The Best Way to Promote Church Growth? Support Small Churches

I support small churches, not because numbers don’t matter, but because they do. I’m not settling for less, I’m striving for greater. More people are led to Jesus, discipled and sent into ministry from small churches than by any other means. Despite our prejudice towards bigness, church growth does not mean that these healthy, missional small churches will become big churches. Some will. Most won’t. In most of the world church growth means the planting and nurturing of small churches, not the building of bigger ones. Given these facts, it’s a mystery as to why we talk so much about building bigger churches, but we have so little teaching, support and resources dedicated to doing small church well.

March 9, 2016

by Karl Vaters

In most of the world, church growth means the planting and nurturing of small churches, not the building of bigger ones.

Given these facts, it’s a mystery as to why we talk so much about building bigger churches, but we have so little teaching, support and resources dedicated to doing small church well.

Author

Karl Vaters

Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.

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