How simple can church be?
Can simple church and disciple making movement concepts that have been successful in many other countries take root in Japan?
Worldwide, the most successful efforts in training and organizing Christians to carry out the Great Commission continue to focus on disciple making and “simple churches”. These are called disciple making movements, or DMM. Currently the church in Iran is said to be the fastest-growing church in the world, with no buildings and no central leadership.1 Can these concepts be used and take root in Japan?
Simple church is not new; it’s a return to how Jesus and the early believers interacted with one another through one-on-one discipleship, and nurturing simple communities of believers.2 Through existing relationships, believers actively make disciples of those who want to know Jesus. Safe families of faith are established through deep commitment, and each person is built up as part of the body, in the Holy Spirit.
OK, that’s the ideal! But is this going to work in Japan?
Many missionaries try DMM tools without significant breakthroughs. However, I am convinced that these biblically sound methodologies, which take time to establish, will yield a huge crop in the harvest.
Here are some general concepts of disciple making and simple church, with an emphasis on tools that you can implement in your discipleship relationships.
Connect deeply
“They devoted themselves to . . . fellowship . . . They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:42, 46 NIV).
Japan can be an isolating culture. The act of coming together—for fellowship, asking good questions, listening, and giving feedback—can be invaluable. Small-talk and conversation can set the scene for people to share deeper, more personal stories, and build trust.
Worship together passionately
“Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19 ICB).
Worshiping together takes a discipleship relationship to another realm. However, we often feel limited due to our location or our musical ability. Worshiping together by reading and praying the Psalms can be done in a public place, online, in a group, or alone.
In our ministry we use a tool called kan-kan-gan to help believers interact with the Word of God in a prayerful and worshipful way. Choose a psalm and have each person read one verse. Like a game of volleyball, take turns giving thanks (感謝 kansha), praise (感動 kandō), or present requests (願望 ganbō) to God in prayer. Keep it short and simple to model prayer for new believers.3 Kan-kan-gan can also help believers develop their prayer life and Bible reading as they express their hearts to the Lord in a conversational way.
Check in with each other lovingly
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2 NIV).
As the discipleship relationship is established, God will speak to and lead each believer daily. Sharing the stories of how God leads and guides us is essential both to build faith, and also to establish vulnerability that is not focussed on works or performance. Love develops amongst us when things don’t go the way we expect!
When people share weaknesses, failures, and setbacks without feeling judged or condemned, trust is nurtured. When people know that we are there to walk with them, hope is restored.
Discover God’s word intentionally
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16 NIV1984).
The Discovery Bible Study method (DB or DBS) is a simple and effective way to ground believers in their own faith, develop lifestyles of obedience, and equip them to reach their own communities with the gospel. The outline of the DBS is: read the Word, understand the Word, obey the Word, share the Word. (There are many DBS resources available free online.)
DBS says that each believer is connected directly to God through the Holy Spirit and can hear, understand, and obey the Word of God for themselves. Transformation happens when believers put into practice the specific things that God is speaking to them.
In a group, sharing insights and testimonies of God’s leading builds faith and community. Imbalance and incorrect doctrine are avoided through a system of loving feedback and maintaining a spiritually passionate culture; those who don’t want to obey the Word of God will grow disinterested and probably leave. These groups thrive on the intensity and commitment of each person to pursue God wholeheartedly. Often pre-believers are a part of these groups, and want to learn about faith and hear God for themselves.
It takes determination, patience, and perseverance to see this tool established in a believer’s life and a community of believers, but it’s worth the effort.
Train in a safe place
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 NIV).
Jesus was the master of on-the-job discipleship training. How can we follow his example and do this in our busy and fragmented society? There are many training resources available. Choose things that are simple and practical. As training is implemented within the community of believers, relationships will be built. As we see with Jesus and the disciples, these things are caught, not just taught. The preaching of the Word, demonstration of the kingdom in power, sending out to obey the Word—all happened within a small group of relationships and within a short time frame.
Some suggestions for developing your training:
- Think holistically: upward (to God), inward (to self and the family of faith), and outward (towards the world), and aim for a balance of training in each area.
- Ask what areas are lacking in your church community.
- Avoid just head knowledge; everything we train in should be practical and measurable.
- Consider if the training leads individual believers to be more passionate and devoted to God. Do they become more free, walking in love and forgiveness in relationships and community? Do members become more active in reaching their own families and communities with the gospel?
Developing in these areas is long-term and dependent on where God is leading you and the community you’re a part of. Be patient; together ask God to guide you.
Set goals
It often helps to articulate a goal—be it overcoming a sin issue, prayer-walking, restoring a relationship, or sharing the gospel with a family member. Share it with your brothers and sisters in Christ and follow up as you work it out. Be careful not to create a culture of performance where achieving goals gets confused with maturity, or failure to achieve a goal leads to despondency or condemnation. A healthy culture, where God-inspired goals are encouraged and shared, builds expectation and faith.
Pray and send each other out
“Jesus said: ‘As the Father sent me, I am sending you’” (John 20:21 NIV).
Perhaps the most subtle yet profound core value of simple church culture is the understanding that church is only one means by which the kingdom comes to earth. A church gathering is not the goal and ministry is not primarily for the family of believers. Ministry happens when each believer is equipped to go out in the power of the Holy Spirit to impact their environments.
This understanding can be established through DBS, training, and then simply praying as we send each other out to be representatives of the king. If you pray for each other and stay in touch over social media you can fan the flames of this “go” mentality.
Final thoughts
Keep it simple—remember the early Christians seldom had access to a written Bible. But they had the Holy Spirit and a community of believers committed to God and to each other. Think of the persecuted church: often no buildings, set meetings, or leadership structure. Keep persevering. Nurture your “first love’’ and persevere in prayer and worship; try new things—adjust—change—improve. And keep moving forward. Don’t let your heart carry burdens that you were never meant to bear. Remember, his yoke is light!
Past failures or disappointments can mean we hesitate to try new things. Go easy on yourself. God is more interested in the process of how you steward your heart towards him and others than the visible results of your ministry; he’s not nearly as stressed out as we are! Keep loving, learning, and laughing—and enjoying the journey!
I’m no specialist, but if you have questions regarding DMM or simple church, please contact me.
Check out Simple Church 3X3 guide – Online and PDFs for download: https://onfire.jp/en/3×3/ in Japanese and English. To purchase a print copy please contact us at: mail@onfire.jp
1. Mark Ellis, “‘Fastest-growing church’ has no buildings, no central leadership, and is mostly led by women,” The Christian Post, September 23, 2019, https://www.christianpost.com/news/fastest-growing-church-has-no-buildings-no-central-leadership-and-is-mostly-led-by-women.html
2. Two books you might like to check out on this topic are David Watson, Contagious Disciple Making: Leading Others on a Journey of Discovery (Thomas Nelson, 2014) and Neil Cole, Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens (Jossey-Bass, 2005).
3. Simple Japanese guide to kan-kan-gan: https://onfire.jp/kkg/
Illustrations: Tom Wilcox