Tuesday, January 06, 2015

When We Treat Small Churches Like a Problem, We Get More Problem Churches


Church leaders are always wringing their hands about the problem of Small Churches.

I heard it again recently. A church leader complained that 90% of the churches in their group had less than 200 in attendance, then introduced a plan for getting those numbers up.

(Never mind that the “90% under 200″ figure is shockingly consistent across all church groups – which should make us wonder if God is up to something with that.)

I watched as many of the pastors in the room tried to hide their “here we go again” faces. Unsuccessfully. Then I left the room wondering about what happens when we do that to Small Church pastors.

As I was pondering the implications, this question hit me over the head like a hammer.

If Small Churches weren’t seen as a problem, would they stop being a problem?

Think about it. When we treat people like they’re problems, they become problems. When we treat them like they’re a blessing, they often become the blessing we see.

Churches are the same.

Most of us know this instinctively about our children, our church members and our friends. But we often forget this about our churches and our ministry in them. Read more

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