“It doesn’t matter to the Lord whether He saves by the few or by the many” (I Samuel 14:6).
Depending on a number of factors, growing a small church may be one of the more do-able things pastors can achieve.
Those variable factors include…
–the health of the church. You don’t want a sick church to grow; you want it to get well first! I once told my congregation, “There’s a good reason no one is joining this church. I wouldn’t join it either!” Believe it or not, those words were inspired and they received them well, and repented. Soon, the church began to grow.
–the attitude of the congregation. If people are satisfied with the status quo, they would not welcome newcomers. I’ve known Sunday School classes composed of a small cluster of best friends who felt imposed on by visitors and new members. No one wants to go where they’re not wanted.
–and the location of the facility. A church situated five miles down an isolated road, at the end of the dead end trail, can almost certainly forget about growing.
The great thing about pastoring a healthy, small church is you can make a big difference in a hurry.
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, “This little church is doing all it’s ever going to do.” I was determined to prove him wrong.
Within one month, we hit 65 in attendance.
What had happened is this…