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7 Reasons to Consider Interning at a Small Church
Church internships are great. For the church and for the intern. If they’re done right (yes, that’s a big “if”), they can confirm or define a call to ministry, provide real-life experience to enhance classroom learning and bless a local church. If you’re a pastor who thinks you can’t run an internship program because your church
Everything You Know About Small Churches Is Wrong
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
I Wasn’t Afraid to Go to Church Yesterday: A Memorial Day Tribute
Yesterday morning, hundreds of millions of people woke up and went to church. In some places around the world, many people risked their livelihoods, their safety, their families and even their lives to worship together. If you live in one of the nations where you can go to church without fear, let’s take a moment today to
Do Your Church Leaders Always Say No to Innovative Ideas? Try This
It had taken me months to say yes to this idea myself. But I expected them to say yes as soon as they heard it. That wasn’t a fair request to make of them, especially when the idea was a big one.
They needed time to let it soak in their hearts, just like I had needed time for it to soak into mine.
For Every Minister Who Struggles With Your Prayer Life
We all struggle with the age-old question, “Is God pleased with me and what I’m doing?” Because prayer is hard, many of us use cheap substitutes to answer that question.
Instead of wrestling with the difficult aspects of our relationship with Jesus, many pastors rely on the newest church leadership methods and systems to answer the “is God pleased with me?” question.
It’s quicker and easier to measure our success through numbers and metrics than it is to struggle with our insecurities through prayer. But quicker and easier aren’t better.
Is Your Church Stuck, Or Just Small?
If a church is healthy in every way but numerical growth, is it really stuck? No.
It turns out my church wasn’t stuck at all. It was just small. And if that’s the case – if a Small Church can be a healthy church – then maybe numerical growth isn’t the be-all, end-all sign of health we’ve made it out to be.
Maybe a healthy Small Church is an OK thing to be.
Is a Successful Small Church an Oxymoron?
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.
Same Workload, Fewer Numbers: Why a Small Church Pastor May Need Your Encouragement Today
Pastoring is hard work, with little reward. No matter what size your church is. Pastoring a Small Church is hard work with fewer tangible rewards. Not to mention what sometimes feels like a constant drumbeat of criticism when your church isn’t growing like some people think it should.
If you’re a Small Church pastor or church leader, please take this short blog post as evidence that you’re loved and appreciated. You’re not alone. God knows. And so do a lot of us who work in the trenches with you.
How to Deal with Church Staff and Volunteer Problems Without Losing Good People
This isn’t a one-sided issue. It’s a two-sided issue with a two-sided solution. I know, because I’ve also had conversations with Small Church pastors about how hard it is to get good staff and volunteers.
Usually, it’s hard to get anyone to help at all. But sometimes I get complaints from pastors that go like this.
“No matter what I do, I can’t get these young leaders to turn off lights or take stinky garbage out to the dumpster! And when I tell them to do it, they get such an attitude about it! Like they’re too good for that. Don’t they understand that this is what a lot of ministry is about? Especially in a Small Church?” Sound familiar?
