There are thousands of small churches in big cities and sprawling suburbs, too.
But there aren’t enough of them.
Yes, you read that right. The problem with the church in big cities isn’t that we have too many small churches, it’s that we don’t have enough of them.
Big churches in big cities are great. And we need more of them. But big cities also need a lot more healthy, innovative, outward-reaching, God-honoring, neighborhood-blessing small churches.
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.