Principles of Simple Church

Dear Nicolay,

I understand your concern that if you give up control of your meetings there will be chaos and disorder, but be assured that the headship of Christ does not mean confusion or disorder – that is not the nature of Christ.

One of Paul’s common themes is the theme of freedom – it is a word he uses 29 times in his writing. We, in Christ, are set free from sin, Satan, the law, and our fleshy nature. This freedom is the foundation of the communities of Christians. We are free to be the people of God together – to follow, love, obey, walk with, and serve our God together.

Simple: Uncomplicated in nature, essence and expression

As simple churches, we are committed to a methodology for doing and being church that seeks to be uncomplicated in nature, essence and expression. We believe the church of Jesus Christ in all her ways share similar values, but not always similar outward expressions. And for us, those expressions are far too often barriers to those who most need to experience the presence of Jesus Christ. Simple churches come in all shapes, sizes, cultures and theological distinctives. But we do seem to share a common thread: A very simple methodology of what it means to follow Christ as a community of believers. We therefore endeavor to ask and be led by the right questions answers. Below are seven common questions and practices. They revolve around these verses found in Acts 2:41- 47:

Dear Nicolay,

I have just returned from Ukraine and Georgia. In reality, I am quite discouraged by the political and economic situation in Georgia and I am also discouraged by the gathering of Slavic church leaders who have little vision for revising the current spiritual crisis. They understand the problems, but are totally captured by their resistance to change. As one brother said, “We are victims of our systems.” I pray that God will free us or we will muster the courage to be a radical people – just like Christ?

Dear Nicolay,

Greetings my dear brother. I trust you are well in the Lord's work in Ukraine.

Two weeks ago I visited a new church in Western Ukraine and I must admit that I was very frustrated by the messages which were spoken by the preachers. There was zero interaction and the young man I was with said nothing from the 40 minute message spoke to him at all. The preacher could just as well as speaking to the walls.

I am attaching an article that I wrote several years ago encouraging dialogue as a method - very Biblical- of communicating the truths of God's word.

Church according to Miriam-Webster's online dictionary:

1. a building for public and especially Christian worship
2. the clergy or officialdom of a religious body
3. a body or organization of religious believers: as
   a: the whole body of Christians
   b: denomination
   c: congregation
4. a public divine worship

Webster defines church according to the way this word is used today. I was taught this same definition as a little boy when I would put my hands together and recite the rhyme: "Here is the church, and here is the steeple; open the door and here are all the people."

For nearly twenty years, along with many others, I have prayed for, dreamed about and hoped to participate in the spontaneous expansion of the church or in a movement of rapid church reproduction – all led by the Holy Spirit as He would naturally do by His own missional nature. 

As a foundational belief and observation, I clearly see that the Holy Spirit is always willing to do His part if we, as men, will simply follow His leading and ways just as Peter did in Acts 10 and 11 and as Paul did in his entire missionary work.  I learned early in my Christian work that if we are faithful, God is always faithful to bring about expansion of His kingdom.  We are God’s method!

Dear Nicolay,

In one of my last letters, I stressed the need for significant and even radical change.  By the way, radical means “returning to the roots”, and that is where we need to go – to return to our apostolic foundations.  Some people believe that is impossible and unrealistic.  Perhaps they are right and we should just make the best of our circumstances and get on with it.  That brings me little satisfaction when I know it is not God’s best and he wants so much more for Ukraine.

In this letter, I want to outline or build a framework for the ongoing dialogue.  We need to know where we are and where we should be going.

Editors Note: Though many of the articles on our site deal with very practical aspects of evangelism, discipleship, and church life; our underlying passion is the exaltation of Jesus Christ in our lives and in our churches. We want people to discover the surpassing greatness of Jesus and the opportunity that we have to live in deep relationship with Him. This article is one that really expresses well that which is most important for all of us.

I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.

Luke 7:47

Women have a large part to play in the New Testament story. They funded Jesus’ earthly ministry (Luke 8:1–3). They were also the most faithful of His disciples, staying with Him to the bitter end.

But of all the women mentioned in the New Testament, none can compare with Mary of Magdala.

-Five ideas to keep in mind when you're planting something new

House churches are not organizations that require people with administrative skills or immense giftedness to coordinate and direct a group—they simply call for ordinary people who are in love with Jesus. Neil Cole, in Cultivating a Life for God, believes that simplicity is the key to fulfilling the Great Commission. He says, "The more complex the process, the greater the giftedness needed to keep it going.'"

Conference in Lviv, Ukraine March 10th-12th

We encourage participation in this conference sponsored by Епохa. There will be profitable training and an opportunity to go out and put the training into practice during the conference.

Visit this link for more details- https://www.emsreg.eu/public_otm/events/14/registrations/landing_page