In today’s episode, John and Jim recap some of the most powerful moments of the Helping Small Churches Thrive Conference, that featured Karl Vaters, a specialist in helping small churches get healthy. No matter the size of the church you lead, this episode will both encourage and challenge you.

You can listen to the audio version here. Video version is available here.

Here are the show notes:

Small is not a problem

90% of churches in America are 200 and under. 50% of all Christians attend these churches. Many leaders of small churches labor under the false notion that small churches are less than . . . primarily due to comparison.

Almost every pastor will pastor a small church at some point in their ministry. You can lead a small church well! The goal is health. Vibrancy. Equipping people.

Small is not a virtue

There can be a chip on the shoulders of pastors who lead small churches. These types of thought patterns are flawed. Almost every church over 200 that we’ve worked with is rooting for churches under 200 to be healthy!

Large churches can do things smaller churches can’t. Smaller churches can do things larger churches can’t. Jesus needs both sizes to get the mission accomplished!

Small is not an excuse

Occasionally, a pastor of a church of 200 or less will have this thought: “We can’t do [fill in the blank] because we’re a smaller church.” Karl said this: “People will come to small churches, but they won’t give up quality to do so.” Figure out what you do well and do it intentionally over and over again.

One last thought: Pastoring a small church is not a penalty for doing something wrong. It’s a specialty, and it’s worth doing well.