What would the world look like if all the megachurches disappeared tomorrow? Would it be a better place? Or worse?
I propose it would be worse.
But, by the way some of my fellow small church pastors talk (and the way I used to talk), you’d think that if all the megachurches disappeared tomorrow, suddenly all the small churches nearby would be filled to the brim with the people the megachurches stole from us over the years.
I don’t think that’s the case. The church I pastor is small for a variety of reasons, some of which I don’t understand, but not because there are megachurches near us.
Author
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Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of five books on church leadership, including his newest, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next. His other books include The Grasshopper Myth and Small Church Essentials.
Karl also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry, featuring in-depth interviews about 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.