Sessions by Karl Vaters
Main Session: Learning To Do Ministry FROM The Church, Not Just IN The Church
Influence doesn’t always scale
Influence is the new attendance
The pastoral prime mandate: to equip God’s people for works of service (Ephesians 4:11-12)
The three essential elements of a healthy, effective church:
- Great Commandment
- Great Commission
- Equipping God’s People
Begin with one
Find leaders by looking for servants
- Value passion and willingness over experience and status
- It’s easier to teach a servant to lead than to teach a leader to serve
Invest in willingness and availability, not titles and skills
Be more relational than programmatic
Your church can have an impact bigger than its footprint
Breakout 1: Three Ways a Small Church Can Be an Effective Church
“Over 90% of our churches are under 200, over 80% are under 100”
- First Reaction: Oh no!
- Second Reaction: So what?
- Final Reaction: Now what?
1. Know your small church can be an effective church
People will come to small churches, but they won’t give up quality to do so
2. Know how small churches function differently from big churches
Many big church principles don’t translate well to a small church context
The law of large numbers: the bigger the crowd, the more predictably they behave
3. Understand and use the unique DNA of your small church for God’s glory
Big churches prioritize process, systems & programs
- Small churches prioritize relationships, culture & history
(Need help changing your church culture? I recommend Dirt Matters, by Jim Powell.)
Breakout 2: Vision-Casting In A Smaller Church (It’s Not What You Think It Is)
Why is there such a big divide between big and small churches?
- When the biggest churches were 500 or fewer, the differences were minor
- Megachurches use and teach different principles due to their size
It’s OK for a pastor’s vision to be helping God’s people fulfill their vision
The Acts 2 model for vision-casting (from Small Church Essentials)
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. … 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd… (Acts 2:1-4 & 14)
Creating margin for increased health and effective ministry
The three main ways pastors spend their ministry hours
- The bigger the church, the more time needs to be spent on communication skills
- The smaller the church, the more time needs to be spent on relationship development
NewSmallChurch.com • ChristianityToday.com/Karl-Vaters
Facebook.com/NewSmallChurch • @KarlVaters • CornerstoneFV.com
