Over the last decade or so, a movement has been gaining a voice in Christian ministry literature. It's known by several names–the micro church, organic church, simple church. Some micro churches are also house churches, but not all of them are. These terms aren't necessarily all synonymous. But I've found that it takes a fairly careful observer to be able to distinguish significant differences between them. For our purposes right now, let's assume they are roughly the same.

Micro/simple/organic churches all have a few characteristics in common. They are intentionally streamlined in organization. They don't run programs, they probably don't have paid staff, and they place much less emphasis on a Sunday morning service than more traditional churches do. Philosophically, they reject the idea of professional clergy in favor of a thoroughgoing commitment to the priesthood of all believers. In most cases, the motivation for staying simple (or organic) is ease of multiplication. It's difficult ...