Mission

Quit Trying To Fix Sunday School – Until You’re Sure You Should Have It At All

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As I talk with pastors and other church leaders, one question that pops up regularly is “it’s getting harder to get people to lead and/or attend our Sunday School classes (or Sunday night services, or prayer meetings, or VBS, or…). How do we fix this problem, make that ministry better and get people to come back?

(Sorry, Sunday School. I love you. I really do. But I couldn’t list every ministry in the title, and you drew the short straw on this one.)

Church health is not about making our current ministries better, it’s about doing better ministry. If VBS is the best way to reach kids during the summer months, by all means, do it and improve it. But what if there’s a better way to do kids ministry this summer, but we can’t see it because we’re putting all our energy into making VBS better?

We need to ask better questions, then do whatever ministry answers those questions in the best possible way. If that means making a current ministry better, great! But in many circumstances, if we’re really asking honest questions and looking for real solutions, it will mean doing ministry in entirely new ways.

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Why We Can’t Afford To Be Dismissive Toward Small Churches

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I’m a fan of small churches, not because I don’t care about the growth of the church, but because I do. Passionately.

I am committed to seeing the entire body of Christ engaged in mission with spirit-led passion, wisdom and impact. That’s why I’m unwilling to act dismissively towards 90 percent of churches, and half of the world’s Christians who worship in them and serve from them.

If we hope to accomplish the Great Commandment and Great Commission, the micro half of the body must be as fully encouraged, resourced and engaged as the macro half.

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The Astonishing Power of Small Churches: Fan the Flame

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How can we activate the astonishing power of small churches?

As we’ve already seen in the previous two posts in this series, over one billion people worship Jesus in small churches tucked into every corner of the globe. What could we possibly do to light the fuse that would allow us to tap into this astonishing potential?

How would we structure it? What should we tell them to do? And who can we call upon to lead it?

We wouldn’t, we shouldn’t and we can’t.

We don’t need to light the fuse. It has been lit already.

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The Astonishing Power of Small Churches: Strategic Placement

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Over one billion people choose to worship Jesus in small churches.

But the astonishing power of small churches is not just about the numbers. It’s about strategic placement. This is where our small size becomes our advantage.

Small churches have found their way into every corner of the world.

Laws don’t stop us, distance can’t limit us, and lack of funds won’t discourage us.

In places where Christianity is illegal, our size makes us invisible. Where people have no transportation, our size makes us accessible. Where land is expensive, our size makes us affordable.

Small churches are not a mistake to be fixed or an obstacle to overcome. We may be God’s greatest tool to reach the world. Especially when we join forces with our big- and megachurch brothers and sisters.

(This is the second in a five-part series).

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