What’s Better? 5,000 In a Megachurch? Or 5,000 In 50 Small Churches?
They’re the same. So what do you think?
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Encouragement
Think Kingdom Growth First (An Excerpt from My Outreach Interview)
Today’s post is excerpt from an interview I did for the July/August 2013 “Small Church America” issue of Outreach magazine. You can also find a short excerpt of a different part of the interview on their website. Between the two excerpts, you can read about 50% of the entire interview online. For the rest of it, click here
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The Myth of Inevitable Church Growth
A healthy church does not inevitably mean a growing church. I used to believe that it did. After all, I’ve read about the “truth” of inevitable church growth in every church leadership book written in the last 30 years. I even taught it myself.
I don’t believe it any more. It’s a myth. The reason I no longer believe that numerical growth is inevitable for a healthy church has to do with one problem that kept presenting itself…
The evidence stubbornly refuses to back it up.
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The Man Who Saved the World by Thinking Small: A D-Day Tribute
If you’re a Small Church pastor who feels like your church has been devalued because of your size, you’re in good company. One of the the unsung heroes of World War II faced the same problem. Andrew Jackson Higgins was a New Orleans boat builder who saw the importance of something very small, that no
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The Main Thing I Wish I Knew Before I Became a Pastor
“They didn’t tell me this in bible school.” How many times has every Small Church pastor said that under our breath while dreading the upcoming deacon meeting, trying to take our first weekend off in years, or doing random repairs on the church building? Thom Rainer surveyed a bunch of pastors on that question, without regard to church
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One Reason Our Church Stays Small: The Slow Spiritual Simmer
There aren’t a lot of first-time conversions in our congregation. At least not among adults. What we have instead, are de-churched people becoming re-churched. And it usually takes a while. After all, people become de-churched for a reason. So they often need some time to let things simmer in their spirits in order for trust
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A Sincere Heart Trumps a Spectacular Ministry
“Your responsibility is not to have a spectacular ministry, but to have a sincere heart.” No, that quote isn’t from The Grasshopper Myth. It’s not even from another Small Church writer or pastor. It’s the key quote from a great talk given by Jud Wilhite to over 3,500 ministers at the Catalyst conference in Irvine
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Only In a Small Church: Pink Flamingos, Jr. High Girls & the Pastor’s Office
On Tuesday morning there was a box of pink flamingos in my church office. On Tuesday night, there was a group of Jr. High girls in my church office. Tuesday morning made me smile a little. Tuesday night made me smile a lot. Both are examples of taking what could be a Small Church frustration
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Why I Love The Church
I love the church. For a lot of years, “I love Jesus, but not the church” or “I love the church – in spite of everything” has been a cool thing for a lot of Christians to say. I used to be one of those people. Not any more. I love the church. No apologies.
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The Astonishing Power of Small Churches: Looking Ahead
Imagine how different the world would look, if over billion people transformed by the Gospel of Jesus strategically placed by the hand of God in groups averaging 50 or so tucked into every corner of the world decided to really say “yes” to God. The Gospel of Jesus, packaged in Small Churches, is the most
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