What is a “house church” or “simple church”?

A house or simple church is a group of followers of Jesus that meet together on a regular basis in a house, a dormitory, an apartment, a coffee shop, etc. The purpose of gathering is to seek and experience the Lord Jesus through a combination of studying the Bible, worship, evangelism, meals and fellowship. We also stay connected with each other through relationships that extend outside the regularly scheduled gathering times.

A good resource for reading about the house church concept is the book by Wolfgang Simpson called Houses that Changed the World.

What is a simple church network?

A simple church network is group of simple churches connected with one another relationally and organically as well as sharing a common mission or purpose.

What about Leadership?

In general, there are no professional pastors, but there are many servant leaders. In fact, since everyone is expected to participate and bring something to encourage and share with the rest of the group, leadership is experienced in a dynamic way. See 1 Cor. 14:26 for a description of the order of service and Acts 6:1-6; 13:1-3 for a description of how the leadership of a “body” is selected and chosen. There are those in the church who are elders in the sense that they are respected for their wisdom and their walk with the Lord. You can tell who the elders are because these are the ones that people go to for wisdom in a crisis. Our core value is that leaders are those with proven character and who are “weight bearing”. 

In simple church, the main way to tell if you are a leader is if someone is following!

Who can start a simple church?

YOU CAN . . . if:

· You are a follower of Jesus and lovingly care for other people.
· You are humble enough to ask for advice and help from your brothers and sisters.
· You demonstrate character, leadership and are willing to “show up” and be consistent.
· You have prayed together with your fellowship and received Holy Spirit confirmation.

We recommend you read the Getting Started Manual by Tony and Felicity Dale if you are serious about starting a simple church.  For more suggested books and other tools, please check out our Resources page. 

How long have you been meeting like this?

Some of us began meeting in this style in the year 2000. We have continued to learn and grow in our understanding of the New Testament Church. Along the way we have read and received training from Tony and Felicity Dale and Neil Cole. We have some that have joined us since 2000 and some that have just started.

What about giving? Do you tithe?

Sojourners has a tax ID and donations are tax deductible. We send out a contribution report each year to those who have given. Since we don’t have a building to support or staff to pay, we are free to give a very high percentage of our funds to missions and benevolence. Generally, 74% of our funds go to missions and the remaining 24% goes to benevolence. Only a very small sliver is need to cover administrative overhead.

What's the difference between cell groups and simple church?

Cell groups are generally part of a larger structured single-church identity. This larger church is the “main church” and the cells are “auxiliary”. The cells operate under the vision and purpose of the larger church and its leadership.

A simple church or house church is a separate “body” that has a common vision, purpose and leadership. Each simple church is governed by the vision and purpose of the group under the leading of the Holy Spirit. It works through community evangelism, and seeks to create and keep intimate relational bonds. It uses those bonds to go out and seek more unbelievers to show them who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done for them.

How do I contact you?

Go to the "Where Could I Go?" tab where contact information is listed geographically.
If you'd prefer to do it the old-fashioned way, just write us at:

Sojourners
PO Box 12764
Raleigh, NC 27605