The future of the small church

 I didn't realize it had been so long since I had published on this blog. I apologize to my followers and can assure you that you will be seeing more from me in the near future. In a couple of weeks I'll have an announcement to share with everyone. But, for now I want to address what I believe the future of the small church will look like.

I am in the process of re-reading a book I first read several years ago on how to turn around a small church. Even though the book was published in 1995 it mostly remains very relevant to small churches in 2023. As I began reading Appendix A, the author mentions that many were saying the era of the small church is past, and the future belongs to the mega-church and larger churches. People are making the same observation today. In my opinion, they couldn't be more wrong.

At a pastor's conference I led a few years ago I was asked about the future of the small church. My response was that the small church will be around for a long time. The larger and mega-churches probably will be as well. The churches that will feel the squeeze in the future will be the middle-size churches. I predicted then that people in those churches will be attracted to the programs and ministries the mega-churches offer. In an effort to keep those individuals, the middle-size churches will try to compete with the mega-churches. No doubt they will work hard and probably fail simply because they do not have the resources to compete with those churches. One of my mantras is that churches can often accomplish more by doing less. It's when churches focus on the few things they can do with excellence that they succeed. Doing many things with mediocrity is a sure recipe for failure.

That failure is likely to result in people leaving for the mega-church who offers those programs the people want. At the same time, some in the middle-size church may decide they miss the family atmosphere they experienced in the smaller church and decide to return to that smaller church. They are less interested in programs and more interested in the fellowship and family atmosphere often found in the smaller church.

If my predictions are correct, it is important that denominations stop writing off the smaller church and re-address the needs of those churches. As a retired judicatory leader for 14 years I found many smaller churches had decided they would get no help from their denominations. While most of them remained members of their denominations, it was a relationship in name only. Many of them ceased any financial support of their denomination, never attended meetings or training sessions offered by the denomination, and stop calling when they needed assistance in finding new pastoral leadership. They had, in essence, became independent churches.

Smaller churches will be around until Jesus comes. They have their problems and challenges, but they offer people a sense of family not found in larger churches. Many people want that. I suppose that's why the mean church in America is only 75 people. Bookshelves may be full of books about larger churches written by mega-church pastors, but the country is full of smaller churches, and it will continue to be so as long as the church exists. I love the smaller church and have dedicated my life and ministry to them because I know how God continues to use them to impact the lives of people and communities.