When Madison, a young nurse, moved to Denver from Texas, she was looking for connection and community. She was a new Christian, having come to know Christ a year before, with a huge passion and a desire to grow. A ministry called The Brook followed her on Instagram, so she decided to check it out. After filling out the “I’m New” form, a woman named Kira reached out to her from the team. Kira told Madison about different ways to get connected, including their simple church movement.
The Brook connects young professionals in Denver, named one of the “loneliest” cities in the country. 52% of this very transient city is between the ages of 20 and 40, and Madison’s experience of looking for connection soon after a move is not unfamiliar. “A lot of people move to Denver for fun and adventure and all these amazing experiences, but they end up feeling very isolated and lonely,” says The Brook founder, Molly.
Instead of floundering in isolation, Madison tried The Brook’s Intro to Simple Church program. The system connects new transplants without many connections into groups, giving them a six-week trial period to get to know one another and see if the group fits together. Through the process, Madison found her spiritual family. She joined a second-generation simple church, became involved in a great community of women, and began “growing like crazy.”
Before too long, Molly approached Madison to ask if she would help to start another group. Madison had gone through the Zúme 10-session training course and “had a heart to make disciples,” so she was “really excited” to lead a new group of women who wanted to get connected. When that third-generation group went so well, Madison helped find a new leader for it—a woman named Jules. Madison continues to disciple Jules as the second woman took over the leadership of the third-generation group.
Signups continued to come through The Brook, so Molly went to Jules. “Hey, Jules,” she asked, “is there anyone in your group who you think would want to help start another simple church?”
“Well, actually, yeah!” Jules responded. “There’s a girl named Addy and she’s just growing like crazy. She’s been through the training, and she’s actually expressed that she wants to help multiply, but she’s just trying to figure out how.”
Addy is now leading a fourth-generation simple church, and the pattern continues to replicate. The whole process—from Madison arriving in Denver to the planting of a fourth- generation church—took place in just over a year.
The Brook is filling a need in Denver for heart connections. As more and more lonely people move to the city, the ministry connects them with others and provides them with tools like Zúme’s free, 10-session online course to equip them and send them out to start new churches. If you want to start your own group of disciples who make disciples, sign up for the course and witness God’s investment in His church.
Photo by Cottonbro Studio on Pexels
