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Overcoming Discouragement in the Smaller Church

By Steve R. Bierly

God has quite a different assessment of churches that seem successful and rich in the eyes of the world. It is sometimes the smaller, struggling, barely holding on, yet faithful churches that receive His commendations and His promises.

Discouragement seems to be an occupational hazard for most pastors. If discouragement was experienced to some extent by Moses (Numbers 20:1–13), Elijah (1 Kings 19:1–18), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:7–18), what makes you think you’ll be immune? There are, however, types of discouragement that are unique to, or perhaps more acutely experienced by those involved with ministry in the smaller church.

DISCOURAGEMENT THAT COMES FROM WASTING TIME

Chances are you entered the ministry because you love leading worship, desire to preach and teach the Word, long to make a difference in this world for the Kingdom, or want to reach the lost with the gospel. However, because smaller-church pastors are at the epicenter of the congregation’s life, and manpower is scarce for needed tasks, these pastors often spend much of their time acting as church secretary, performing janitorial duties, taking elderly parishioners to medical appointments when their children are too busy, attending committee meetings, and chaperoning youth-group outings. These are not the activities pastors dream about doing. It often seems as if God may not be that great of a stewardship expert if He deploys gifted people in this manner.

There’s a cliche, "The devil is in the details." But to gain the victory over discouragement in ministry, it’s helpful to remember that it is God who is in the details. You may not relish spending time typing, copying, and folding the bulletin. But providing a Sunday morning bulletin means the service will be conducted decently and in order, and people will get a chance to read about opportunities for growth and ministry in your church. Maybe you have to turn up the heat and unlock the door every week for the Boy Scouts meeting. Remember, you are showing young people that the church cares about them, and in the process you might have the opportunity to meet some who wouldn’t otherwise come to church.

When looked at from a positive perspective, we will understand that some tasks we may consider menial or beneath us are as important as writing a new Bible study. Jesus wasn’t above washing feet (John 13:1–17), and He said those who follow Him must be willing to do the same.

DISCOURAGEMENT THAT COMES FROM HAVING IDEAS FAIL

The smaller-church pastor who goes to an evangelism or church growth conference and comes home brimming over with new ways the congregation can reach out into its community is likely to be heading for a fall when he or she presents the plans to the board. Most of those ideas will go nowhere because a smaller church isn’t purpose-driven; it is tradition-bound. It isn’t really interested in doing something different. Instead, it seeks to preserve the status quo. And it certainly isn’t going to take any action that will upset anybody, particularly the "right" anybodys.

Many pastors faced with these realities give up on presenting new ideas. There’s no point in dreaming dreams for a congregation that is perfectly content to go nowhere. But without a vision, the pastor perishes. There’s nothing that brings discouragement quicker than feeling you are stuck, without any hope of progress or improvement.

The notion that smaller churches will never change, though, is a myth. They don’t want change that seems forced on them by an outsider or imported from an alien culture like a megachurch. To bring about change in a smaller church, you must work on becoming an insider. And this takes time—time spent making small talk with your people, going on picnics together, listening to the history of your congregation, and being seen in the community. Even though it is not time spent on church growth, per se, it will pay off in dividends later.

Since the smaller church is tradition-bound, new ideas must be tied to its traditions. Preface your ideas with statements as: "This church has never said no to a worthwhile mission. Here’s one that’s come to my attention." Or, "I’ve been told that this church was filled to the rafters on Sunday mornings when beloved Pastor Smith was here. There’s a new outreach program that the Lord may use to cause it to happen again." Or, "The youth fellowship used to be strong here, so let’s see what we can do to build it back up."

Get the influential people in the congregation behind the new ideas. Have them read the articles and books that inspired you and ask for their opinions. Plant seeds in their hearts by putting challenging one-liners in the bulletins and church newsletters. Run your proposals by them first, even before making official presentations to the board. Whenever possible, let them carry the ball and be the spark plugs that will ignite change.

Progress is possible in the smaller church, but it requires the leader to be patient, and as wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. And it definitely requires faith. If the Lord can turn a king’s heart any way He pleases, then He can move within the hearts of your people.

DISCOURAGEMENT THAT COMES FROM BEING OUT OF THE SPOTLIGHT

Churches with innovative programs, or those that are bursting at the seams with unprecedented growth, get all the press. No one is interested in doing an article about a congregation that is doing business as usual. This can cause smaller-church pastors to despair, not because they pridefully want attention, but because they are tempted to buy into the idea that the action is elsewhere—and, therefore, God is elsewhere.

A cure for this kind of discouraging thinking is to read Revelation 2 and 3. God has quite a different assessment of churches that seem successful and rich in the eyes of the world. It is sometimes the smaller, struggling, barely holding on, yet faithful churches that receive His commendations and His promises. This is not to say that all successful churches of today are of the devil, or that God smiles on every dwindling congregation, but it should make you think twice about judging a church’s worth based on how much good press it gets. And it should challenge you to make sure you work on building in your congregation the things God is looking for—love toward Him and others, faithfulness during hard times, sound doctrine, holiness, and dependence on Him.

DISCOURAGEMENT THAT COMES FROM WAITING

It seems to take a long time for anything to get done in a smaller church. One reason is that members of the congregation don’t usually hold one another accountable. "So what if Mary promised to research new Sunday school material? We all know she’s been having trouble with her teenage daughter."

"John hasn’t painted the back stairs yet, but that’s just the way John is."

Another reason is this: If change is to become acceptable, it must be introduced gradually. It has to be gingerly tried on for size to see if it really fits the group and the way the group has done things for so long. But the Bible says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12, NIV). So how can you keep your heart healthy while laboring where gratification is delayed?

You must learn to rejoice in the baby steps the congregation takes. No parent despises a toddler who can barely make it across a room because he can’t yet run a marathon. Rather, the parent calls Grandma and giddily announces what the baby has done. A leader must take pleasure in what a church accomplishes, and not focus on how great a distance it must still travel. It is as hard for a tradition-conscious, backward-looking group to implement change as it is for a young child to stand up and take those first halting steps.

You want the services in your smaller church to be more seeker sensitive. But after the board listens to you, they only decide to put the page number of the Scripture reading in the bulletin and make sure there are signs in the hall that clearly point the way to the bathrooms. Don’t get down. At least the church has taken a step in the right direction.

When it comes to lighting a fire under workers in the church, be careful. As John Maxwell often says, "Pastors are in the people business, not the program business." He and other church-growth experts remind us that in the church everything rises and falls on leadership. The smaller-church pastor exercises leadership by concentrating on building relationships. The congregation will never follow you if they feel you don’t like, love, or understand them. Therefore, if the new hymnal committee hasn’t yet had a chance to meet (even though it’s been 2 months since they’ve been organized), and you patiently bear with them, you are showing your people you care about them. This does not mean that you should not teach and model responsibility for your congregation and at times challenge their priorities, but do it with a gentle spirit, with an eye to helping them be all they can be, rather than with annoyance over the way they delay your plans. The things you do with a servant’s heart are what count if you want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant," when you meet your Master.

Steve R. Bierly is pastor of American Reformed Church in Hull, Iowa, and is a conference speaker/seminar leader and an author. Steve has written Help for the Small Church Pastor: Unlocking Your Congregation’s Potential (Zondervan, 1995), How To Thrive As a Small-Church Pastor: A Guide to Spiritual and Emotional Well-Being (Zondervan, 1998), and contributed to "Building Church Leaders: Your Complete Guide to Leadership Training" (Christianity Today, 1998).