What makes Small Churches unique?
Let’s revisit the stats. Ninety percent of the churches in the world have less than 200 people. Eighty percent have less than 100. Why? It’s been clearly established in both The Grasshopper Myth and on this site that the abundance of Small Churches in the world is not evidence of a problem to be fixed, […]
Why Are There So Many Small Churches? (Some Assumptions & Realities) Read More »
101 days ago I was a Small Church pastor minding my own business in my own church. And I was quite happy to keep doing that. Then I started New Small Church. For the last 100 days I’ve been writing posts, receiving comments, getting great feedback and planting the seeds for a greater sense of
100 Days of New Small Church: Wows, Hows & What Nows? Read More »
“I’m taking my family to a bigger church.” I doubt if there’s a Small Church pastor that hasn’t felt the pain of hearing those words. I was reminded of that pain while getting re-acquainted with a friend over coffee a few weeks ago. My friend is a semi-volunteer staff member at a church that used
Only In a Small Church: Personalized Major League Coaching Read More »
Jesus was a Small Church pastor? I think so. Let me show you. Jesus didn’t pastor the crowds. He taught them. Just before teaching and eventually feeding the largest crowd recorded in the Gospels, Jesus called them “sheep without a shepherd”. That’s like calling them “a church without a pastor.” Think about that. Jesus was
Small Church Hall of Fame: Jesus Was a Small Church Pastor Read More »
OK, so technically, this one’s true. My church can’t compete with megachurches. Trying to do what they do on a Small Church scale would, did, and does lead to disaster and burnout. What makes the statement a myth is that it’s built on a faulty premise. The premise that we’re supposed to be like megachurches,
Grasshopper Myth: My Church Can’t Compete With Megachurches Read More »
People love Small Churches. It’s pastors who have a problem with them. The Grasshopper Myth book has been in the hands of the members of my church for about a month. And I’m currently teaching through the principles of it on Sunday mornings. (They’re being recorded and will be podcast here soon.) So the feedback
Surprising Insights About Church Growth from Small Church Members Read More »
More evidence has just come in. Small Churches are the next big thing. I wasn’t planning to revisit this idea for a while, but a couple days ago I read a post by Thom Rainer, with the curious title “The Death of the Mall and the Future of Church Buildings.” In it, Thom made some
Small Churches REALLY ARE the Next Big Thing Read More »
We all know small group ministry is a must for a healthy church, right? But what if we’re wrong? What if small groups aren’t right for a lot of churches? I’ve struggled for decades (wow… decades! I didn’t realize that until I wrote it…) trying to do healthy small group ministry in my church, with
4 Signs Your Church Should Stop Doing Small Group Ministry Read More »
Breaking through the 200 barrier. Sometimes it feels like the only pastoring principle anyone has talked about for the past 30 years. In case you haven’t heard of it, the 200 barrier is the invisible ceiling a church must break through if it doesn’t want to be a Small Church any more. Do a Google
The Surprising Reason 80% of Churches Will Never Break the 200 Barrier Read More »
I spent too many years telling good people that the way they wanted to do church was wrong. These people weren’t heel-draggers or vision-killers. Not all of them. Not most of them. They weren’t the grasshoppers. I was. They were followers of Jesus who attended the church I was pastoring because they found their spiritual
Don’t Despise the Size Read More »
