The Endlessly Fascinating Microbiology Of Small Church Ministry

When you love something, there's always more to discover in it. That was the essence of a conversation I had recently about the value of small church ministry. It began with a question. "What you're doing with small churches is great, but won't you have to expand your vision at some point? I mean, how much more is there to say or learn about small churches?" The question was conversational, not confrontational, so I replied just as conversationally with the following: "How much is there to learn about small churches? I don't know. How much is there to learn about microbiology? “Just because microbiologists limit their study to small organisms doesn't mean they'll run out of valuable principles to discover, unexpected ideas to apply, or new ways their work can bless humanity. In fact, they don’t weaken their contribution to science by narrowing their focus, they strengthen it. When we narrow our field of study we can go deeper and get more out of it. For us and others."

July 13, 2017

by Karl Vaters

“What you’re doing with small churches is great, but won’t you have to expand your vision at some point? I mean, how much more is there to say or learn about small churches?”

“How much is there to learn about small churches? I don’t know. How much is there to learn about microbiology?

“Just because microbiologists limit their study to small organisms doesn’t mean they’ll run out of valuable principles to discover, unexpected ideas to apply, or new ways their work can bless humanity. In fact, they don’t weaken their contribution to science by narrowing their focus, they strengthen it. When we narrow our field of study we can go deeper and get more out of it. For us and others.”

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.

View all posts