{"id":24643,"date":"2023-10-10T20:39:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T01:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=24643"},"modified":"2023-10-10T20:39:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T01:39:52","slug":"how-to-grow-a-small-church-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/how-to-grow-a-small-church-3\/","title":{"rendered":"How to grow a small church"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter to the Lord whether He saves by the few or by the many\u201d (I Samuel 14:6).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Depending on a number of factors, growing a small church is one of the more do-able things pastors can achieve.<\/p>\n

Those variable factors include\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2013the health of the church.<\/em>\u00a0 Now, you don\u2019t want a sick church to grow; you want it to get well first. In an early pastorate, I told the congregation, \u201cThere\u2019s a good reason no one is joining this church.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t join it either!\u201d Believe it or not, those words were inspired and they received them well, and repented. (I explained that there was a bad spirit in the membership, people were engaging in idle gossip, and the love of God was missing.\u00a0 When we extended the invitation, the altar was filled with God’s people praying. We began to have a genuine revival that day.)<\/p>\n

\u2013the attitude of the congregation.<\/em> If the people are satisfied with the status quo, they would not welcome newcomers.\u00a0 I\u2019ve known a few Sunday School classes composed of long-time best friends who felt imposed on by visitors and offended by new members.\u00a0 No one wants to go where they\u2019re not wanted.<\/p>\n

\u2013the location of the church campus.<\/em>\u00a0 A church situated five miles down an isolated road, at the end of the dead end trail–I’m thinking of one in particular!–can almost certainly forget about growing.<\/p>\n

The great thing about pastoring a healthy, small church is you can make a big difference in a hurry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My seminary pastorate had run 40 in attendance for many years. The day the little congregation voted to call me as pastor, I overheard a man saying to another, \u201cThis little church is doing all it\u2019s ever going to do.\u201d\u00a0 I was determined to prove him wrong.<\/p>\n

Within one month, we hit 65 in attendance.<\/p>\n

What had happened is this\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reading the minutes of the church\u2019s business meetings, I discovered we were within five weeks of our 20th anniversary. So, I simply announced the following Sunday that \u201cMay 20 is our 20th anniversary, and we\u2019re going to have a Homecoming.\u201d\u00a0 I announced our attendance goal as 65, and said, \u201cIf we hit this goal, I\u2019ll sing you a solo.\u201d<\/p>\n

I had never sung a solo in my life, but they didn\u2019t know that. (Neither did they care, but I didn\u2019t know that.)<\/p>\n

My enthusiasm caught on and people began to talk about May 20.\u00a0 I sent out letters and made phone calls.\u00a0 And fortunately, some relatives visited us that weekend. (Smiley-face goes here.)<\/p>\n

We hit 67 in attendance.<\/p>\n

And\u2013this is important\u2013we never looked back.\u00a0 By the time I left that church, over two years later, we were running 120 in attendance and placing folding chairs in the aisles.<\/p>\n

Such growth\u2013tripling in less than three years\u2013is much easier in a small church.\u00a0 In our case, it involved such factors as newcomers flowing into our area from other states, there being only one other viable Baptist church as an alternative, and\u00a0publicity to\u00a0alert the\u00a0surrounding neighborhoods to our\u00a0presence.\u00a0\u00a0I\u00a0led a healthy program for our youth and that drew in families.<\/p>\n

It was a fun time in my ministry.<\/p>\n

Advantages of the smaller church<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pastoring a small church usually means the pastor has everything to do himself. But that’s not all bad. There are a number of advantages to it.\u00a0 The pastor has fewer leaders to deal with, he can know all the members, and change can come more quickly. After all, a Volkswagen Beetle can turn around in less space than a steam locomotive.<\/p>\n

Here are some suggestions on turning around that VW Beetle, aka, the smaller church.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you are the new pastor of Smaller Church No. 2 located on Poplar Springs Road, twelve miles out of the city.\u00a0 Forty people is a good crowd on Sunday, but the facility could easily seat a hundred.<\/p>\n

There are no sure-fire methods to do this, and anyone who says there is should be suspect.\u00a0 If Smaller Church No. 2 (hereafter referred to as SC2) is unhealthy or dominated by one angry family or if the community is drying up and people are moving away, growth is not going to happen.\u00a0 In those cases, the pastor does what he can to get the church healthy and balanced. That is, he does what he can.<\/p>\n

But assuming SC2 is reasonably healthy, that it\u2019s located near people, that its leaders are godly and are born again, even if they are not inspired or disciplined or directed, you can do this.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot of assuming, but let\u2019s say these things are so.\u00a0 How, then, would you go about growing that church? Here is my answer\u2026.<\/p>\n

One: Pray.<\/strong> Spend a great deal of time every day on your knees.\u00a0 Do not try this\u2013or anything else\u2013on your own.\u00a0 You want the Lord to do this and be glorified in it.<\/p>\n

Two: Build a team.<\/strong> Win the trust of your leadership.<\/p>\n

Three: Paint.<\/strong> Paint up, clean up, spruce up. Have a work day.\u00a0 Work with your leadership on what needs to be done, purchasing supplies, enlisting workers, etc.<\/p>\n

Four: Neglect no one.<\/strong> Work with your leaders to see that each age group is being ministered to reasonably well. As a church grows, it can have separate ministries for children or youth or college, but at first, these are often combined.<\/p>\n

Five: Follow-up.<\/strong> As pastor, contact every guest who visits your church.\u00a0 Don\u2019t announce you\u2019re doing it, just do it.\u00a0 Make sure the Sunday bulletin has a place for first-timers to register.\u00a0 Or, if you do not have a bulletin (fewer and fewer churches seem to these days), make yourself available immediately after the benediction to meet newcomers. Then, sometime that week, contact them by mail, email, phone, or visit.<\/p>\n

Six: Celebrate victories great and small.<\/strong> In the example cited above, one month into my pastorate, we celebrated the church\u2019s anniversary and over-shot the attendance goal.\u00a0 For a small congregation that had sat there for years doing nothing, these were huge accomplishments.\u00a0 Soon we were doing this with VBS and mission offering goals.<\/p>\n

Seven:\u00a0 Improve the services.<\/strong> Do something about the music and singing in the service if you can.\u00a0 Get two or three key people to praying with you for the Lord to bring gifted musicians and singers to your church. In a small church where a piano alone provides accompaniment to the singing, a couple of guitars or a keyboard can make a great difference. Enlist the participation of your pianist, of course.\u00a0 You want to keep the musicians you have if possible, and not be replacing them with newcomers. (Repeating: Try not to make your present accompanists feel unwanted; enlist their help.)<\/p>\n

Eight: Add a spirit of joy to the worship services.<\/strong>\u00a0 You do this by your attitude, by calling attention to accomplishments of those who do well, as well as by the tempo and choice of music for the service.<\/p>\n

Nine: Celebrate the saints<\/strong>. As you welcome the new members and celebrate the changes, do not neglect the longtime leaders who have served this church in good times and bad. The first defections from a growing church are often people who have served for years but who now feel they are being pushed out.<\/p>\n

Ten: Fellowship.<\/strong> Create occasions for fellowship when members share meals together and sit around tables visiting and chatting.\u00a0 Encourage longtime members to sit at tables with newcomers.<\/p>\n

Eleven: Hospitality.<\/strong>\u00a0 Teach your people\u2013particularly the leadership\u2013the scripture\u2019s teachings on hospitality\u2013especially Luke 10 (the Good Samaritan) and Hebrews 13:1-3. In Leviticus 19:9-18 and 19:33-37, God instructs Israel to take care of the poor, the newcomer, and the foreigners.\u00a0\u00a0Leviticus 19:18,34 is the source of our Lord\u2019s Second Commandment, to love one\u2019s neighbor as oneself.\u00a0\u00a0 As a rule, pastor, such lessons are better taught in smaller groups or in Wednesday night sessions.<\/p>\n

Twelve: Greeters.<\/strong> Station greeters outside\u00a0<\/em>the front doors on Sunday, at least 15 minutes prior to events.\u00a0 They should be encouraged to stay alert, ready to assist the elderly or handicapped from their cars, and equipped with large umbrellas in case of rain.\u00a0 The pastor will want to drop by each Sunday at some point to make sure they are on the job and compliment them. (Caution them about spending the time talking to each other rather than watching for arriving worshipers.) Drop them a thank-you note occasionally and rotate this responsibility.<\/p>\n

Thirteen: Comfort.<\/strong> Pay attention to the comfort in the sanctuary, the seating, the audio, the temperature, etc.\u00a0\u00a0Consider enlisting a couple of ladies to make recommendations about d\u00e9cor, comfort, visual impact, etc.<\/p>\n

Fourteen: Cleanliness is a huge factor<\/strong>, everywhere but in particular with rest rooms.\u00a0 If this is a problem for SC2, the pastor may need to convene a small group of lay leaders and discuss the best way to deal with this.<\/p>\n

Fifteen: Discipleship<\/strong>. Even though the pastor may be tempted to do everything himself, his goal is to develop disciples of the Lord Jesus. When a member agrees to take responsibility for some area, a good pastor will not check it off his list, but keep an eye on it, express appreciation for a job well done, and from time to time ask if the worker needs anything from him.<\/p>\n

As quickly as you can, pastor, turn over jobs to members.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a small church, the congregation may be used to the pastor doing everything himself\u2013from setting up chairs for a meeting, to mowing the lawn, to cleaning the toilets.\u00a0 And, occasionally, someone will actually state this as the expectation: \u201cThat\u2019s what we pay the preacher for!\u201d\u00a0 Pastors should not overreact but smile at such, then ask for volunteers to help.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important for the new pastor of a small church to keep in mind\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013he should never surprise the leadership with any change of direction, special event, or new plans.\u00a0 They were here long before and presumably will be here after he leaves.\u00a0 A wise pastor will leave them better prepared to serve the Lord in better ways.<\/p>\n

\u2013it\u2019s not necessary for everyone to come to every meeting.\u00a0 Be careful about judging members by whether they come on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u2013in asking people to give financially, remember the principle:\u00a0People give to vision, not to needs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>So, rather than urging them to give \u201cto support the budget\u201d or \u201cto pay off the mortgage,\u201d keep before them the vision of a thriving, healthy church making an eternal difference in the lives of hundreds.<\/p>\n

\u2013do not be discouraged by setbacks.\u00a0 Some small churches take longer to turn around than others.\u00a0 Your leaders will be watching carefully to see how you handle a failure\u2013a goal the church failed to reach, an event for which no one showed up, etc.\u00a0 So, stay on your knees, stay close to the Lord, and get your vision and encouragement from Him.<\/p>\n

As a young assistant minister, I was driving my pastor to speak at some engagement in the next county.\u00a0 As we passed a small country church, he said, \u201cJoe, let me\u00a0 tell you something I\u2019ve noticed. Often, the pastor of that little church can preach just as well as the one in the big church.\u00a0 The difference is that he does all the jobs himself and will not turn loose of them.\u00a0 But the other pastor has learned to disciple hjis people\u2013to enlist them to take responsibility for areas of ministry.\u00a0 It frees him up for other things while it develops them into more effective disciples. So, he multiplies disciples while the man in the small church never grows anyone.<\/em><\/p>\n

I never forgot the lesson. Thankfully, it’s not true in every case.\u00a0 But there’s enough truth in it to make me remember it and repeat it here.\u00a0 Let’s make disciples, my brothers.\u00a0 It’s our Lord’s assignment to us in Matthew 28:18-20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter to the Lord whether He saves by the few or by the many\u201d (I Samuel 14:6). Depending on a number of factors, growing a small church is one of the more do-able things pastors can achieve. Those … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,36,51,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-leadership","category-evangelism","category-healthy-church","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24643"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24647,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24643\/revisions\/24647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}