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Grasshopper Myth: People Aren’t as Committed as They Used to Be
Recruiting and keeping givers and volunteers is harder than it used to be. If I was ever tempted to tell Small Church pastors to quit whining about something, this would be it. It used to be fairly easy to get church members to commit to consistent giving and/or volunteering. Ask for a missions pledge, and
Coasting is Compromise: Becoming a Proactive Small Church
Just when you think you’re ahead of the curve, the curve moves. My parents gave me a Smith Corona typewriter when I went off to college in 1978. It was electric and portable. I was ahead of the curve. Then one day, I saw a crowd gathering outside a classroom. They were staring in amazement
Why Are There So Many Small Churches? (Some Assumptions & Realities)
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,
Redefining Success Without Lowering Your Standards
Why do so many pastors not practice what we preach? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a cynic. And I’m definitely not a pastor-basher. I have a great admiration for pastors and what they (we) do. Pastors may be the hardest-working, most undervalued members of our society. And that goes double for Small Church pastors.
5 Principles Megachurches Can Learn From Small Churches
Small Churches receive a lot from our megachurch friends. We read their books, sing their songs, use their curriculum and attend their seminars. And we’re grateful. But the benefits don’t have to flow only one way. There are some very important, though less obvious things that megachurches can learn from Small Churches. Not necessarily books
The Importance of Finding Your Church’s Unique Voice
What kind of culture does your church have? Are you a Willow Creek, or North Point church? Is your worship style more Hillsong, or Holy Trinity Brompton? Do you have an artsy, Mosaic vibe, a soulful, Brooklyn Tabernacle feel, or a structured, Saddleback system? For many years, people knew what to expect when they walked into
How to Quit Using a Discipleship System and Start Making Disciples
Does your Small Church have a discipleship system in place? Most don’t. Mine doesn’t. We used to. But we quit doing it years ago. It didn’t work for us. We were using a well-known discipleship curriculum from a megachurch, that we adapted to our Small Church. We did it because everybody – and I mean everybody!
5 Principles Small Churches Can Learn From Megachurches
Small Churches are not scaled-down versions of megachurches. We’re different, not just in size, but in methodology. A lot of what works in big churches just won’t work in smaller ones. And vice versa. But there are some overlapping principles. Starting with the scriptural fundamentals, of course. Over the years, I’ve noticed some principles that
Could Excellence Be Killing the Church?
“I left my Small Church because the quality of worship, programs and preaching wasn’t great. Then I came back to my Small Church because the quality of worship, programs and preaching in the megachurch was so high, it made me passive. “The big church didn’t need me. My Small Church does. And I need to be
