The Shadow of a Megachurch

The influence of megachurches is a prominent reality for today’s pastors and at times a source of frustration and misunderstanding for pastors of both the large churches and the neighboring smaller churches. LEADERSHIP invited two pastors, one whose church casts a big shadow and one whose church of the same denomination is within that shadow, to address the relationship. John Aker pastors First Evangelical Free Church of Rockford, Illinois, which averages 2,300 Sunday attenders. Chris Tornquist pastors nearby Shiloh Evangelical Free Church, a congregation planted forty years ago by First Church and which averages 150 attenders.

Thriving in the Shade

On a recent Sunday evening, I listened as our pianist played the prelude on our aging piano and couldn’t help but think of the extravaganza occurring just a few blocks away. There, in the 2,200-seat auditorium of First Church, was the “second show” (as the local newspaper reported it) of the annual piano festival, featuring twenty pianos being played by forty people in a great symphony of sound.

Here, in a church of the same denomination only a mile away, I would baptize seven people before a near-record crowd of 115 in the evening service. The comparison, looking only at the numbers, is almost laughable. And yet, it is a pressure I deal with every week, ministering in the shadow of a megachurch.

To accentuate the problem, directly across the street from the megachurch is a mega-megachurch, with an auditorium seating five thousand, a retirement center, a K-12 school, and two radio stations. When the two houses of worship both let out at Sunday noon, the result is a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.

All the churches in our city are affected by the ministries of these two large congregations. Whether we’re scheduling summer activities around their extensive music concert series held at their outdoor amphitheater or attempting to hold a regular service here when a big-name guest speaker fills their pulpit, we “average guys” follow the pace they set.

It’s not easy to watch families leave our church for the exciting activities and professional programming of the bigger church. Or hear a staff member of the larger church, trying to be magnanimous, say, “It sure is nice to have you small, rural churches in our neighborhood.” Or see denominational meetings automatically held at First Church, even when our facilities are quite adequate. Sometimes the shadow deepens.

When I accepted this pastorate in July of 1986, not everything looked good for the future of this congregation (about 100 people). True, we had ten acres of land, a sanctuary seating 350 (450 with overflow), a gymnasium, and a nice location in a rapidly expanding sector of the city, but the pulpit committee was frank with me: “We must grow to survive.” And I agreed. The sheer demands of the facility necessitated more income, and the morale of the remaining families needed a big boost. They had begun to doubt their necessity. The church had been planted when First Church was downtown. When First Church moved out to our edge of town, there was even scattered talk of closing down and selling the property, giving in to the temptation of being absorbed into First Church.

Obviously, I thought a smaller congregation had a future and a place in this neighborhood, and we have dug in and made good progress. Today, our congregation is growing and alive, although we are still relatively small and still in the shadow. After twelve years of steadily declining attendance, we’ve seen a 40 percent increase in Sunday attendance the past four years. We’ve begun new ministries, including a revitalized youth program, a ministry to current and ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses, a tape ministry, and home groups. Others are now in the planning stage.

How has the turnaround occurred? Foremost, of course, the credit goes to our Lord. He has revitalized individuals within the congregation and given them a new vision for his purposes here. I’ve been thrilled to see how he is changing people, people for whom my wife and I have been praying in specific ways. Those changed people are setting the pace for hopeful days ahead.

Beyond that, here are some ways we have worked to thrive in a shady setting.

1. Create an attitude of appreciation. Rather than compete with First Church, we now occasionally promote their programs. If a great preacher is doing a special series at First, I encourage our people to attend (when it doesn’t directly conflict with our services), and I attend myself. Rather than belittling, I pray from the pulpit for the activities and ministry of First, recognizing God’s blessing on their work and the good that results from their ministry.

One of our church leaders told me recently that his attitude toward First Church has changed because of my speaking highly of their work. He still cannot bring himself to attend activities there, but he finds the animosity and rivalry in his heart softening. That’s great news!

2. Take advantage of the resources of the large church. First Church has resources that can assist us. They have experts in areas of ministry we are exploring.

One example is the great encouragement and insight I get from First Church’s counselors when I handle complex counseling situations. And as I tell my leaders about these counselors’ help, I see bridges of understanding and cooperation being built.

3. Develop a unique drawing card. We have found a niche in ministry to Jehovah’s Witnesses. Although our program is not large, it is influencing people for Christ. We have our own experts in this area. They are growing by heading up this ministry, and that is exciting to observe.

Such ministries are important for our people. They indicate that we are making our own impact on our community, which helps develop a healthy self-esteem as a church body.

4. Capitalize on small size. We can do some things that First cannot begin to attempt. All-church fellowship dinners and family nights, for instance, are fairly easy to do with a smaller congregation.

My wife and I have started a tradition of holding meetings in our home the week before Easter. Instead of gathering at the church building for one large Good Friday service, people sign up in groups of twenty-five to come to our home for a time of singing, prayer, and observance of the Lord’s Supper. It has become one of the most enjoyable weeks of the year. That sort of pastor-and-people intimacy is next to impossible in a large church.

As a smaller congregation, we can have an open time of prayer requests and praises in the morning service. Individuals stand and share personal struggles and joys. As we grow, we may get to the size where that will no longer be possible. If so, we will have lost a special time of bonding and unity among our people.

It is important to recognize that there are many “small church” people in our community. Not everyone wants to be in a large church. To those people, we offer what they are looking for. Almost everyone here knows everyone else by name and, in many cases, quite personally. Visitors are easily recognized and given a warm welcome. In a larger setting, one is never quite sure whether the person next to you is a visitor or a regular attender.

5. Be faithful to your task. Above all, I have been reminded to stay faithful where God has called me.

He placed me among these people for a purpose. I’m not responsible for what happens at First Church. I’m only responsible to be obedient to God here, to these people. And, I’m certainly not lacking for something to do! There is plenty to be done for the Lord no matter what the size of the congregation.

With a smaller church, I am privileged as “the pastor” to be able to give personal attention to the needs of the individuals God has placed in my care.

The baptismal service was glorious! There wasn’t a dry eye in the place as each candidate told how Jesus Christ had transformed his or her life. Some from “good homes,” some from very troubled backgrounds-one by one, each spoke about what Jesus means today. Then several members of the congregation shared with each person a verse, a word of encouragement, a prayer of thanks. What a night!

After I changed into dry clothes and drove past First Church, the second near-capacity crowd for their piano festival was letting out. But somehow the crowds leaving that facility didn’t bother me a bit. I was still thrilled by what I just had experienced in my church in the shadow.

Surprised By My Own Shadow

A turtle on a fencepost-that’s the picture that best describes how I view myself since accepting the call to pastor First Evangelical Free Church in Rockford.

Anyone who has walked through a farmer’s field and seen a turtle perched on a fencepost won’t take long to conclude that the turtle didn’t get there on its own. More than likely, someone else picked it up and placed it atop the post.

When I pause to look at all the exciting ministries happening here at First Church, I fully realize almost all of them began long before I arrived. And most of what happens here now has little to do with my efforts. I know full well that I am simply a turtle on a fencepost. I don’t feel like I got here by my own power.

At times I hear the Lord reminding me: “I have placed you in a great and splendid city which you did not build, a house full of good things which you did not fill, hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant.”

First Church is almost 107 years old. She was big and strong long before I came on the scene, and, Lord willing, will certainly be here long after I’ve gone. Her strength hasn’t really been in her pastors, though they have been good men. First Church is alive and prospering in her ministry because of the faithful efforts of her people over the years and the sovereign blessing of the Lord on their labors.

But our daughter church is also alive and prospering in her ministry for the same reasons. The difficulty sets in for both churches when we lose sight of Who really grows a church. That is when we begin to compare-or is it compete?

It has been well said that success is the unforgivable sin before one’s peers. Too often attendant upon success are loneliness, isolation, and rivalry. Unfortunately, the church has begun to buy into the world’s standards for determining both success and significance.

The truth of the matter is that many of the big-church/little-church tensions often aren’t created by either of the present pastoral teams. But tensions do exist. Individuals from each church may quietly question the abilities and motivations of those in the other church. We are less than honest if we are unwilling to admit that. Handled improperly, these tensions are capable of spawning an atmosphere of suspicion, isolation, hurt, and loneliness.

Willing to Receive

For years I lived in the shadow of my younger brother. I struggled particularly with his success and affluence. He and his wife, both highly sought-after surgeons, enjoy many of the fine and beautiful possessions that wealth affords. For many years, I felt uncomfortable with them and experienced great difficulty in accepting their gifts and kindnesses.

One day my brother took me aside and asked, “Do you believe God called and fashioned you for ministry in the church in much the same way he led and prepared me to minister in the field of medicine?”

When I nodded, he gently said, “Well, then, why are you so unwilling to let me share with you some of the things he has entrusted to me? You are my brother.”

That was a powerful moment. Any jealousy, envy, or resentment I harbored toward my brother was graciously dissolved. His point was right on target. God, by his design and in his loving wisdom, chose to lead and bless us in different ways, but we remain brothers. I’m convinced God delights when we share freely and fully of ourselves and what we’ve received.

When I first arrived at First Church, I tried to communicate that same truth to twenty or so smaller churches in our area, including five daughter churches our congregation had planted over the years.

I remembered my first pastorate in a small country town and a second congregation which, although it grew to almost a thousand attenders, seemed to be overshadowed by a larger church whose ministries had great drawing power. My third church was just about in the middle of the first two in terms of size and potential, except it seemed to lack vision and passion. I experienced those feelings of insignificance that emanated from comparisons inevitably made between my ministry and the other, larger churches.

So our staff at First Church planned a breakfast for neighboring churches. I’d hoped to remind them-using the illustration of my own brother-that we didn’t plant First Church nor were we responsible for its growth. But we wanted these neighboring churches to share our resources and, when they felt it appropriate, our ministries.

Far from wanting to overshadow or swallow them up in our ministry, I wanted them to grow and profit from some of the things we were able to do just by virtue of our size and financial resources.

But only two churches accepted our invitation. Some of the others had previous commitments or last-minute urgencies, and I can understand that. But I wish we had been able to get a better response.

I believe a church’s growth ultimately rests in the sovereignty of God, not necessarily in the talents or devotion of the pastor. If we could appropriate that truth emotionally, we just might see the tension that does exist diminish.

A Viable Partnership

The issue ought not be that of big church/little church. What is truly needed is a practical affirmation of an important theological declaration: We are made partners together with Christ in the ministry.

All churches, large or small, share a common calling: identifying and utilizing the diversity of gifts within the congregation, insuring a unity of purpose, and formulating a Spirit-conceived strategy to generate ministries to address the needs surrounding us. The church that is strategy directed and Spirit driven will, regardless of size, carve out a significant ministry within its community. And Shiloh Evangelical Free Church has done just that.

Of course, large churches and small churches each can do some things better than the other. We ought not be consumed with who does what better. Instead, we should be concerned with doing our best.

It might be good, however, for us to admit the following:

1. While large churches, rightly or wrongly, tend to be regarded as significant, smaller churches often excel in ministry to individuals.

2. Numbers alone do not determine the efficacy of ministry. Lasting impact can’t be measured by size.

3. The church’s primary objective is not growth but glorifying God. And yet growth is to be anticipated and accepted, not feared or discouraged.

4. Personal ministry and “body life” is not limited to small churches. It can be experienced in larger churches, too.

5. Large and small churches will not have a godly appreciation and affection for each other until their undershepherds have come to see themselves not as competitors but as companions in ministry.

Those of us in leadership-be our flocks large or small-would do well to do away with such business words as success and significance in favor of the biblical words faithfulness and fruitfulness.

Regardless of the size of our churches, our concern is the Master’s appointment, not man’s applause. And our commitment, in the final analysis, is the glory of God and not goals of our own design.

Somehow it does all fit together. God is sovereign. He has made us partners together with himself in ministry.