“Small Churches Are Better Than Big Churches!” No. Just… No.

Celebrating small churches is great. Doing it by putting down our brothers and sisters who attend, worship, serve and lead in larger churches? That’s just wrong. But it keeps happening. Well-meaning pastors or church-goers keep responding on my social media timeline, in their own blog post, with a personal email, or face-to-face at a conference with “Thanks for celebrating small churches. Small churches are the best.” To the first sentence, I say a hearty “thank you.” To the second sentence I say a firm “no.” Just… no. Yes, I love small churches. And I appreciate your enthusiasm. But, can we please stop this silly comparison game? No one wins at it.

June 15, 2018

by Karl Vaters

Celebrating small churches is great.

Doing it by putting down our brothers and sisters who attend, worship, serve and lead in larger churches?

That’s just wrong.

I love small churches. And I appreciate your enthusiasm. But, can we please stop this silly comparison game? No one wins at it.

Author

Karl Vaters

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.

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