Simple Church

When we started our new church from scratch, one of our core convictions was that church be more simple. This doesn't mean simplistic. It doesn't mean that we plan to ignore any of the purposes of the church. But what it does mean is that 1) we know our discipleship process, 2) we create core ministries to move people through the discipleship process, and 3) we say no to everything else.

We believe that discipleship is about restoring a right relationship with God, our families, and our community. The way we go about this is through:

1. Conversation With God - in our worship service, called The Conversation
   
2. Commitment to Growth - in our discipleship classes, called The Class
3. Connection with Others - in our small groups, called Connection Groups
   
4. Compassionate Service - in ministry partnerships [we don't have a good name yet]

As you can see, this process fulfills the purposes of the church. It moves people from perimeter to core. It develops them from spectators to participants. Each core ministry provides an obvious gateway to the next level of discipleship.

So far, it's working out pretty well. We'll be launching our Connection Groups later this year sometime.

But I think we need to communicate it better. We'll make a note of it this weekend, I'm sure.