Lessons From Desert Man
The Small Church #1
The Goblins of Church Growth
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The "Church Growth Movement" has benefited the Church
in the U.S. greatly over the last 20 years. Our understanding
of what creates a healthy church has grown among pastors,
and members alike. Yet, in the midst of this enlightenment,
there lurk misinformed goblins waiting to gobble up
your confidence.
Both "lay leaders" and pastors of small churches are
often left to grapple with the queries which surround
us: "Why isn't your church bigger after all this time?",
"Is something wrong with us, why don't more people
stay?" or, "What's wrong with the pastor, why isn't
God blessing him?" People asking these, and other
similar questions, assume certain things about God,
and the theology of Church Growth and Blessing: 1)
They assume that all churches should be large. 2)
They assume that smallness indicates that something
is wrong. (i.e. sin, ineptitude, prayerlessness, or
a lack of faith.) 3) They assume that good things
cannot come in small packages.
Surrounded by these challenges, the leaders and the
members of the small church must come to a decision.
Is it possible to be in God's will, and still be part
of something small, or are the challengers correct
in their evaluation of our ministries?
As a Pastor of a small church for the last nine years,
I have learned a few things about this area of struggle.
First of all, the small church is not a freak. Lyle
Schaller states that 50% of all the churches in America
have an attendance at their main worship service of
75 or less. According to personal study of churches
within my own denomination, that number is high -
it may be closer to 60. Two-thirds to three-quarters
have an attendance of 100 or less. This tells us that
the small church is the normative expression of church
life for many people, and as a result, those of us
in the small church should not be ashamed. Mr. Schaller
quotes Abraham Lincoln tastefully in saying, "God
must love the small church. He made so many of them."
Secondly, I've learned that the small church can be
effective. In fact, there are many things about a
small church, which cannot be duplicated by its larger
counterpart. Fruitfulness is not dictated by attendance.
Yet, this is not understood in this number conscious
society. People grow, and get saved in small churches
all across the U.S. each week. This gives us hope
that we can have an impact on our communities, even
in our "smallness."
Thirdly, I have learned that you can be happy, without
jeopardizing your passion for the Great Commission,
or Church Growth. You can be satisfied with your outward
circumstances (whether you are abased or abounding
with attendance numbers), and yet retain the desire
for more.
Whether you are a pastor, or a lay leader within a
small church, don't allow the well-intentioned, yet
misinformed goblins of church growth to gobble up
your confidence.
1- Lyle Schaller, The Small Church is Different, Abingdon
1982
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