Loving the smaller church

Yesterday I shared a blog post by Thom Rainer on how the smaller church is making a comeback. For so long smaller churches were largely ignored by denominations who wanted to focus on the large and mega-churches. While they gave lip service to the smaller church, their events were all geared to the larger churches, the times of these events were such that bivocational pastors could seldom attend, and their speakers came from the larger churches. Christian bookstores were well stocked with books for larger churches or to explain how your small church could become one of those larger churches. What you wouldn't find on many of those shelves were books and resources developed primarily for the smaller church.

That's changing. Rainer's article hit on an important fact: denominational leaders are realizing the importance of the smaller church and the impact they can have on the denomination and the communities they serve. Small churches are not failures but an important part of God's Kingdom. They are being used by God for important work.

People are studying the smaller church and the pastors, often bivocational, who lead them. Later today I have a telephone interview with a pastor in Texas who is working on his doctorate that will focus on bivocational ministry. In the past few years I've had an average of 2-3 of such interviews each year. This is exciting news for anyone involved in leading a small church and those serving in bivocational roles.

In case you can't tell, I love the small church. As many of you know, I served as pastor of one for 20 years. It was one of the most rewarding things I've ever done in my life. I loved the people I served there. We had a relationship that was unlike any I've seen in any other church. We laughed together, we cried together, and we worked together to minister to as many people as possible. As their pastor I knew I was genuinely loved by the folks there (at least most of them!), and I believe they knew how much I loved them. I would have never left that church except I knew that I knew that God had called me to another ministry.

So often ministers will look at a smaller church as a stepping stone to a larger one. Some feel they must climb the ministerial ladder every 2-3 years so they can have a significant ministry. Let me say as sincerely as I know how, you can have a significant ministry in a smaller church. You will develop relationships you'll never know if you change churches every time the wind blows, and those relationships will allow you access into people's lives that will allow you to serve them and love them.

I will forever be in the debt of Hebron Baptist Church for their acceptance of me as their pastor and their forgiveness for all the mistakes I made while I was there. There is not a day goes by  that I do not reflect on my time there and the people who made it such a great place to serve.