their character becomes descriptive of these roles. In an environment where people are free to express their gifts, such people can emerge. Also, being an
elder or
deacon does not mean this person dominates the meeting.
3 John rebukes
Diotrephes the elder who had to be first and was dominating. The simple church largely believes the idea that an elder or deacon is not a license for some to minister and others to be passive. • Valuing the Lord's Supper occurring as a regular, recurring full meal celebration rather than a short religious ritual. The early integration of the home based ritual into the public synagogue-like meeting functioned to reduce the symbolic nature of the act to a private moment, replacing its symbolism of fellowship and dedication to the Lord. This was complete by the time of Constantine, when home based
agape feasts were banned. However, this history does not in itself devalue the need for the larger synagogue-like meeting for prayer, ministry of the word and singing. Simple church adherents also enjoy occasional and even monthly larger gatherings that do this very thing, though they emphasize the smaller meeting of the ekklesia as the environment for spiritual growth. • Organic churches tend to place less emphasis on the building or meeting place. To this end, Neil Cole, an adherent of simple church, states that "buildings, budgets, and big shots", tend to do more to contain Christianity than allow it to spread. However, this statement against larger sized churches does nothing to substantiate its claim.
Media and popular attention In the early twenty-first century the growth of the movement had increased news media coverage during the early 2000s. However, the house church movement saw a resurgence following the COVID-19 epidemic, after Christian believers were forced to meet in more intimate, home-like settings, and after the traditional Westernized church model seemed to fail to meet members' needs during and after the epidemic: Many books have been written on the simple church movement, especially by insiders (see
House Church, Further Reading). In the early twenty-first century, books began to appear by those studying the movement from a more objective view, including
George Barna's
Revolution. Barna says that "revolutionary" expressions such as simple church will soon account for one third of American spirituality. Visibility of the movement also increased due to national and regional gatherings of various kinds. Among which include the Church Without Walls International in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, US, and various other locations throughout the US.
Criticism How the simple church movement relates to constructing a
theology and
ecclesiology is the subject of much debate, especially with critics of the movement. Several prominent voices have serious concerns about simple church. For example, J. Lee Grady (Charisma Online Editor) says such a movement wants to "reinvent the church without its biblical structure and New Testament order—and without the necessary people who are anointed and appointed by God to lead it. To follow this defective thesis to its logical conclusion would require us to fire all pastors, close all seminaries and Bible colleges, padlock our sanctuaries and send everybody home..." Grady and other critics worry that the simple church movement could encourage people to leave more traditional forms of church, which could lead to further collapse or decline of
Christendom. ==See also==