START HERE

Welcome to New Small Church

Over 80% of the churches in the world have less than 100 people in them.

90% of them have fewer than 200.

What if that’s not a bad thing?

What if smallness is an advantage to use, not a problem to fix?

What if we started thinking differently about church size, church growth and ministry success?

What if we could rediscover a New Small Church?

New Small Church is a ministry working to Encourage, Connect & Equip Innovative Small Church Leaders.

The ministry will center on this blog, which is usually updated 3 times per week, offering encouragement, practical advice, provocative discussion topics and more.

If you know of any Small Church leaders who might like what we have to offer, tell them about us. There’s no sense putting all this good stuff out there if it’s not gonna help the people who can benefit from it the most, right?

You can  also keep up with the latest New Small Church and The Grasshopper Myth news by following us on Twitter and liking New Small Church on Facebook, by clicking the Facebook or Twitter boxes on the lower right-hand side of the page.

So again, welcome to New Small Church. A place that hopes to challenge many of our long-held preconceptions about Small Churches. And offer new, positive ideas about what we can be.

Let’s Start a New Conversation.

Author

15 thoughts on “START HERE”

  1. Karl – I love what you’re doing!
    I just shared your link on the A/G NCN Intercultural Ministries Group page that I began a few months ago.

    1. Hey Dennis,

      You’re my first-ever commenter! I wish I had a prize or something for you.

      I’m so glad you like this. Your opinion matters a lot to me. And thanks for the share on your FB page. I’ve been keeping up with your ministry news on it. I love what you’re doing, too.

  2. Hey Karl, really enjoying reading your posts, refeshing. You’re confirming what God has been saying to some and shinning a much needed light others. Thanks for your courage and leadership.

  3. Hi Karl, this looks great. I’m Presbyterian and over 70 percent of our churches are small churches. In my Virginia presbytery we are closer to 90 percent small churches. Yet the large, programatic church tends to be the image and way we think about doing church for all of our churches. I’m looking forward to following what you are doing here. I’ve written a book called “Imagining the Small Church” published by the Alban Institute. And another great small church blog that I have found helpful is Mary Harris Todd’s “Mustard Seed Blog.” Grace and blessings upon your work.
    Peace, Steve Willis

    1. It’s great to hear from you, Steve.

      As it turns out, I’m reading your book right now. A friend recommended it to me after hearing what my book was about.

      I love your quote at the start of chapter 3, “…the happiest and most fulfilled pastors that I know are small-church pastors who have been at one place in ministry long enough to be adopted into the place and the people.” I plan to use that quote in a post soon, possibly tomorrow. If not tomorrow, it’s in the “stack of good stuff” that I’ll use before too long.

      I’ll check out Mustard Seed Blog, too. Thanks for the heads-up on it.

  4. Karl – I know you’ve mentioned that you’re familiar with Glenn Daman – I’ve got his books, Leading the Small Church and Shepherding the Small Church…you two are definately on the same page. Honestly, if in Bible College there was a class on pastoring the small church (there wasn’t when I was there) I think all of your books ought to be required reading. Glenn’s Leadership book (which I like better than the other one, but it’s good too – Leadership is just more inspirational and Shepherd is more technical) didn’t come out until 2006 (10 years after I graduated)
    I always wondered why, if small churches are the majority, and chances are most Pastoral Major graduates will be pastoring a small church – why they don’t have classes specializing in small church ministry – equipping for the challenges AND accentuating the positive (I’m on that chapter in your book regarding not having a “solution based” outlook but a more “strength” outlook. 🙂 Here’s a quote from Daman’s book Leadership in Small Churches, “What the church needs today are more shepherds, not more visionaries. We need more churches in vital relationship with Jesus Christ, not bigger churches with bigger programs (or smaller churches with smaller programs). We do not need new paradigms for leadership. Instead, we must return to the ancient, biblical paradigm, the one in which pastors are spiritual caretakers of God’s people, and are more concerned about the SPIRITUAL HEALTH of the congregation than about agendas, programs and status.” Pg. 34

  5. I’m excited to find your site. Just shared the link with our association Director of Missions. Most of our churches are small. Also just ordered your book on Kindle. Looking forward to reading it.

  6. I have been in small Churches most of my life and other than The Lord my God I love small churches and how they can “put a face to every name who walks in their door.”

  7. I started the Grasshopper Myth yesterday (not a pastor, just studying, picked it up at Good Will), and am about 1/3 of the way through and I love it! Recently the Lord put me in a small church in North OC comprised of people I have known for years and the remainder the Lord is bonding us all together. Looking forward to the blessings God has for us and our subject. Greatly encouraged!

  8. As the pastor of a tiny church, it’s distressing to look out at the congregation and only see a handful of people (literally), our church has more members that don’t attend, so it makes me curious what is their commitment to God if they don’t consider spending time with His children.

    One particular advantage is that there is more personal attention given when you have a smaller church, and while that in and of itself might be a good thing, it leaves the tasks up to the rest of the church body to handle (in my case that’s three people).

I'd love to hear from you!