The Resource Well Blog

Can Church Really Be Simple?

In the first few centuries of Christianity, the church was generally much more simple than most people experience today. Part of the reason for that simplicity was that everyone believed they were in some way called by Jesus to serve in ministry. That does not mean they all were paid employees of a church staff. It means they saw themselves as vital members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and as such they served others in Jesus’ name.
They didn’t have a bunch of “ministry programs” in the first century. For the most part people just did the things the Lord led them to do. If a stranger needed some food, they didn’t start a church food pantry or send them to some para-church organization, they simply gave them some food. If someone was curious about Jesus, they didn’t send them to a seminar, they simply sat down and talked with them about the Lord. When children needed to be instructed in the ways of the faith, they didn’t start a Vacation Bible School or Sunday School Program, parents simply taught their children at the dinner table and along the way in life.
Don’t get me wrong. It was not a perfect, idyllic setting. It was however more simple and in many ways produced people who were more committed to Jesus. Their willingness to so often suffer and even become martyrs for Christ is evidence enough. Certainly one reason for that strength of faith is that they knew one another. They did life together. On a daily basis they would see one another, pray with one another, study God’s Word with one another, and serve one another. They did this as they gathered in one another’s homes for times of worship, fellowship, equipping and serving each other.
There is strength in simplicity. There is focus and clarity. More and more people are discovering the joy and blessing of doing church simply. It is a rediscovery of something that for a time was lost.