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AMAZING THINGS ABOUT SMALLER CHURCHES

written by Dr. Andrew Corbett

Why is it that 90% of the world's churches are congregations of 70 or less, yet most of the material presented by writers and speakers about how to do church is aimed at the 4% of churches that congregations of 300 or more? While mega churches are undoubtedly becoming more common, church plants are far more prolific than mega churches. In fact globally, the average size of a church congregation is under 40 people! By far, most pastors are solo church leaders, and bi-vocational. For too long the smaller church has been looked down upon and under appreciated even by those who espouse otherwise. But, as the pastor of a smaller church myself, I would like to affirm the amazing value of the smaller church.

1. GREATER PARTICIPATION...

It is a statistical fact that smaller churches involve a greater percentage of their people in some form of ministry. There's a lot of empirical evidence to suggest that much of what has been taught about people's use of spiritual gifts has been extremely narrow and limiting. The reality of people's service for God in the church is that people more often than not do what has to be done. Are they necessarily gifted to do what they are doing? Not necessarily. People are really more interested in being useful than waiting around for the right opportunity to use their specific gift. In the larger church, it would be amazing if more than 30% of the adults in that church were active in some form of useful ministry, according recent research. In the smaller church it is not uncommon to have over 70% of adults involved in active, useful ministry. Christian Schwarz's research has shown that there is a noticeable drop off congregational participation when a church grows beyond 200 congregants.

.......................... 2. PERSONALISED TRAINING ...
Jesus never did set up a Seminary, or Bible College Training School. Yet this is the most common form of training done by larger churches, and held up as the ideal training method for smaller churches actually scratching to get someone to teach the four children in the Sunday School, let alone enough people to fill an inhouse Bible College. We might well wonder whether if it isn't actually Christ's design for the saints to be equipped for ministry within the context of the local church. Much of what I learned about serving Christ I learned while serving and observing in the local church. The pastor of the smaller church has a far greater opportunity to get up close and personal with those they are training into some form of ministry. Sitting down with 2 or 3 others over coffee and a John Maxwell video can be of far more value than sending someone off for a couple of years to "do Bible College".

3. HUNGER FOR LOST SOULS ...

If you want to radically increase your evangelistic effort and zeal, pioneer a church from nothing! Or, take on the leadership of a very small church with mounting financial challenges. While it is true that smaller churches face the danger of becoming a "closed holy huddle", it is just as true that larger churches face an equally perilous menace in the form of cliques, and a perception of being very institutional. In our church, which is in a community of around 2,000 people, we are constantly crying out to God for the lost within our community. We match this with an ongoing effort to reach this people as creatively as possible. This includes cafe nights with dramas, video, preaching, and testimonies. It includes sporting events against other churches where we recruit non-christian participants. It includes a strong emphasis on reaching children through Kids Clubs, Kids Picnics, Kids-Night-In-Parents-Night-Out, and holiday programmes. We also try and put on a great Sunday service that's relevant to the unchurched.