Small Churches

What makes Small Churches unique?

Blinded By Bigness: Appreciating Smallness In a Big Church World

/ 5 minutes of reading

If my life had gone according to my plans, I would not be pastoring a Small Church today.

I’d be pastoring a big church.

Because I like big churches. I wanted a big church.

As it turns out, a Small Church is better for me. It’s better for my ministry, my soul and my easily-inflated ego.

I’m glad my life doesn’t always go according to my plans.

No, Small Churches aren’t better for everyone. But they are for a lot of people. I happen to be one of those people.

My appreciation for big things – especially big new things – probably has more to do with the culture I live in than my actual personal desires. It’s not about the true longing of my soul as much as it is about what I’ve been told I should like.

Sometimes I’m blinded by bigness.

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Everything You Know About Small Churches Is Wrong

/ 7 minutes of reading

OK, maybe not everything you know about Small Churches is wrong. But there’s probably no aspect of the body of Christ that is more misunderstood and under-utilized than Small Churches. Small Church myths have become so commonplace that most church leaders believe them, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I know, because I believed them

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Is a Successful Small Church an Oxymoron?

/ 3 minutes of reading

If we hope to overcome the perception that Successful Small Church is an oxymoron, we have to start answering the question in the title with another question. Namely, “what is a successful church?”

The answer to that question is not found in buildings, budgets or butts in the seats. It’s found in the simple, two-part formula for success laid out by Jesus himself. The Great Commandment and Great Commission. Are we loving God? Loving each other? Making disciples? Sharing our faith?

Any church that’s spending its time doing that instead of obsessing over budgets, building projects, making a name for the pastor, petty infighting and the like, is a successful church. No matter how big or small it is.

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8 Reasons Why It’s OK to Call Your Church a Small Church

/ 4 minutes of reading

For decades (yes, decades!) I refused to acknowledge that my church was small or that I was a Small Church pastor. Not any more. Now, I’m not just OK with it, I celebrate it.

Some people don’t like using the term Small Church because, in their minds, that term equates with a church being sickly, settling or worse. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

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When People Leave: The Private Pain of the Small Church Pastor

/ 6 minutes of reading

It’s taken me a long time to hit “publish” on today’s post because, when I raise an issue, I like to provide solutions or alternatives. But I don’t have a solution to this one.

So today’s post is not about answers. It’s a recognition of our shared pain. With the hope that we can find some sort of solace by knowing we’re not alone in these feelings. Here are some painful truths many of us have felt when people leave our churches.

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Is It Wrong If I Don’t Want My Church to Grow?

/ 6 minutes of reading

One of the foundational beliefs of the church growth movement is that every church should desire to grow. And if you don’t want your church to grow, there’s something wrong. Probably something wrong with you. So let me get right to it and answer the question in today’s title.

Is it wrong if I don’t want my church to grow? YES. Always. Without reservation. No excuses allowed. No “buts” added. It is always wrong when a follower of Jesus, and especially a church leader, doesn’t want their church to grow.

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Why Don’t Small Churches Grow? They Do. Then We Call Them Big Churches

/ 6 minutes of reading

“Why don’t small churches grow?” That’s one of the most common search terms that leads people to NewSmallChurch.com.

So today I ‘m going to take a stab at answering it. But before I offer my answer, I’m going to do something that may surprise you. I’m going to challenge the premise of the question.

The presumption that Small Churches don’t grow is false. Small Churches do grow. Some grow numerically. Most grow spiritually. Many grow in both ways.

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