Recently, my wife wrote about the importance of keeping church uncomplicated (check her blog out here)—and I couldn’t agree with that word any more. I like that word. That’s exactly where I’m at when it comes to church gatherings. I’m drawn to the idea of a simple church. Though I realize now that how I define that term and what Thom Rainer defined that term to mean are far different. I give Rainer credit, though, for directing me towards a journey that helped me shape where I think I will end up. For me, simple church means being part of a small, Spirit-led community of Jesus followers rooted in authentic relationships, shared rhythms of worship and discipleship, and a mission grounded in the place we’re called to. I’m less and less drawn to big expectations, celebrity-driven models, or the pressure to build endless programs—what I long for is something quieter, truer, and more faithful. At the least, this is the season Jesus has me in right now, and I am okay with it.
Let me state, I don’t like simple church because it’s easy. It’s anything but easy. People often want to be part of something smaller and more meaningful—until it asks something real of them. Simple church isn’t flashy, and it doesn’t let you hide; it invites you into the kind of slow, unfiltered community that surfaces your own stuff and calls for presence, not performance. I’ve given myself to this way of doing church, and at no point has the road been smooth. But the path is worth it.
I took a journey to this point
My journey has been shaped by years of ministry within the Vineyard, the LMC Network of Churches, and a handful of other formative church networks along the way. Now, I find myself wrestling with (I will say) navigating a post-everything culture. I am increasingly post-denominational, post-evangelical, post-hip, post-hype. There is an investment in authenticity and community that can only be found in simplicity, and the stripping away of expectations. There’s something I long for that draws from a little bit of everything—the Church is diverse and beautifully so. Recently, I took time to reflect on who I am, and when I strip it all down, here’s what I find at the core of my heart for the Church:
- I hold to traditional Christian ethics, especially around sexuality.
- I embrace low-church simplicity—small gatherings, minimal production.
- I value peacemaking and justice, without partisan politics.
- I believe in the gifts of the Spirit, but not emotional hype or performance.
- I practice some sacramental rhythms (like communion and baptism), without veering into mysticism.
- I encourage deep, pastoral relationships and healthy spiritual authority.
- I’m passionate about the local church and place-based ministry.
- I engage missionally with our culture, taking the meat and spitting out the bones.
- I resist celebrity, coolness, and consumerism in the church.
- I long for a church rooted in peacemaking, committed to restoration, and dedicated to stewarding relationships, creation, and the world around us with care and intentionality.
- I want to be evangelistic but not weird.
- I want to model more hospitality and conversation than expectation and information.
These values aren’t theoretical for me—they’re close to the heartbeat of what we are developing at River Corner Church as well, a simple church community of Jesus followers where I pastor.
People are Finally Coming Around
A few years ago, I said yes to serving at River Corner Church, even when some other, larger opportunities were in front of me. Around right then, the old Love Song tune “Little Country Church” became something of a theme song. It got “stuck” in my head. Some of you know the one. It’s a 1970s anthem about a small, Spirit-filled community of Jesus followers doing life together—no glitz, just God. That resonated deeply with me then. It still does.
Maybe you don’t know the song:
Little country church on the edge of town, People comin’ every day from miles around, For meetin’s and for Sunday school, And it’s very plain to see, It’s not the way it used to be.
Preacher isn’t talkin’ ’bout religion no more, He just wants to praise the Lord. People aren’t as stuffy as they were before. They just want to praise the Lord.
They’re talkin’ ’bout revival and the need for love, That little church has come alive, Workin’ with each other for the common good, Puttin’ all the past aside, Long hair, short hair, some coats and ties, People finally comin’ around, Lookin’ past the hair and straight into the eyes, People finally comin’ around.
That is my hope for River Corner Church—and I think people are finally coming around. They want a deeper, more meaningful connection. Will you make the jump?
Who We Are Together
River Corner Church is a small but growing church community of everyday people who gather to worship God, follow Jesus, and do life together. We’re not flashy. We’re not a production. We’re just a simple community of Jesus followers. Come as you are—really. It’s a safe place to belong, to begin your spiritual journey, to worship God together.
We need more churches that understand who they are together, not for what they are for each other.
Our life together as a simple community of Jesus followers is shaped by four key values:
- We gather to worship and experience God.
- We study the scriptures to follow, live, and love like Jesus.
- We commit to journeying through life together.
- We partner with the Holy Spirit to bring healing and peace to the places we live, work, and play.
Someone called our values old school to me recently. That’s okay. This is who we are. Honestly, this is what we are called to focus on, and we don’t need to be more than that. However, there is some creativity available in how we go about these values, but these values hold up as what it means to be a simple church community of Jesus followers, of everyday people.
Flashy is fleeting.
Trendy is always transitioning.
Timeless practice roots us.
What We Practice Together
We aim to be a welcoming, safe, and healing space for those who are seeking, hurting, or simply in need of a place to belong. River Corner is small but caring, simple yet intentional, laid-back, while deeply spiritual, intergenerational, diverse, and honest. We blend modern and traditional in ways that are real and relational. Our hope is to be a community where love and honor are lived out, where humility is central, and where hospitality is woven into the fabric of who we are. There is room at the table for you.
Though we aren’t there yet, I want us to keep pursuing the kind of community described in 1 Corinthians 14:26. There’s something deeply beautiful about a gathering where each person brings something to share—where worship is participatory, Spirit-led, and grounded in love. “What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up” (1 Corinthians 14:26, NIV). This doesn’t mean we throw out all structure or stop striving for quality, but it does mean becoming more interactive, more intentional, and more missional in how we gather and live as the church.
Honoring but Not Glued by Our Story
We have a history, just like all older churches do. In the early 1700s, Jesus followers began gathering in homes throughout the Conestoga area. By 1760, a simple meetinghouse was built on donated land—the same land where we still gather today. Those early worshipers were farmers and Anabaptists who shaped a community marked by simplicity, faithfulness, and intentional living.
The past is beautiful and worth honoring, but it is not our identity, and it cannot be. Our foundations inform our future, but they do not define its limits. The truth is, River Corner Church has always been a small, intentional community. And in 2022, we embraced a new chapter. After changes in leadership, governance, bylaws, and vision, we began to reimagine what it means to be a faithful community in our time and place. We sought to honor the legacy we inherited while stepping into a renewed sense of purpose.
We’re still a small community, but now more diverse in background, story, and experience. Today, we are becoming a vibrant family of faith, united not by sameness but by our shared hope in Jesus and our commitment to walk together in love, humility, and grace.
You are not defined by your past, and neither are we. At River Corner Church, we believe in new beginnings, fresh starts, and the kind of transformation only God can bring. So whether your story is just beginning, needs a new page, or is still being written in the margins, there’s a place here for you. Let’s write the next chapter together.
A Call To Downward Mobility
A few years ago, the phrase downward mobility began to take root in my heart. I was at a workshop when a pastor remarked that just as most church members don’t leave to attend smaller churches—but instead seek bigger ones with better programs—most pastors don’t leave for smaller congregations either. Instead, the norm is to climb the ladder toward greater pay, prestige, and platform. That moment struck me. I wrote in my notebook that day, “model downward mobility.” I believe Jesus did that. That day, I too realized that my journey was moving in the opposite direction, and I realized that—at least for this season—God was calling me to something quieter, smaller, and less expected. I’ve nicknamed it “the quiet way.” Around that same time, 1 Thessalonians 4:11 became my guiding verse. This was a radical shift from a former concert promoter and roadie.
However, that’s the path I’m on, and it’s the heart behind this blog on Patheos. It’s also the path I am inviting others to through this blog.
Lead a Quiet Life is about exploring what it means to live at a slower pace, to discover a simple life and faith that embraces downward mobility in a chaotic world and in a church culture often caught up in noise and excess. Though my background includes Fundamental and Calvinistic roots, my journey has been reshaped by the Vineyard, Anabaptist communities (like LMC), and contemplative traditions. I’ve come to appreciate the beautiful, wide mosaic of the Church and the many faithful ways people follow Jesus.
This blog is written from the perspective of a spiritual sojourner, with humility, groundedness, and a desire for simplicity. It reflects on life’s struggles, spiritual formation, and what it looks like to embody the ways of Jesus in the places we live, work, worship, and play. My writing draws from missional, evangelical, poetic, charismatic, historic, and contemplative streams—all rooted in Scripture and practical theology.
At its core is a quiet but subversive invitation from 1 Thessalonians 4:11–12:
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (NIV)
I return to that verse often. It’s a framework for how I want to live and write. I believe the quiet life is a deeply faithful, countercultural way of being present to God and others. It’s not about retreat—it’s about rootedness. It’s not passive—it’s purposeful. And maybe, just maybe, it holds a vision of renewal for those disillusioned but still hopeful about what the Church could become.
It’s also the kind of journey I believe faith communities need to embrace. A faithful, quiet presence in a loud and divided world. We need churches shaped by faithfulness over fame, rooted in anti-celebrity culture, disentangled from nationalism, and committed to participatory gatherings that reflect the heart of 1 Corinthians 14:26, where everyone brings something, and everything is done to build up the church.
Why Simple Church?
For me, simple church means being part of a small, Spirit-led community of Jesus followers rooted in authentic relationships, shared rhythms of worship and discipleship, and a mission grounded in the place we’re called to.
We’re tucked away on a hillside, in a spot that’s not exactly easy to find. But maybe that’s part of the beauty. River Corner Church is a retreat from the chaos—a place where people can breathe, listen, and belong.
We don’t have fog machines or big screens. We have coffee, stories, songs, prayers, and real people. And that’s enough.
If you’re longing for a place to be known and to know Jesus with others, I invite you to come.
- Not to attend, but to belong.
- Not to consume, but to participate.
- Not to be impressed, but to be transformed.
We are a simple church community of Jesus followers.
And we’d love for you to join us.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
I’m Jeff McLain, a pastor and writer learning to follow Jesus in a quieter, slower way. This blog is where I reflect on faith, simplicity, and life on the margins. Explore more on the Resources page, browse past posts in the Archives, and stay up to date by signing up for my free email newsletter. If you’d like to connect, give the Lead a Quiet Life blog a follow on Facebook. You can also reach me at jeffmclain.com, where I share more reflections—including posts on the Lord’s Prayer, which is the focus of my doctoral work.
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