Jump directly to the Content

The Unique Network of a Small Church

Learning to communicate in ways a congregation expects.

Building our new church facility went without a hitch. Our first service in the new building, however, was another matter.

For over a year, the board had talked about changing the way we took offerings. Our practice had been for members to place their offerings in a box on the wall. We were convinced we needed to start passing the plate.

We knew that would make some people uncomfortable, so we decided to begin passing the plate when we moved into the new church building. With so many other changes, who would notice one more?

The morning of our first service in the new building, I received a phone call from John, a former board member.

"Is what I heard true?" he asked. "Are you planning to take an offering this morning?"

I told him we were, and he went ballistic. "If you do," he said, "I'll interrupt the service and call you to account!"

We had violated a fundamental principle in successful small church leadership: we had overlooked the congregation's ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
When People are Disappointed with Your Church
When People are Disappointed with Your Church
Seven questions for leaders to ask themselves
From the Magazine
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close