THE BEAUTY OF THE SMALL CHURCH - INTRODUCTION

There seems to be a mindset in many Christians that small churches are unsuccessful and large churches are successful. This "bigger is better" perspective is more of an American principle than a biblical principle.

I'm not "anti-large church;" it's just that I am "pro-small church." To me, the small church is more of a biblical model than a large church. The first century church met "from house to house." As a matter of fact, "house" churches are probably the closest church model to what was actually happening in the book of Acts.

My purpose for writing this series entitled, "The Beauty of the Small Church," is threefold. First, it is my desire to encourage small church pastors. I believe today's small church pastors are the unsung heroes of Christianity. They minister under difficult circumstances with few resources. Their dependence on Jesus must be total for they do not have the riches of the larger church. When God accomplishes His purpose through the small church, I believe He receives great glory because nothing will happen without Him in a small church.

Secondly, I want to influence the young men who are presently in bible college or seminary. With 83% of Southern Baptist churches having less than 200 in Sunday morning worship attendance, the vast majority of men in today's colleges and seminaries will be small church pastors. I would like for them to understand that a small church is different from a large church. They will not be able to pastor a small church according to large church principles. Those who try to do so will usually fail. The fallout from such an unwise approach in the small church are usually a fired and disillusioned pastor and a hurting church.

Thirdly, I want to influence the denominational view of small churches. In my own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, all of our national denominational leaders come from churches of more than 1,000 in Sunday morning worship attendance. We, as a denomination, do not see the value in the small church or its leaders. We continue to elect large church pastors who promote large church principles which are only applicable to less than 2% of the total churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. The publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, Broadman and Holman, does not currently have a single book in print that addresses the small church and its issues. I believe this is a major oversight in their publishing philosophy.

There is great joy in knowing and pastoring the people in the small church. A career spent in the small church is the destiny of most pastors. It is my prayer that these pastors will embrace the beauty of shepherding the small church.