Adapting our methods to suit our size means that a church of 50 of fewer may not need:

• A worship team or choir
• A Sunday School
• A nursery
• An audio system
• A building
• A full-time pastor (Ouch! Sorry.)

And if we don’t need all those activities, we don’t need as many volunteers to delegate to.

Acting like a big church is one of the worst strategies a small church can have. Unless your goal is a frustrated pastor, burnt-out volunteers and an ineffective church.

3. Stop Doing Activities that Have No One to Lead Them

If there’s no one willing to lead something, it’s probably not as vital as everyone thinks it is.

“But we need it!” is never enough of a reason to start something new. It might be okay for meeting a temporary, immediate need, but a sustained ministry takes more than that.

There are needs everywhere. They’re endless. A wise pastor does spiritual triage to determine which ministries the church can do well over the long term.

When I finally started taking delegation seriously, this is one of the first steps I took. We stripped the church calendar to the bare essentials.

Then we didn’t start any new ministries again until we satisfied the requirement in the next point.

4. Don’t Start Or Restart a Ministry Without at Least Two People On the Leadership Team

I’ve started ministries because one reliable, passionate person said they could handle it themselves. And it’s never ended well. We’re better off not launching a ministry at all than starting one without back-up leadership in place. It’s like a weak swimmer (the leader) trying to save a drowning friend (the ministry). They’ll both go down.

And no, one of two team members can’t be the pastor or spouse.

If you don’t believe me on this one, here’s the same principle from a higher authority than me.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:10-12