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emerging church, emergent, simple church, house church, home church.Sunday, September 7
Simple Church School 2008/09 Gareth Duffty who now leads the "Together" group of churches (formerly CMI) has welcomed and encouraged some of his leaders who are exploring the simple church route. Now they are pioneering some classroom based training for others actively involved in planting simple churches. Here's their spiel:  What is church? How does it work? And how does it grow and multiply? The Simple Church School of Covenant College is a part-time programme for those wanting to be trained and equipped within all aspects of simple church and simple church planting. Those involved with Covenant College recognise that this kind of church expression is rapidly growing in the UK and across the world. Simple Church represents an exciting vehicle for the rapid advance of the Kingdom of God in our day, and we recognise a specific need to train and empower those on this journey. This course is designed for practitioners and led by practitioners. You will be empowered for your journey and equipped for church multiplication and growth… as we seek to fill the whole nation and beyond with the good news of the Kingdom of God. Over seven weekends during the academic year you will journey together with others, learning, sharing and discovering together through a variety of informal and conversational sessions. Teaching and leadership of the course comes from those currently involved in expressions of simple church; with two weekends during the year involving key well-known simple church practitioners from overseas. Course Content The programme consists of seven weekends including bible teaching, guided learning, application and practical discussion, mentoring and support, prayer, worship, personal study, reading and case studies. The teaching component of the course includes the following: Being like Christ in our communities; Reproducing ourselves and planting churches; Listening to the Holy Spirit, knowing His strategy and working with Him; Integrating into and transforming our culture; Raising up leaders in church and society; Producing an apostolic and prophetic people. We will also be exploring the many practical aspects of simple church, including: finance, involving children, prayer and worship, facilitating small group meetings, leadership, pastoral issues, administration/communication, reaching new groups of people and impacting communities. The year programme also includes an ‘onsite visit’, where students will be visited by a course teacher, to encourage and inspire them in their current situation. Course Dates Weekends are all residential and fully catered, taking place at Nettle Hill, Coventry. Each weekend will commence with breakfast together on the Saturday, and finish after lunch on Sunday. Dates for 2008/09: Weekend One: Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd November 2008 Weekend Two: Saturday 6th – Sunday 7th December 2008 Weekend Three: Saturday 24th – Sunday 25th January 2009 Weekend Four: Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd February 2009 Weekend Five: Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th March 2009 Weekend Six: Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th April 2009 Weekend Seven: Saturday 30th – Sunday 31st May 2009 Course Cost Course fees for the academic year 2008/09 are £700 residential and £525 non-residential. This includes all course costs (tuition, books, resources etc) and catering costs (plus shared accommodation for residential students). To apply for the Simple Church School please download and complete an application form from www.covenantcollege.co.uk, and send with a deposit of £50 (made payable to ‘Covenant College’) to Covenant College, Nettle Hill, Brinklow Road, Ansty, Coventry, CV7 9JL. For further information, please email info (at) covenantcollege.co.uk or contact the Covenant College office. posted by alexander @ 3:27 AM 0 comments 
0 Comments:Wednesday, August 6
living missionally in europe A brief article on intentional missional living by Floyd McClung, written for the European context. Link to full piece is below. There is much talk these days about missional church. I am more interested in missional living. When we speak of the church we can easily point out the church’s faults and irrelevance but exclude ourselves from the criticism. It is easy to find fault with “the church” but much more difficult when we accept that we are the church. Link to full article. posted by alexander @ 11:21 AM 2 comments
2 Comments:
whats the latest, from your perspective, on simple church in the UK?
By hi scott, we are presently in africa so would prefer to wait until I am back in europe to reply to that (Oct/NOv).but if anyone else out there picks this up maybe you could answer on my behalf. my only observation would be that the numbers of people involved in using simple church is certainly not diminishing and activity appears to be steadily growing. there are now 2 formal training/equipping courses specifically for simple church planters in the UK. 12 months ago there were none. Monday, July 7
lk10.com  www.lk10.com Some of you this side of the pond may be interested to check out this new site which some of the guys previously part of the DAWN US team have put together. Their vision is to build a 'community of practice' to help nurture a growing number of simple church leaders and planters. posted by alexander @ 2:33 AM 1 comments
1 Comments:
Good on ya' Dawn.
By Tuesday, July 1
I see an army part 9 “The kind of leadership that is needed in church-planting movements should not be highly visible. It is leadership that follows what is happening, not tries to be in control of what happens. Because we are sunday-meeting focused, instead of everyday-movement focused, we immediately think about how disorderly our church meetings will become if there is no order. But think bigger: if our churches are growing spontaneously, our problems will change. Our focus will not be about meetings alone, but how to disciple the leaders as they disciple new converts and equip leaders to lead and reproduce themselves.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 3:49 PM 1 comments
1 Comments:
In reply to your ‘I see an army part 8’ Monday afternoon 30 June.
By Monday, June 30
I see an army part 8 “What gives the church cohesion in such a model? Its values and vision. When the values and vision are clearly understood by those who father and mother a movement, and they are clearly articulated for all to understand, and imparted through discipling relationships, the DNA of the movement takes hold in people’s hearts. To the degree people in a movement of simple churches hold their values and vision in common, the movement does not need top-down ‘command-and-control’ church government.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 3:49 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:Sunday, June 29
I see an army part 7 “The latest research reveals that 3.3 billion people have never heard the name of Jesus one time. I love simple church because it makes church accessible to the greatest number of people. It doesn’t require a professional or a building or a charismatic personality to lead a simple church... We teach people to be a servant leader who raises up others to carry the torch from the beginning. This is a new style of leadership that requires serving behind the scenes, being secure enough to be a coach to new leaders without position or title. The goal of a simple-church-planting movement is not being an up-front pastor or elder, but being a spiritual father or mother to a movement of elders and church planters... There is still spiritual authority being exercised, but it is authority based on relationship. It is apostolic not hierarchical.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 4:20 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Saturday, June 28
I see an army part 6 “The difference between complicated church and simple church is that the complicated church relies on programmes to disciple people, while simple church empowers people to disciple people... Leadership in this family is about serving, not positions or titles. The man or woman who serves is greatest. When we attempt to decree who can serve, or the extent to which they have spiritual authority, we have moved out of sync with the Spirit of Jesus, because we have reverted back to the Old Covenant way of thinking.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 4:19 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Friday, June 27
I see an army part 5 “I believe there are distinct advantages to such a simple expression of church and ministry: 1. It is simpler to get things done 2. Accountability is more natural and powerful with 2 or 3 people 3. There is greater flexibility 4. Communication flows more easily with a small group of people 5. There is greater proximity to people who don’t know Jesus 6. Direction is more quickly and clearly confirmed in simple church 7. Leadership has to stay natural and relational 8. Multiplication can happen spontaneously as the group grows” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 4:17 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Thursday, June 26
I see an army part 4 “Apostolic leadership functions in a simple-church movement by pioneering new communities and ministries that are aimed at reaching those outside the church... Apostolic leaders are groundbreakers and strategists who initiate new endeavours to ‘go where no one has gone before... The ultimate purpose of the apostolic gift is gathering those who come to faith in Jesus into vibrant, reproducing, obedient communities of faith... A movement is an attitude, a mindset that says, ‘we are not going to wait for history to happen, or watch it happen, we are going to make it happen’... Apostolic leadership yearns for the ‘not yet’. Dreaming, faith, imagination, risk taking, pioneering and future goals characterise apostolic leadership.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 2:14 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Wednesday, June 25
I see an army part 3 “I believe in simple church for several reasons... A small church is able to keep on going when all else fails. Further, small groups of Jesus-followers are easily reproducible. People can’t hide or get lost in a small community. Caring for one another is made easier because everyone knows each other... simple expressions of church, like a cell group or a house church, can function in closer proximity to those who don’t know Jesus by meeting in homes, businesses, on campuses etc.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 1:54 AM 1 comments
1 Comments:
Thanks for these posts – great stuff!
By Monday, June 23
I see an army part 2 “We need more than new models; we need a new paradigm of church and the right core values to empower us to live what we believe... The challenge before us is major reformation, not tweaking the meeting format... Jesus defined leaders in the new way of doing things as servants. If leaders are servants, anyone who serves Gods people through their gifts, leads. In the religious systems of his day, religious rulers used religion to control people. When Jesus came he turned everything on its head: he made EVERYONE who believed in him a leader.” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung posted by alexander @ 4:40 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Sunday, June 22
I see an army part 1 Here are a series of posts quoting from Floyd McClungs latest book on movements of simple churches. “I have a conviction: the way we do conventional church is no longer relevant to the vast majority of unchurched people in the West... I don’t think one model of church is better than any other, but I do believe the more complicated we do church, the more difficult it is to reproduce...The more complicated and bigger a local church becomes, the more people and the more money it takes to lead one person to Christ... I believe the effectiveness of any movement that makes a lasting impact will be measured by how effective it is in fostering a culture of discipleship that thrusts its members out amongst the lost...” You see bones I see an army, Floyd McClung. posted by alexander @ 10:43 AM 0 comments
0 Comments:Monday, April 21
you see bones, I see an army If you want to be challenged to your socks and taken on a paradigm shifting journey towards a new way of seeing life, church and mission, then fasten your seat belt and get a copy of this book.  Floyd McClung's words have impact because he lives by them. I can testify to that personally.Floyd is passionate about Jesus and seeing Him worshipped by people from every tribe, tongue and nation around the world. To see that passion satisfied he is willing to go to any lengths that Jesus asks of him; including pioneering new forms of church and mission at the cost of misunderstanding and even rejection by others. If you want to learn some more about the global context of and reasons for the grassroots simple church movement then this will help answer some of your questions. Be challenged; then go out and do it. It's that simple. posted by alexander @ 2:00 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:Tuesday, March 11
Organic church planting w/e with Neil Cole A report from the guys at Neighbours & Nations who hosted this weekend: Around 90 eager participants gathered from across the country to hear Neil Cole deliver his ‘Greenhouse Training, part 1’ (as they call it in CMA circles) on the subject of planting organic churches. We had a fantastic time both listening to and learning from Neil, as well as getting to know each other and hearing the exciting things that God is doing in different places through simple church adventures. I’m sure that many friendships have been formed that will strengthen in times ahead, and that all present were encouraged and helped practically to be effective back on home soil. What is so attractive about Neil’s teaching is that he doesn’t come with formula or methodology but rather a passion for Christ, his church, and reaching people with the Good News of God’s kingdom in very simple, reproducible ways that everyone can do! More than once in response to questions, his reply was simply “that’s something you’ll need to ask the Holy Spirit to show you”. Specific subjects covered in the teaching were ‘What is church?’, ‘Reaching your oikos’, ‘Sending out workers’, ‘Multiplying disciples’ and ‘Multiplication movements’. If anyone would like to get hold of a copy of the teaching sessions, you can download an MP3 order form here. Finally, a date for your diary – we have the privilege of hosting Tony Fitzgerald on Saturday 28th June, sharing his journey and thoughts on simple/house church. More details to follow soon…but it will be somewhere in the Midlands! posted by alexander @ 5:52 PM 0 comments
0 Comments:Tuesday, February 19
simple church gathering - bristol Carriers of the Kingdom - A simple church gathering in Bristol - MARCH 1st. An invitation from Mark Cutliffe: Martin and Alison Holland who some of you may know and myself hosted a gathering in September of last year at the Bible College of Wales called the Catalyst Gathering. Due to the response we had from that event we have felt that it would be good to once again gather those involved in simple/organic church together for a day, to share, pray and encourage one another. Our friends, Ken and Helen Stout are also helping us out on this one and have found a great venue at a more central location for everyone. The Old School rooms at St Michael's Church, Stoke Gifford. (For more info on the venue please see: www. st-michaels-church.org.uk) Directions to the venue are as follows: Leave the M4 at junction 20, then at roundabout take the 1st exit onto the A38 (signposted Filton) At roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A38 Branch left, then merge onto Gipsy Patch Lane - B4057 At roundabout take the 3rd exit onto Hatchet Road At roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Hatchet Road Turn left onto North Road Turn right onto The Green The venue should be quite visible from there but we will make sure that there are some signs to make it easier. If you want to double check the directions the post code is BS34 8PD. We will be aiming to start around 10:00am and probably finish about 4pm. Lunch will be provided as will tea and coffee. For any more info please contact Mark on: 01792 555412 or email water.fall (at) ntlworld.com. Could you also please contact us to let us know how many are planning on coming, just so that we can make catering arrangements? Thanks - Mark Cutliffe posted by alexander @ 1:23 PM 0 comments
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