Simple Church is a church process designed around focusing on discipleship, particularly the process of discipleship. The book is based off research done by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger comparing ‘thriving and vibrant churches’ to churches that are not, while seeking to find what makes the difference between the two. Their answer is “simplicity”.
Complex churches have a variety of programs running all through the week. Congregation members are encouraged to attend a huge number of these many different programs. For the congregation members it means they are just going from program to program depending on what might be on that week (or whatever tickles their fancy) with no clear through-line tying everything together in a ‘discipleship process’. Congregation members have little time for anything else, while at the same time they are contributing to ‘spiritual congestion’ within the church. Nobody is moving forward, maturing. The staff in this situation all have their assigned program, and this assignment gives them tunnel vision. There is no sense of ‘the whole’, just what is assigned to one or another. The lead pastor in this situation is a program manager, just keeping the whole thing afloat.
The main problem with this ‘model’ is that there is no clear process to discipleship in a complex church. The programs don’t connect to each other with an overarching purpose of growing people in maturity. Rather it is just assumed that people would grow in maturity as they attend all these different programs. The staff are not aligned because there is no real process to be aligned to. The church motto (or mottos) is just nominal. Every idea for a ministry or outreach or event etc., is a good idea, just so long as the calendar has enough space (which it doesn’t).
A simple church on the other hand, is simple. It has clarity, a clear process and movement, the staff are aligned with the ministry philosophy, and there is great focus on the process. This means that every ‘program’ has its place within the discipleship process. It can be clearly understood why this program contributes to the overall process of making disciples and growing disciples in maturity who will eventually become disciple makers themselves. The whole process is kept in mind for any particular program’s part in that process.
Clarity in the process starts with a clear definition of what the process is. We might consider this the ‘motto’ of the church, for example, ‘we exist to love God and love neighbour’. The language is simple, it is short and concise, it requires no great explanation, it is itself a process (one must first Love God to then love their neighbour). This kind of simple process has great clarity and can be taught to the whole church and agreed to by the staff.
Movement through the process is clearly defined and expected. Disciple making in this process looks like people growing in their love for God and then growing in their love for their neighbours. All the different ‘programs’ clearly contribute to this movement in disciple making. If they do not, then they’re not run. But the programs are not just standalone events. Each is to be connected to the whole. So between the programs, between the movement in disciple making, there is a clearly defined progression to make. A congregation member in their early stages grows in their love of God. It is then expected of them to grow in their love of neighbour, and then they serve their neighbour. Each step is linked to the last and results in the movement of disciple making, the process of disciple making.
The staff in this picture are all aligned to this process. If they are not, then it may be inappropriate that they are staff. It is more important that they are aligned philosophically with the process of the church than having particularly great skills in running a certain program. No one is an island in this process, and everyone is working together, having clearly defined roles that contribute to the process of disciple making. The pastor in this situation is more like a designer, writing up the blueprint and seeing it come to fruition in the context of a team.
Focus on the process is essential. It means that if a ministry is not explicitly contributing to the process of disciple making according to the church’s defined ‘motto’ then it won’t make the cut. And this means that most ideas and desires won’t make the cut. One of the difficulties in this aspect is that churches tend to become more complex, or they ‘drift’ towards complexity naturally. So a regular refocusing is essential as well.
This, in a nutshell, is the ‘simple church process’.
Rainer, T. S., & Geiger, E. (2011). Simple church: Returning to God’s process for making disciples. B & H Pub. Group.
Bigvai and Shiphrah 
Thanks, guys. I appreciate this. Shane
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