Usually, a choice for church health is also a choice for church growth. But not always. Sometimes it’s one or the other. Especially in a smaller church.
Here are some ways that might occur:
- A small church pastor has the money to buy a church growth book or a spiritual growth book, but not both. Which one gets their hard-earned cash?
- A bivocational pastor has the time to attend only one conference this year. Do they go to the church growth conference or the prayer retreat?
- A downtown church has the chance to rent a larger space, but the new location is too far away for the homeless population they’ve been serving to attend. Do they stay or do they go?
Author
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Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of four books on church leadership. His fifth book, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next, releases on April 2, 2024.
He also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry. Episodes feature in-depth interviews about the 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.