Learn more about how the Simply Jesus community got started here in Yakima and our vision!
Where it All Began
Simply Jesus began as a network of home churches in Yakima and is designed for people to learn and grow in the Word of God.
In Simply Jesus, we are a family. We welcome anyone and everyone!
You can learn more about the love of God, how He can save you eternally, how you can have a vibrant relationship with your Heavenly Father, and how you can become a part of His spiritual family.
But, you may wonder, how can I become friends with someone so powerful like God? Well, simply put, He wants to be your friend. He wants to save you, He wants to forge a relationship with you, and He wants to adopt you into an everlasting family.
It's that simple. He isn't a complicated God, He's simply Jesus.
Our Vision
Our vision is to fill this city, and the area around us with the Word of God.
The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this Name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood."
Acts 5:27-28 NIV
Have you ever plucked a few dandelions from your garden while weeding, but come back one day and find more have grown in their place? No matter how many dandelions you pluck out, they never cease to stop growing in your garden. Why are you unable to get rid of them? You cannot get rid of them because millions of dandelion seeds are being dispersed and planted in your garden without your knowledge. Dandelions are relentless. They will never stop growing, no matter how many times they've been uprooted. The Word of God is the same. It is a relentless truth that will never stop coming for you, it will never stop reaching for you, as long as you live it will continue running after you. Christians have a past filled with martyrs and persecution. Yet we thrive and continue to grow and learn in abundance every single day. No matter how many times people try to kill us, we won't just survive, we'll grow abundantly. Just like the dandelion.
Then God blessed them and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over birds of the air, over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Genesis 1:28
To continue growing abundantly, we have developed a culture of gatherings that support, encourage, disciple, and develop leaders so we can practice what Jesus commanded...to "love one another," just as Jesus did.
Our Values
One day, I heard someone ask me this question, "Can you describe 'church' using only the Bible?" As I heard this simple question, something started churning within my heart. So I went to the Word of God to find the answer.
As we read about the unstoppable power, miraculous love, and outrageous sacrifice of the first church (as in the book of Acts), we wonder if it is even possible for the church today.
We believe it is not only possible, but it is promised and commanded.
Our desire is to passionately pursue what God wants in a church - to get as close to the vision as possible.
As we gathered and studied the Bible, we found out there were four values emphasized in association with "church."
Family
We value our family. We have been born again into a special family, God's family. Together, as a family, we are one body, each of us with our own God-given abilities and talents that we cultivate and use for the Lord (Romans 12:4-8). In home churches, we build and strengthen brotherly relationships. We encourage each other, and we are a safe place for all. We grow together and learn together, just like brethren, for we are a family, continuously learning from our Father God.
Mission
We are home churches. We value our mission, and our mission is to spread the gospel to every corner of the earth through the comfort of our own homes.
We have a mission to raise up leaders. We encourage growing in the Word, building a relationship with God, and talking to Him daily in prayer. We disciple every single member of our home church, and we encourage them to share the love of God not just at church, but throughout the whole week, to their families, friends, relatives, and neighbors. Every member of our home church is involved in discipleship; we discuss, we learn, we grow, we share, and we encourage, together, under the leadership and will of our Father.
We value our children. Our mission includes the next generation. We do not believe in separating them for daycare; we encourage them to grow with us. These young, energetic, and loud kids are the people who will one day become the leaders of a new generation of home churches. Why would anyone wish to place them in a separate room, when they can experience the presence of God for themselves together?
Training
We believe in leaders. We believe in the development and cultivation of every single member of our churches. And we know that God has provided leaders within our ranks, whether they know that or not. God has a purpose laid out for you, and He has set apart many for leadership.
A leader doesn't know everything about the Bible. He doesn't know all of its secrets, nor does he know all of its words by memory, for a leader doesn't lead with the knowledge in his head; he leads with the passion in his heart. His heart is bursting with passion -- passion that flows from a seed planted by God. That seed thirsts for the Word and it yearns to grow in the light of God. Leaders share the same heart with a burning passion for the same things. They bear a passion for the Word, for discipleship, for family, for fellowship, and for prayer. They train and serve the Lord in and out of their home church, for they don't serve out of comfort; they serve out of sacrifice.
When a leader is appointed, cultivated, developed, and filled with a passion from God, they open their homes in service to the Lord, and invite all to hear the Word of God in their own home church.
Gathering
We are family. We gather together as a family, as children of God every Sunday in our home churches. We share as a family, we learn as a family, we grow as a family. We sing together, raising up our voices to our Father. We share together, sharing testimonies of how we have seen God touch and change areas in our lives, and in the lives of others.
We learn together, learning from God and growing in His Word. We pray together, talking to God and praying for others. And finally, we take communion together, taking the bread and the juice, which we do so in remembrance of the One who laid His life down for wretches like us. Forever are we thankful to Him, and forever will we serve Him as a showing of our endless gratitude.
