Small churches

[JonC]

I attend a large church, but always liked the small church atmosphere. I believe that some things just work better (e.g., accountability, fellowship, church discipline) when there is a closer relationship between members as a whole. I’ve visited several small churches in my area…and I’ve found that they are small for a reason. They do not want to grow in numbers, they have no desire to reach the lost in the community, and they are comfortable as they are. I often visit a small church where my wife grew up. It is small, but growing (it is a small because it is in a small community). They strive to reach the community and live out their faith. My conclusion, based on my experience (so it is my opinion), is that there may be something wrong in a small church within a large population (particularly old small churches). But this is, of course, not necessarily the case. Success is measured in faithfulness, not numbers.

 

[Revmitchell]

Obstinate aren't you. Prove your point then.

Well you have not proven yours. You just make a claim. While there are dead churches out there not all small churches that are not growing are dead. Some are in fields with hard ground. For instance planting a church on the Navajo Reservation is very difficult. Christianity is seen as the white mans religion. Christianity has 200 years of American history attached to it. Christianity has more than 100 years of the Catholic abuses of the Navajo people attached to it. There are deep seated religious mindsets to over come as they worship creation rather than the creator.

In some places it takes much more time and patience than in others. Broad brushing every small church as dead is neither helpful nor honest.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Well you have not proven yours. You just make a claim. While there are dead churches out there not all small churches that are not growing are dead. Some are in fields with hard ground. For instance planting a church on the Navajo Reservation is very difficult. Christianity is seen as the white mans religion. Christianity has 200 years of American history attached to it. Christianity has more than 100 years of the Catholic abuses of the Navajo people attached to it. There are deep seated religious mindsets to over come as they worship creation rather than the creator.

In some places it takes much more time and patience than in others. Broad brushing every small church as dead is neither helpful nor honest.

I will have to go back and look to see if I said that. However that is not what I meant. I do know small churches that function & I personally prefer smaller churches. What I meant to say is that any dead church I have been in has a single characteristic that all dead churches possess & that is never venturing out of its self imposed boundaries......and why that is I just dont know. Perhaps its too difficult to reach out or perhaps they are content with their present status & MO. Truly I dont care, however I personally would never join with them in membership.

 

[annsni]

I am curious Ann and since you live in the NE I feel compelled to ask....how many in the church come from a Catholic background?

Probably about 1/2 were originally Catholic and either came straight to us from the Catholic church or else were saved elsewhere and came to us from another church.

 

[thisnumbersdisconnected]

So long as there are lost people the community has not been reached.

Short of hitting the lost over the head, dragging them into the church, tying them down and making them hear the gospel yet again, yes it has.

 

[Bro. Curtis]

I have always preferred small churches, having been brought up going to both large and small ones. My favorite was a small store-front fundy church in Worcester, Mass when I lived there, that had about 12 families attending.

I helped him start a T.V. ministry, and the church started to grow.

I won't tell you who it was, but right before I moved to Montana, this church bought a beautiful building, a big van to pick up folks for services, a concert series in the parks, and then really attracted folks.. Soon after I moved, it was discovered the pastor was skimming money, using it for home improvements, to the tune of $300,000. The congregation was devastated.

That could have never happened in a small church.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Probably about 1/2 were originally Catholic and either came straight to us from the Catholic church or else were saved elsewhere and came to us from another church.

I wonder if that demographic would apply to the Bible Belt? Anybody know.....where is Jerome when you need him? :smilewinkgrin:

 

[Revmitchell]

I will have to go back and look to see if I said that. However that is not what I meant. I do know small churches that function & I personally prefer smaller churches.

Gotchya! :thumbs:

 

[dh1948]

Over the years, I have spoken to pastors of small churches. Some seem content that their church remains small.

Is this Godly thinking?

If we are truly seeking and serving the Lord, will we not see increase?

I am certainly not an authority on this subject, but I do have an opinion that is based on my observations as a Director of Missions in a rural Southern Baptist association of churches. Not all the churches are in a rural setting, but 80% are. I know every pastor and have visited every church multiple times.

My approach has been, and shall remain, to encourage the pastors to focus on leading their churches to be healthy. Demographics are not favorable for a lot of numerical growth. However, keep in mind that if a small church reaches and baptizes two people a year, it can be a major victory for it. That's 10% growth if the church has 20 members. How many churches that have 500 members would be happy with a 10% annual growth rate. All of them.

There are definitely factors other than demographics that tend to hinder any numerical growth in small churches. One that I have noticed in particular is complacency. Many small rural churches are comprised of a faithful, active membership that saw the "glory days" of the church when they were raising their children in the community. They bask in past glory. The children grew up, got married, found work in cities, and moved away. The community make-up changed. The members grew content to just coast along, maintain the building, and settle for the service of a part-time preacher. Many of the churches I serve don't see their minister as a pastor, in terms of leadership. They simple see him as a preacher. If he will preach and visit them when they are in the hospital or when there is a death in the family, they are content.

Another factor I see among small rural churches, as well as some large city churches, is that they equate "doing" church with "being" the church. To them, church is something they do....attend and give. The vision dims to the extent that they don't see themselves as being the church...carrying out the Great Commission.

I could go on and on, but I am preaching to the choir. Libraries of books have been written on this subject I suppose. I can't add much more to the discussion.

Food for thought: Why don't some of the larger churches reach out to these smaller rural churches and attempt to help them revitalize themselves in terms of becoming healthy. I know, some of the smaller churches don't want any part of that. Yet, there has to be some that would jump at the chance.

This is a complex matter. The answer, if there is one, isn't simple.

 

[quantumfaith]

I wonder if that demographic would apply to the Bible Belt? Anybody know.....where is Jerome when you need him? :smilewinkgrin:

There are pockets of Catholic's in the south. Most "reasonable" size towns have at least one Catholic church. Our town, about 100,000 has one fairly good size Catholic fellowship. Florida.....not really south, there is a greater presence of Catholics.

The south is mainly comprised of SBC, Methodist, Assembly of God and various other Baptist and Pentecostal. We are becoming more diverse in the south, slowly but surely.

 

[quantumfaith]

I am certainly not an authority on this subject, but I do have an opinion that is based on my observations as a Director of Missions in a rural Southern Baptist association of churches. Not all the churches are in a rural setting, but 80% are. I know every pastor and have visited every church multiple times.

My approach has been, and shall remain, to encourage the pastors to focus on leading their churches to be healthy. Demographics are not favorable for a lot of numerical growth. However, keep in mind that if a small church reaches and baptizes two people a year, it can be a major victory for it. That's 10% growth if the church has 20 members. How many churches that have 500 members would be happy with a 10% annual growth rate. All of them.

There are definitely factors other than demographics that tend to hinder any numerical growth in small churches. One that I have noticed in particular is complacency. Many small rural churches are comprised of a faithful, active membership that saw the "glory days" of the church when they were raising their children in the community. They bask in past glory. The children grew up, got married, found work in cities, and moved away. The community make-up changed. The members grew content to just coast along, maintain the building, and settle for the service of a part-time preacher. Many of the churches I serve don't see their minister as a pastor, in terms of leadership. They simple see him as a preacher. If he will preach and visit them when they are in the hospital or when there is a death in the family, they are content.

Another factor I see among small rural churches, as well as some large city churches, is that they equate "doing" church with "being" the church. To them, church is something they do....attend and give. The vision dims to the extent that they don't see themselves as being the church...carrying out the Great Commission.

I could go on and on, but I am preaching to the choir. Libraries of books have been written on this subject I suppose. I can't add much more to the discussion.

Food for thought: Why don't some of the larger churches reach out to these smaller rural churches and attempt to help them revitalize themselves in terms of becoming healthy. I know, some of the smaller churches don't want any part of that. Yet, there has to be some that would jump at the chance.

This is a complex matter. The answer, if there is one, isn't simple.

Some of this is in fact being accomplished in my area of the south. Example, FBC Panama City partnered with a small rural church in Youngstown, about 15 miles north of PC. They assist in the maintenance and I "think" some of the services are carried in the small rural church.

My church, reaches out to small local churches and partners with them as well. We also are beginning satellite campuses in small towns in our tri-state region. One we recently partnered with in GA was the result of another church that folded and closed it doors.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

There are pockets of Catholic's in the south. Most "reasonable" size towns have at least one Catholic church. Our town, about 100,000 has one fairly good size Catholic fellowship. Florida.....not really south, there is a greater presence of Catholics.

The south is mainly comprised of SBC, Methodist, Assembly of God and various other Baptist and Pentecostal. We are becoming more diverse in the south, slowly but surely.

Thanks Dave and I know that. But you are not dominated with them as we are here in the NE.

Ive been hard pressed to find any SBC w/I 50 miles of here. But there are 12 Catholic churches within 15 minutes of here.

 

[Havensdad]

Over the years, I have spoken to pastors of small churches. Some seem content that their church remains small.

Is this Godly thinking?

If we are truly seeking and serving the Lord, will we not see increase?

Our church is small (weekly attendance 70 average), but as the town has a population of 500, I don't think we are doing too bad. Everytime we get a new member, we have three that moves, it seems.

As long as the church is spreading the Gospel, and doing kingdom work faithfully, this is all that matters. Our church is small, and our field is very small, but we spread out into other areas, like this:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/reaching-bay-city-youth-everyone-else-for-christ#home

 

[OldRegular]

Over the years, I have spoken to pastors of small churches. Some seem content that their church remains small.

Is this Godly thinking?

If we are truly seeking and serving the Lord, will we not see increase?

As the size of the Church increases they should start another Church and I don't mean a satellite Church. A Church with over 100 families is getting too big!

 

[dh1948]

Some of this is in fact being accomplished in my area of the south. Example, FBC Panama City partnered with a small rural church in Youngstown, about 15 miles north of PC. They assist in the maintenance and I "think" some of the services are carried in the small rural church.

My church, reaches out to small local churches and partners with them as well. We also are beginning satellite campuses in small towns in our tri-state region. One we recently partnered with in GA was the result of another church that folded and closed it doors.

This is fantastic. There is a move in the Alabama Baptist Convention to encourage the dying churches to work toward revitalization. It's in its infancy and "coaches" are being trained to work with pastors of churches who want to lead their churches through revitalization. I am looking forward to seeing some results.

 

[JonC]

As the size of the Church increases they should start another Church and I don't mean a satellite Church. A Church with over 100 families is getting too big!

Why do you believe 100 families to be too big?

 

[Aaron]

Over the years, I have spoken to pastors of small churches. Some seem content that their church remains small.

Is this Godly thinking?

If we are truly seeking and serving the Lord, will we not see increase?

Once a church grows to a certain extent, I think it better to send the "overflow" to plant a new church. Big churches have to divide their congregations into small groups for proper ministry anyway. Erecting larger buildings to house ever-growing congregations seems to be counter-productive to true ministry.

 

[Aaron]

:thumbs:

As the size of the Church increases they should start another Church and I don't mean a satellite Church. A Church with over 100 families is getting too big!

Maybe I should have read the thread before I commented.

I agree.

 

[annsni]

Once a church grows to a certain extent, I think it better to send the "overflow" to plant a new church. Big churches have to divide their congregations into small groups for proper ministry anyway. Erecting larger buildings to house ever-growing congregations seems to be counter-productive to true ministry.

We have a church of 50-60 people and we still divide our congregation into small groups to better minister because we think it's the right model of ministry. So a larger church doing the same thing isn't really a problem in my book. I do think a larger church has more opportunities and more resources than multiple smaller churches because there is not a duplication of expenses. In our case, we have three campuses but we have one group of people doing all of the finances. We get lower cost insurance for our staff because we have a larger staff. We are able to buy things in bulk and the churches located in the more affluent areas are able to support the campuses in the less affluent areas to allow more ministry to occur. So to me, a large church is not bad nor are small groups.

 

[OldRegular]

Why do you believe 100 families to be too big?

Aaron has already given a good answer. I believe we should know most of the people in the congregation, at least be able to recognize them. A lot of people get lost in a large congregation, some deliberately so!