Preserving Pentecost in the Smaller Church:
Challenges and Opportunities

[Sidebar for "A Waterline Of Another Kind - Six Marks of a Pentecostal Church"]

Gifts often come in small packages. This is true in pastoral ministry. Fostering spiritual life in small to midsize churches requires understanding God’s greatness.

When my ministry began at Bethel Assembly, Sunday attendance was 50. I emphasized where God could take us if we would follow His leading. This year is our 10-year anniversary. Attendance is now 300.

Pastors of smaller congregations can experience God’s greatness when they promote and seek His presence. If the word Pentecostal appears on our church sign, people must experience what that word implies.

Three prerequisites must be met for the church to operate in the Holy Spirit: Pentecost must be emphasized; the service must allow and expect spiritual manifestations; and time must be spent at the altar.

Emphasize Pentecost

At Bethel, many people have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit must be emphasized for this to happen. We must share the message of salvation and Spirit empowerment.

If you never preach on walking in the Spirit, you limit people’s spiritual growth. Believers need to know the Pentecostal experience. We have a mandate to keep Acts alive. Pentecost drew crowds and Peter’s message saved thousands. I choose to preach that same message.

Allow for and expect manifestations of the Spirit

Differing opinions on church music divide many churches. My wife, Lauri, is my minister of music. We work together to ensure our worship service leads people to wait on God and hear His voice.

Worship can be an end in itself, but our worship must prepare us to wait in God’s presence. People need the opportunity to be still and know that He is God.

Spend time at the altar

In the Bible, revival was birthed when the altars were rebuilt. In Pentecostal churches, the altars must remain open.

We sometimes end services quickly so people can get home or beat the dinner crowd. But we cannot rush the Holy Spirit. God moves when people wait in His presence.

Canceling Sunday night services is becoming a trend. But great altar services will improve Sunday night attendance. We still have 200 people on Sunday night because they expect a move of God at the altar.

God does not change, and neither should our emphasis on worship and time at the altar. I am thankful our church believes in God’s power.

Five years ago, we learned that my wife, Lauri, had a tumor on her brain. The doctor said an operation could cause paralysis, severe brain damage, blindness, or death. The negative prognosis, however, did not change our belief in God’s power.

Lauri’s surgery lasted more than 7 hours. The surgeon explained that her brain had swelled and the operation had to be terminated.

As they rolled her into ICU, she was singing and praising God. In 10 days she was home, in 3 weeks she was in church, in 4 weeks she was leading worship, directing the choir, and running 3 miles a day. Signs and wonders follow those who believe.

Let the fire fall

A minister said, “Do not be afraid to let the Spirit move in your church.”

There should be nothing more alive than a Pentecostal church. Do not settle for a cup of pottage. We have a birthright. Allow God to move your church in a powerful way.

Big things do come in small packages. Do not look at where the church has been, but look to where God can take it. Our mountain is God’s footstool and our obstacle is God’s opportunity to reveal His power.

—Stephen Funderburk is pastor of Bethel Assembly of God, Wetumpka, Alabama.