Alan wrote a great post, Who's afraid of the big, bad simple church? I strongly recommend it to you. Alan provides a simple, straightforward definition of simple churches.
But, what is simple/organic/house church, and should the more traditional, more institutional churches fear them as they are often told by their leaders, pastors, and preachers? A simple or organic church is a group of brothers and sisters in Christ who attempt to live together as family in the way that the church is described and taught in the New Testament. A house church, on the other hand, is a group of believers who meet in a home. A house church can be more simple/organic or it can be more traditional/institutional.
That is a great definition. We are definitely looking for a simple church group to meet with and minsiter alongside. If they meet in a home that is great. If they meet in a different non-traditional location, that is great too. What is important is how they meet more so than where or when they meet. I think we have found just such a group and have also met lots of other Christians in our area as well, people we likely never would have met if we had moved to the area and immediately "joined" a more traditional church.
I like how Alan concludes his post. For people who are entrenched in the institutional church, it is unlikely they will be swayed by arguments on blog posts. Better to develop a relationship with them and discuss questions surrounding the church over coffee or a meal. We are seeking to invite people to our home more and more often, not with a hidden motive to "convert" them to simple church but to get to know them. I think we could all stand to spend more time with fellow believers without any ulterior motives!
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