"The more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered; and the easier repaired when disordered..." ~ Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine used this axiom (above) to make a point about the nature of government back in 1776. But I think that it is also helpful to apply this principle to other contexts. I think is safe to say that the more simple any church is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered.

I've talked about this topic in the past, but I figure that a reminder couldn't hurt. Here is what that will look like for the rest of 2015:

• Holding WORSHIP SERVICES that are designed to build up believers in their faith, as well as be a place that a non-church person could come and understand what is going on (a place where a non-church person could come to know God and the Bible, and that we would be helpful to them as they live their life.)
• Having COMMUNITY GROUPS of people who can interact with each other (learning & applying the Bible, helping each other with their lives) in a smaller setting than big church.
• Sponsoring ROYAL FAMILY KIDS CAMP. This year it will be from August 10-15.
• In addition to all of the above things happening at a church-wide level, we also intend and expect our people to be involved in worship, evangelism, fellowship, service, and spiritual growth. In other words, LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE INFORMALLY AS INDIVIDUALS. We will encourage people to share Christ with the people they know, read their Bibles, pray, make God-honoring decisions, care for other people, etc. But there is not a formal program for these things... they are just things every church (group of Christians) should do.
• The reason I list these things is to explain where our focus is. In other words, we will not (any time soon) be starting a Christian school, building a gymnasium, starting a sports ministry, having a preschool, putting on a VBS, starting adult Sunday School classes, partnering with several other organizations like Royal Family Kids, starting a choir, or putting on a Christmas pageant. We believe that if we focus on the above four categories of things we will be able to do them well this year. In fact, one of the big reasons we want to stay a simple church is because we need to afford you all (the people of Good News) the time to do the things listed in category #4 above. You just can't share Christ with your neighbor if you go to church programs seven nights a week.

I hope you find this explanation to be helpful.