November 2023

Help! Our Church is So Small!

(Part 2 of 2)

Last month we observed that the small church is the norm rather than the exception among Protestant denominations in North America.

This is a stark reality that confronts us personally and corporately each time we gather as a congregation for Sunday worship. For we are a small church! The challenges of maintaining a ministry as a small church are formidable, as we also observed. Those who insist on carrying this ministry forward into an uncertain future must make a good case for the decision to do so.

Can good reasons be cited in support of this case? The small church does in fact possess strengths that should not be ignored. The first and perhaps most obvious one is that it is a place where everyone knows your name. Relationships in a small church, if it is healthy, tend to be deep. Members participate personally in the lives of one another during all those special moments, especially weddings, births, and funerals. A true sense of community develops and thrives.

Second, because it has only enough resources to do one or two things, the small church can focus all its best thinking and planning on doing them as well as possible. This helps in clarifying the church’s identity and mission, maximizing its presence and impact in the community that Christ has called it to serve.

Third and finally, the small church is often locally rooted. For this reason, it can know its community well. Indeed, some members seem to know almost everyone! This makes it easier to understand needs, forge partnerships, and truly love its neighbors 

No doubt one can add to these another reason or two. In any event, if those committed to supporting the small church can capitalize on the strengths we have identified here, they will bless both their fellow members and their community.

Blessings to you,

Pastor Chris