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 Simple Church: Home Church Ministry By An Interview with Milton Adams
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to plant a new church—in your neighborhood? Not only has Milton Adams given a lot of thought to this, he is actually doing it near Orlando, Florida. The concept, which originated with Neil Cole, is so easy to implement, Cole and Adams both call it Simple Church. You can read more about this at www.simplechurchathome.com Recently, ChurchApplied editor Rich DuBose, asked Adams to respond to several questions about his involvement with and vision of the Simple Church experience. Editor: Milton, you are an Adventist church member who was serving as a pastor. Why did you feel motivated to go in this direction? Adams: Motivation came from three areas: partly practical, partly conviction, and partly missional. Practically, I spent a year teaching, which meant I no longer had conventional church responsibilities on Sabbath. So my wife, Brenda, and I began to ask, "If we were to be missionaries to North America, how would we go about sharing the Everlasting Gospel with our friends and neighbors." This was our driving motive. With North America now being the 3rd largest recipient of missionaries, we wanted to be missionaries in our home country. Conviction grew as we began to understand what is happening to Christianity across North American. For example most Christians do not realize that in 2005 only 17% of the population went to church on a given weekend. (in 2005 AZ was at 13.8%; CA was at 14.1%; HI was at 13.7%, NV was at 9.3%; and UT was at 3.0%. This represented a decline in the PUC of 5.2% from 2000 - 2005). During our research we learned that the median age of North America is 36 years old. The median age of Adventists in North America is 51 years old and that 60% of Americans under the age of 40 have NOT walked into a church building. Added to this we learned that approximately 80% of all churches in North America have reached a plateau or are declining. And the vast majority of the church’s growth comes from the "crop swap” - people who move from one church to another. There is precious little conversion growth. Missionally, the gospel commission to "go" was NOT given to pastors and Bible workers. It was give to everyone who claimed Christ as Savior and Lord. The challenge I faced as a pastor was two fold. First, a low percentage of church members who were willing be actively involved and second, those who were willing to become active had to spend much of their time keeping the church system going. For me this became a stewardship question of how we spend out time, and our talents and our money. The average church in the United States will spend as much as 64 percent of its budget on staff salaries. Additionally, it will spend as much as 30 percent of its offerings on maintaining its buildings. Researchers say that churches spend between 82 - 96 percent of their financial resources on maintaining themselves. We had to ask ourselves what does it mean to really be a missionary in North America. And this led to the next logical questions, who (or what) is the church? Editor: So, how did you answer that question? Who is the church? Adams: Simply stated, the church is the people. Most people do not have a problem with this until they begin to understand the implications of what this means. The unspoken definition of church is pastor (or staff) + public building = "real" church. This formula is sometimes referred to as the Constantinian model and come from the time when Constantine changed Sabbath to Sunday, house churches to cathedral churches, and lay-leaders to professional clergy/priests. But biblically, the church is the people. (Russell Burrill's, Revolution in the Church is an easy-to-read book that gives the Biblical and Spirit of Prophecy foundation for this.) Editor: Is it reasonable today to think that Adventists can fulfill their prophetic role through home churches alone? Adams: It would be rather arrogant to think that either house church or conventional church is the only way. God is God and He uses whatever methods He chooses to advance His work. The church is comprised of people who will actively and personally join God in the prophetic work to which He has invited us. Many lay people see Simple Church as a way to do this. Editor: In light of the above, how do you see small home church groups and large corporate church bodies co-existing, or relating to each other? Does the very essence of their opposing organizational natures breed competition? Adams: Methods are (or should be) an expression of mission. Simple Church provides one expression of mission, yet another avenue to reach a large and growing number of people who have walked out of church or who will never walk into a public building for church. Yes, some will be bothered by different methods. Others will see the common mission. For example, some pastors are building a church culture where "giving birth" is a sign of health. As they explore with their church different ways to "give birth" to a new church, they share Simple Church as one of the possibilities. Members of their congregation who are interested, voluntarily begin the training process. Some churches have celebrated this missionary effort with a "sending service." This cooperative approach is a win-win. God's Kingdom wins, and the local church wins. God's kingdom expands, and the church celebrates the fruit of our prophetic role - our mission. Editor: Do you have any idea how many Adventist house churches there are in North America? Adams: I'm aware of approximately fourteen, nine of which are connected with the Simple Church network. But I'm sure there several others. Editor: What should a person do if they feel called to start a house church? What tips or advice can you share? Adams: First, read through the web page and complete Phase One training which is under the "how do I get started" link. Second, Build a CORE4 front-line missionary team and go through the Phase One training with them. Yes, it might be your second time through, but this process builds a strong team. Third, After you have completed Phase One, email the Simple Church Network and let us know you are ready to start Phase Two training. We will get right back with you. Four, Phase Two connects you with the Simple Church Network, continues your online training that is unique to Simple Church, and begins the live coaching process that will help you prepare for your launch date. And eventually your CORE4 team will be taught how to train new CORE4 front-line missionary teams. Henry Blackaby says, "You cannot stay were you are and go with God at the same time." So adjust your life and go with God. Faithfully do what every He is asking of you. If you think front-line missionary work with Simple Church is a possibility, then let's talk. My direct email is miltonadams@adamsonline.org ______________________________ Milton Adams is is the creator and pioneer of the Adventist house church movement known as Simple Home Church, lives and works in the Orlando, Florida area. All rights reserved © 2010 Church Support Services. Click here for content usage information. |
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