What do smaller churches have to offer?

Much of what is said about smaller churches is not very positive. People talk about how they are resistant to change, how they are dying, how they have limited resources and cannot offer the ministries and programs larger churches can. Having worked with smaller churches throughout my ministry I've heard all of these and much more. What amazes me is that people cannot seem to see the positive things smaller churches offer. Let me share just a few of these.

Smaller churches offer a sense of family. They provide people with relationships with other people. Larger churches have to develop small groups to offer the same relationship possibilities that are naturally found in smaller churches. There's nothing wrong with the small groups, but it does require people to be part of such a group. That sense of family just comes naturally in the smaller church.

Smaller churches value people over performances. You typically do not have to audition to sing in the choir in a smaller church. Just show up. The pastor may not have the latest degree from the most prestigious seminary in the nation, but he or she visits the people and genuinely loves them, and they love the pastor. Some of the community kids are not quite "church broke," but they are loved by the members of the congregation who care for them as their own.

In smaller churches you are more likely to be with people who are just like you. I served as pastor of a small church for 20 years that was mostly made up of farmers, blue collar workers and retired people. When I first went there only one person had a college degree, and it wasn't me. I often explained that we were not the church God would use to reach the professors of a nearby college, but that we would likely reach people who were a lot like we were.

Smaller churches communicate quickly when people need help. It doesn't take long in a small church for everyone to know when someone is sick or been in an accident. Funeral dinners are quickly arranged, and meals are taken to homes when members get sick.

Although it's true that some smaller churches can resist change, they are also able to be more flexible than larger churches. A person doesn't normally have to jump through four committees and three boards to get permission to do something. Large churches often remind me of the aircraft carrier I served on while in the Navy. It took miles to turn that thing around. Smaller churches are more like the bass boat I used to own. It could turn on a dime.

While I could list more, I'll just mention one more. In smaller churches people feel like they have a part in what's going on. People care that they are there. In some larger churches people come to the service, speak to their small circle of friends and leave. Few even notice they were there or not, and it doesn't make a lot of difference if they weren't.

I have nothing against large churches, but I do get weary of hearing people say only negative things about smaller churches. These smaller churches have much to offer and play a vital role in the Kingdom of God.