Do Small Churches really have value? Thankfully, this isn’t the only ministry answering that question with a big YES!
The speakers in today’s videos, from the October 2013, Small Church Pastors’ Workshop, definitely agree about the value of Small Churches. And they make that argument in some very encouraging and practical ways.
Just scroll down a little to watch the following videos embedded in this post:
- Bob Kilpatrick – The Value of a Lean and Mean Church
- Joel Kilpatrick – Small Doors Lead to Big Ministry
- Frank Wooden – The Value of Pastoral Networking and Delegation
The speakers come from three very different types of ministry (music, writing and pastoring), but they all arrive at the same place. God uses small beginnings to do great things.
As Bob Kilpatrick reminds us in his talk, Jesus never said “well done, thou good and famous servant.” Faithfulness is what Jesus asks us for – and that’s what he rewards.
Bob Kilpatrick – The Value of a Lean and Mean Church
Bob has spent a lifetime travelling the world performing concerts and leading in worship in churches of all sizes. He is most well know as the writer of the worship classic “(In My Life) Lord Be Glorified“. Bob now pastors a Small Church in Northern California.
Principles Bob covers in his short talk, include
- The Rule of 120
- Building community in the presence of God
- What church history and furniture tell us about what the church values
Joel Kilpatrick – Small Doors Lead to Big Ministry
Joel has authored/co-authored over 50 books and has edited and written for many well-known ministry magazines. But he is most well known as the owner/writer of LarkNews.com, the world’s leading satirical Christian news site. Joel draws on his experiences to bring a fresh perspective to ministries that seem small, but have great value.
Principles that are covered include
- Writing and speaking for a heavenly audience
- How expectations/realities for first-time writers are very similar to expectations/realities for pastoral ministry
- Much of Jesus’ ministry was about smallness
Frank Wooden – The Value of Pastoral Networking and Delegation
Some of Frank’s story was told in The Grasshopper Myth. Frank has pastored Hope Church in San Diego for 21 years. And now this Small Church is planting other Small Churches in neighborhoods all over San Diego and beyond.
Networking is the key. In this video, Frank shares how a growing group of pastors and churches have overcome their differences and frustrations to support each other and do far more than they ever did alone. These are practical, hands-on ideas that can work anywhere – in any size church.
Principles that are covered include
- The value of vision
- Turning dysfunctional church members into functional disciples
- Using smallness as an advantage
Click here to watch previous workshop teachings and other NewSmallChurch.com videos. The final teaching video from the workshop will be posted next Friday.
Your Church Can Do This, Too
One of the principles of the workshop was that we wanted everything we did to be repeatable by almost any other church. So we didn’t spend a ton of money to hire a professional videographer. In fact, we spent no money on it – since that’s the usual video budget of most Small Churches.
Instead, we used someone’s iPad, strapped it to a music stand, plugged a mic into it and had a volunteer sit in the front row to oversee it. Thus, the sitting-in-the-front-row, looking-up-my-nose feeling.
The entire workshop was livestreamed that day for people who couldn’t get to Southern California to participate in person. These videos are the result of that experiment – an experiment that, thankfully, worked.
So the audio and video aren’t slick and professional. But you can see and hear what’s going on perfectly fine. Not bad for zero money. And yes, you can do this in your church, too.
I want to thank three of my church volunteers who put all this together for me. Christian Pedersen and Vic Brad oversaw the setup that day. Ben Wilson edited the videos into the pieces we’ll be rolling out in the next few weeks.
So what do you think? Are you prepared for your seemingly small ministry to do great things?
We want to hear from you. Yes, you!
Enter your comment right below this post and get in on the conversation.
(Berries for Sale photo from CEBImagery.com • Flickr • Creative Commons)
