Anyone can start a simple church. You don't have to be a seminary graduate to start one. But there are certain prerequisites in order to be successful. First, you need to have faith that God can and will use simple churches to make disciples. This is often the greatest hurdle, because we tend to think that God can only do His work of changing lives if a person is sitting in a pew in a large church setting. There has to be a praise team and a pastor preaching. There must be programs, etc. In other words, we are suspicious of the power of simplicity. I hear people say, "But it's not enough!" That only shows how far we have come away from the New Testament model and how easily we have accepted as the norm what we have experienced so far in our culture. God can and will use the simplicity of the simple church to change lives. If you don't believe that, you won't be successful. Second, you or a team need to be willing to facilitate it. A simple church will not function as God intended if there is no one or no team willing to facilitate it. Someone or a team must step up to take the lead and make it happen. Last but not the least, you must have the time necessary to make it successful. The simple church is not just a meeting; it's a social relationship. You must have the time to develop relationships with your simple church members not just during your regular meetings but also in between meetings. Developing relationships takes time. That's why a simple church works only when the members are real friends or are willing to become real friends. Without true friendship, the simple church will struggle to continue. If a person has these three qualities, he or she can start a simple church and make it grow to the glory of God.

rlccphil 8 ago Via Flipboard