Small Church Ministry

Small Church Ministry
4 Signs Your Church May Not Need Small Groups
When it comes to small groups, what works for big churches may not work for small churches.
4 Signs Your Church May Not Need Small Groups
Image: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung | Flickr

Small group ministry is a must for a healthy church. We need the fellowship, the accountability and so much more.

But what if you can't get small groups going strong in your small church, no matter how hard you try? Maybe you should stop trying. For a while, anyway.

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Small Church Ministry
How to Have a Church Where Money Is Never a Problem (For Real)
If your small church is struggling to survive, this might be the solution you're looking for. Hint: it's extreme, but it's not a fad.
How to Have a Church Where Money Is Never a Problem (For Real)
Image: Emergency Brake | Flickr

So many small churches exist in survival mode.

They struggle to meet the rent or mortgage. They struggle to pay the pastor. They struggle to stay alive.

Sometimes the battle for basic survival is so severe that very little ministry gets done, especially ministry outside the church ...

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Small Church Ministry
5 Reasons Annual Planning Is Harder In a Small Church
Most small church pastors want to be better planners. But where are the resources for how to plan better in a small church context?
5 Reasons Annual Planning Is Harder In a Small Church
Image: r. nial bradshaw | Flickr

It’s January.

In the big church down the street, this year’s plans were drawn up many months ago. The January sermon series has been running promos for weeks so they can take advantage of the huge Christmas attendance bubble. The annual budget was approved months ...

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Read These First – The Essentials,  Small Church Ministry
9 Reasons to Embrace the Term 'Small Church'
Being small is not a problem, so calling us small churches isn't a problem either.
9 Reasons to Embrace the Term 'Small Church'
Image: J N | Flickr

A lot of people don't like the term 'small church'. Including many small church pastors.

Before I wrote The Grasshopper Myth and started working with other small church pastors, I debated using a different term for churches like ours. After all, I wanted to help small ...

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Small Church Ministry
7 Small Church Choices that Will Strengthen Your Ministry
There’s a big difference between good small church choices and bad small church choices. Here are some good ones.
7 Small Church Choices that Will Strengthen Your Ministry
Image: Scott Swigart | Flickr

Small churches don't need to make big church choices in order to become great churches.

We need to make better small church choices.

After my last post, Want Your Small Church to Be Great? Make Good Small Church Choices, many readers wanted to know what good small ...

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Small Church Ministry
Want Your Small Church to Be Great? Make Good Small Church Choices
A church doesn’t need to be big to make good decisions. It's a matter of quality, not quantity.
Want Your Small Church to Be Great? Make Good Small Church Choices
Image: The Tire Zoo | Flickr

For years, we've been told that the reason so many churches stay small is because they’re making small church choices.

I understand why people say that. Many decisions made in small churches have inhibited their health and growth.

But it’s not entirely ...

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Small Church Ministry
Eight Ways to Deal with Control Freaks in the Small Church
In small churches, each member has greater impact. This tends to attract control freaks. But we can deal with them lovingly and effectively.
Eight Ways to Deal with Control Freaks in the Small Church
Image: Binary Koala | Flickr

Big churches tend to attract passive, anonymous audience members.

Small churches tend to attract control freaks.

Big church pastors are aware of the problem of anonymity, so healthy big churches work very hard at small groups.

It’s hard to be an anonymous audience ...

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Small Church Ministry
Six Reasons Why 'There Are No Small Churches' Isn’t True
The world is filled with small churches. Refusing to acknowledge that reality isn't encouraging, it's condescending.
Six Reasons Why 'There Are No Small Churches' Isn’t True
Image: Sherman Geronimo-Tan | Flickr

“There are no small churches.”

I've heard that all my life.

But it's not true.

Of course there are small churches. Lots of them. And it's okay, not just to acknowledge that reality, but to celebrate it.

Here’s why.

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Small Church Ministry
The Lonely Small Church Pastor: Breaking the Cycle
The smaller the church, the more likely the pastor is doing most ministry alone. But there is hope.
The Lonely Small Church Pastor: Breaking the Cycle
Image: Ding Yuin Shan | Flickr

Why are you doing this alone?

That question is printed on a card that sits on my desk every day. It reminds me not to fall into the trap that too many small church pastors get caught in. That I tend to get trapped in.

Being a small church pastor is one of the loneliest, ...

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Small Church Ministry
When 200 Feels Huge: 5 Reasons Churches of 200 Are Considered Small
If you're pastoring a church of 50 or fewer, a church of 200 might seem massive. But we have more in common than you'd think.
When 200 Feels Huge: 5 Reasons Churches of 200 Are Considered Small
Image: Freddie Alequin | Flickr

I’ve pastored three small churches in 30 years of pastoral ministry.

Five years at a tiny chapel in the redwoods that grew from a dozen to 50.

Less than two years at a church of around 120.

Twenty-three years and counting at a church that grew from less than 35 ...

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