Members of five Adventist simple churches and community friends met for the first South England Simple Church retreat near Reading in Berkshire, 8-10 March. Each simple church is different – Simple Church Reading focuses on ministry in the workplace, Simple Church High Wycombe focuses on ministry to children, Simple Church Walthamstow focuses on reaching secular… Continue reading
Post Category → Simple Church
Experiencing Simple Church!
Graham and Ailsa Ure have had simple church in their home each Saturday for 18 months now – but, simple church is not a one hour worship service. A number of factors motivated their move from long involvement in established conventional churches, including – none of the many friends they invited to church (over many… Continue reading
Think about ‘Conversational Leadership’
When writing to the churches he had planted the apostle Paul did not address a ‘leadership team’ – he wrote to the church (gathered disciples). ‘Leadership teams’ can restrict rather than enable – control rather than release. God’s vision is for disciples to make disciples – lead people to Jesus and experience the kind of… Continue reading
Social Networking is Changing Church
See this 20 minute Clay Shirky presentation Institutions vs. Collaboration . What do you think could be implications for – 1. mission? 2. movements? 3. insider movements? 4. the way church exists in the global north?
Community Chaplain Services
In England this last Saturday I met Dusan Uzelac who is equipping community chaplains to connect with and support their neighborhoods. As Dusan says, ‘Everyone knows what a chaplain is – and they are respected!’ They work in pairs, wear a badge with name and contact details identifying their church plant. Assigned a small territory,… Continue reading
Churches of the People!
Many Christians are opting for simpler forms of church – as they take faith to their friends and families, they are taking church home, out in the forest, beside a lake, or into a cafe! There they eat, pray, encourage, read the Bible, discuss, apply faith to life, share the Lord’s Supper, lead friends to… Continue reading
‘So you don’t want to go to church …’
Last Thursday I picked up Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman’s, “So you don’t want to go to church anymore!’ It is a challenging read – but very helpful. The authors get at some critical issues – and, for me, some of their insights and narratives came ‘very close to home’! One of the great dangers… Continue reading
Resource Ideas
Rebecca Walker, a resource writer for The Salvation Army’s Australia Southern Territory attended a recent equipping weekend – and has put some of the ideas we explored into a very succinct and readable form – Planting Churches that Multiply. (It is also available as a PDF.) Thanks Rebecca. Also, the Baptist Union Victoria has posted… Continue reading
Simple Church Website
Check out www.simplechurchinfo.com for ideas on simple church – and there is also a page on small groups that is very helpful. While the material on simple church is designed specifically for Adventists, others will also find this an excellent resource.
Alphabet City Cafe becomes Church
Alphabet City Cafe is a bustling commercial cafe on High Street, Northcote (an inner northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia). There are four or five large crowded rooms – walls decorated with the works of local artists – where friends meet for coffee or a meal to talk, read, catch up. The rooms are open to each other –… Continue reading