Standing Stone Conference 2017

Taught by Karl Vaters

Session 1: Redefining Success In Ministry

What is The Grasshopper Myth?

The false impression that our Small Church ministry is less than what God says it is because we compare ourselves with others.

All the people we saw there are of great size. …We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. – Numbers 13:32-33

 

Three undeniable realities of pastoral ministry:

  • Reality #1: 80-90% of churches will neverbe larger than 250 people
  • Reality #2: 99.9% of pastors willpastor a small church for at least some time in our ministry
  • Reality #3: You can lead a small church well, without settling for less

 

Don’t fall for IKEA Envy

 

Bigger fixes nothing

 

Over 1 billion people choose to worship God in small churches

 

Small is not a problem, a virtue or an excuse

 

Session 2: Big or Small: What’s the Difference?

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

The smaller the crowd, the more impact each person has – for good and bad

 

Big church principles center on process, systems & curriculum

 

Big changes come from small places

 

Session 3: Becoming a Great Small Church

People will come to small churches, but they won’t give up quality to do so

  • Quality looks different in a small church than a big church

 

Discover what your church does well, then do it on purpose

 

Don’t put a mission statement into words until you’re already putting it into action

 

Discipleship In the Small Church

Create a farm team by equipping the saints to do ministry

 

A simple 5-step discipleship process

  1. Meet With Every New Believer
  2. Determine How They Learn and Grow
  3. Connect Them With a Mature Believer and the Right Resources
  4. Help Them Plug Into An Active Ministry That Utilizes Their Gifts
  5. As People Mature, Call On Them to Start Leading Others

 

Use the Jethro system to raise up mentors

  • 10, 50, 100, 1,000
  • Look for Level 10 leaders, first

 

Find leaders by looking for servants

  • Value passion and willingness over experience and status

 

Start with one

 

The church needs a John Adams’ inauguration moment

  • When the priesthood of believers moves from theory to reality by training disciples

 

Session 4: What Do I Do When I Get Home?

Challenges for the current and future church

  • The way people give is changing
  • The way people commit is changing
  • The way people attend is changing
  • The way people trust is changing
  • Brand loyalty is dead

 

New generations will not build the kind of churches their parents built

 

It’s OK for a pastor’s vision to be helping people fulfill their vision

 

Do ministry from the church, not just in the church

 

Use the “closet rule” for ministries: Don’t add a new one until you’ve dropped an old one

  • What does your church do well, that you would like to do more of?
  • What does your church do poorly, that you would like to do less of?

 

Move out of a destination mindset and into a process orientation

 

When thinking small saved the world

 

NewSmallChurch.com • ChristianityToday.com/Karl-Vaters

Facebook.com/NewSmallChurch • @KarlVaters • CornerstoneFV.com

Author