Table of Contents

Smaller Churches Can Do it Better
–How To Take Advantage of Your Size

By Stephen Lim

A large percentage of professional Christian workers, including as many as 80 percent of foreign missionaries, come from small churches.

On nearly all relevant quality factors, larger churches compare disfavorably with smaller ones."¹ Christian Schwarz came to this startling conclusion after the most comprehensive study of church growth ever conducted, covering over 1,000 churches on 6 continents. The research and observations of others, along with my experience, confirm its validity.

In spite of fewer people, staff, facilities, resources, and programs, the average small church produces:

• better fellowship.
• better pastoral care.
• better discipleship.
• more involvement in ministry.
• more persons called into Christian service.
• more spiritual harvest.

Not all smaller churches (99 or less in attendance) are doing well. Many are discouraged, struggling, or declining. Some are located in communities with diminishing population, while others are ingrown and complacent. Many pastors are tempted to quit if they could find other means to support their families. How can pastors of smaller churches deal with these realities and take advantage of their size?

My purpose in this article is to encourage the pastors of smaller churches by showing them how their size can help rather than hinder effectiveness in ministry.

DOING IT BETTER

Here are areas in which smaller churches often do better ministry than larger ones.

Better Fellowship

Many have noted the family-like relational dynamics in smaller churches, where everyone knows and feels connected to everyone else. This is reinforced by the fact an average of 46 percent of their members belong to some kind of small group, compared to only 12 percent in megachurches. Larger churches strive to create a small-church atmosphere—something that naturally exists in most smaller churches.

Better Pastoral Care

In a small church, the pastor knows each member through spending time with him or her in varied activities.

At the beginning of my ministry, I pastored a small, home missions church in Los Angeles. Not only did I preach to the people, but I also worked with them on committees, visited their homes, and painted and scrubbed alongside them on workdays. Each week I drove youth and children to activities, and each season played on the church’s softball and basketball teams. I came to know the congregation thoroughly and soon became aware if anyone had a problem.

Pastors of large churches must spend more time in administration to keep their many programs running smoothly, and they often assume a CEO role. They can only befriend select members. With others in their congregation, they have limited acquaintance, if any.

Better Discipleship

Why are the 40 percent of Americans who attend church regularly making so little difference in our society? Dallas Willard considers the lack of genuine discipleship so obvious, he calls this problem "the elephant in the church."²

Too often we have assumed that people are discipled because they have completed a 6-month course. A big part of discipling involves spending regular time with people so they can learn from the quality of our lives. "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ," wrote the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 11:1*). Being with people enables us to observe their progress and provide encouragement and correction. Caring and praying for their spiritual progress also motivates them to grow.

Discipling pays big dividends in the multiplication of ourselves through others. Aside from His itinerant teaching and healing ministry, Jesus spent 3 1/2 years discipling a congregation of 12 individuals. Empowered by the Spirit, these disciples launched the Church into 20 centuries of expanding harvest around the world. Usually the pastor must thoroughly disciple at least an initial group before they in turn can disciple others. In this, the small-church pastor—with fewer programs to oversee—has a clear advantage in time.

More Involvement in Ministry

Because the pastor is usually the only salaried staff in a small church, members know that if they don’t participate in ministry, it won’t get done. Even youth are encouraged to serve. Everyone feels needed. Willingness to learn by doing takes greater importance than the professionalism expected in larger churches. In small churches, an average of 31 percent of members serve in a ministry that fits their gifts, while only 17 percent do so in a megachurch.

When I began pastoring the church in Los Angeles, besides the children, 2 adults, 10 collegians, and 10 high school students comprised the congregation. Without exception, every one of them soon became involved in ministry.

More Response to Christian Service

As a new Bible college graduate, my brother Dave began pastoring a 1-year-old home missions church in San Francisco. During his first 3 years, three youths felt God’s call to ministry. One eventually went with her husband to a remote unevangelized island in the Philippines, where they helped hundreds become believers; another pastors a home missions church; the third serves on the faculty of Bethany College of the Assemblies of God.

This result accords with the observation of Ron Klassen and John Koessler, two experts on small churches: "A disproportionate percentage of professional Christian workers, including as many as 80 percent of foreign missionaries, come from small churches."³ Why? Certainly the small church’s personal pastoral care, discipleship, and opportunity for involvement in ministry contribute to this result.

More Spiritual Harvest

This finding is the most surprising. Schwarz states clearly, "The growth rate of churches decreased with increasing size."⁴ He reports the average percentage growth and numerical increases for different size churches over a 5-year period:

Based on the ratio of conversions to members, Schwarz concludes that small churches are 16 times more effective evangelistically than megachurches.

Church growth expert Carl George corroborates. "In most cases…once a church passes 400…it tends to become a receptor church, with a high percentage (between 75 and 90 percent) of its newcomers being drawn from other smaller churches in the community…. Regrettably, very few…do their own soul winning or primary spiritual formation."⁵

Larger churches can offer more appealing programs, so believers gravitate to them. The bigger the church, however, the more time and energy spent in caring for the sheep. Some larger churches, realizing that smaller churches reach proportionately more people, plant new churches.

ATTITUDES NEEDED

Three attitudes help small churches utilize their unique dynamics.

Believe that God can use you.

Have faith that God will bless your ministry, and that small churches can do great things for God. This releases the Spirit to act in your situation.

Be a faithful servant.

God does not judge pastors by their numbers or achievements. After all, He provides the gifts, training, and opportunities. Rather, He calls each to glorify Him by faithfully serving wherever He chooses (1 Corinthians 4:2). "I have brought you glory on earth," Jesus prayed, "by completing the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4). God’s calling must take priority over our reputation and career.

Experience self-esteem as God’s beloved child.

We feel discontent with a humble place of ministry when we allow it to make us feel inferior. We seek greener pastures, mistakenly thinking this will produce a greater sense of self-worth.

From my youth I suffered from low self-esteem, which my meager circumstances as a pastor in Los Angeles compounded. What do my peers in ministry think of me? What if my fellow graduates from college and seminary saw me now? I winced whenever these thoughts arose. Years passed before I learned to fully claim my identity in Christ, though I knew it intellectually. When we find self-worth in who we are in Christ, we will be less concerned about where we serve.

ACTIONS NEEDED

Small churches do not automatically do ministry better. Along with the right attitudes, pastors need to take appropriate actions to tap their advantages.

Find a niche.

If we spread limited resources and workers too thin, we will accomplish little. Instead, discover a few needs in your community that your members have the potential to meet. In Los Angeles, I concentrated on outreach to unchurched children and youth—areas in which our young workers excelled. By the fifth year, our average weekly attendance was 100 children and 100 youth.

Use what you have.

As a small-church pastor, I fantasized, If only we had the funds and facilities of Church X, think of the programs we could run. What I could do if I had the staff and talent of Church Y. We can only use what we have, however, not what we wish we had. Coveting breeds frustration.

Having fewer resources forces us to be more creative. Our church in Los Angeles met in a rickety 80-year-old house—in which I also lived because of financial necessity. For Sunday school, after filling all the rooms, we used the front and back yards, the garage, and the cellar. Then we borrowed a neighbor’s basement. Still we bulged at the seams. We were able to borrow the facilities of a church 10 miles away on Sunday afternoons, and we started a branch Sunday school. This resulted in our reaching even more children. Lacking adults as teachers, we mobilized the youth, who turned out to be superb workers. If God has called us to a ministry, He will provide what is needed.

Disciple and mentor a few key persons.

Jesus showed us the wisdom of finding a few high-potential individuals (though His disciples didn’t look it at the time) and pouring our lives into them. Note also Barnabas’ ministry with Paul and Mark, and Paul’s with Timothy and Silas. Ask yourself: Who are the adults or youth whom God is calling me to shape spiritually? Are there one or two with leadership potential who I can mentor?

Develop a network.

Frequently, small church pastors feel isolated. They need to seek other ministers for fellowship, support, and input. For specific issues, they can call pastors whom they respect for guidance. Usually these persons are quite willing to share their wisdom. We should not allow pride, self-sufficiency, or busyness to keep us from developing the nurturing relationships we need to be effective in ministry. God has not called us to be Lone Rangers.

Build a team.

A ministry team provides built-in support. For this reason, Jesus sent out workers two by two. A team can also enable greater fulfillment and effectiveness, as each ministers in his or her areas of gifting.

Trying to be a jack-of-all-trades as a solo pastor can be frustrating, while limiting the use of our true gifts. Consider the ministries for which small-church pastors have responsibility—preaching, teaching, discipling, counseling, worship, administration, Christian education, youth, and children. Throw in maintenance, the Christmas program, and a building project, and the number of areas in which they feel incompetent balloons.

While a small church may not be able to afford additional staff—even part-time—there are creative ways to build a ministry team. With the human lifespan increasing, retirees may have many healthy years of volunteer service to offer God. Far more ministry students graduate from Bible colleges than can find salaried positions. If we communicate a credible vision and offer quality mentoring and opportunities for growth, some graduates may catch the vision, take a tent-making job, and join our team.

A bold option is for two or three ministers to share one salary and find tent-making jobs to supplement their income. This would be especially desirable in communities where an adequately staffed church has strong potential for growth.

Grow in competence.

Pastors of churches of all sizes need to regularly "sharpen the saw" by improving their skills, rather than persisting in using the same dull blade. "I’m too busy," is the usual excuse. However, setting aside an hour or two a week to learn is not a luxury, but a necessity. Lack of competence wastes time and breeds discouragement.

Buy, borrow, and share good books, magazines, and tapes on leadership and ministry. Some districts have these to loan. Make it a priority to attend ministers retreats. Districts may provide subsidies when needed. Presently, several districts have set up 1-day regional seminars every few months for ministerial enrichment. Ask your district to consider this. If possible, take undergraduate or graduate extension courses. The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary offers graduate studies in several locations. Schools offer assistance to needy students, which may make it financially feasible to enroll.

Pastoring small churches is hard work, but small churches have special dynamics for glorifying God. With the Spirit’s enabling, small churches can do ministry better than larger churches.

Stephen Lim has spoken at conferences in the United States, Canada, and Asia. He serves as associate professor of leadership and ministry at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Springfield, Missouri. He resides in San Francisco, California.

*Scripture references are from the New International Version.

ENDNOTES

1. Christian Schwarz, Healthy Church Development (Carol Stream: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996), 48. Unless otherwise stated, the statistics used come from this book.

2. Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1998), 301.

3. Ron Klassen and John Koessler, No Little Places (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), 86.

4. Schwarz, 46.

5. Carl F. George, The Coming Church Revolution: Empowering Leaders for the Future, (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1994), 37,38.