Small Church Lies, Pt. 1

I have been working within small church ministry for a little over 5 years, and working side by side with other preachers in small churches for that long. I have come to believe that there are many lies that the enemy plants in the minds of small churches that actually bring them down! John 8 tells us that our Enemy is the father of lies, so we ought to carefully examine all of our mindsets and mentalities to be sure they are of the right father! Here are some I have seen most prevalent:

#1 "We should stay small in order to have good fellowship and community!"

Jesus did not call the church to stay small! He spoke of it sometimes beginning small (like a mustard seed) and then growing (like to be the biggest of all plants). Growing churches can have close fellowship and community too, they just have to work harder at it. With larger churches, they have to do small groups. With smaller churches, every group is small! (That was kinda supposed to be funny, feel free to laugh!) Yes, community is essential to the life of the Christ follower, but no, you don't have to be a small church to accomplish it!

When I was in Illinois, I met with a couple who was looking to transfer their membership, possibly to the church at Ferris. They had checked out another church, but told me that they couldn't possibly go there because it was just too big. So they thought they might try Ferris. I told them that they could come if they wanted, but that the church at Ferris was growing, and didn't plan on stopping anytime soon! (They came for a while, but decided not to stick around!)

Don't believe the lie that in a bigger church you cannot have close relationships with people. You just can't have them with everyone!

May we be a people that embrace Christ's call to expand and build His kingdom in our community, and not fear the changes that come with growth!

Billy