Vital Small Churches

A church's existence is not justified merely because of its age or historic location. A church exists solely for God's mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Churches of any size are called to have a clear vision and a strong sense of purpose that guides everything the church does. This does not require a lot of people. Vitality happens when even a few people possess a powerful sense of God's presence and call upon their lives!

The majority of churches (about 70 percent) in our denomination are small, defined as no more than 200 members. The temptation of a small church is to dwell in a scarcity mind-set: "What can we few do?" The healthier, more productive and faithful question (for any church) is, "What can God do through our congregation in this place and time?" This positive, abundance mind-set is the attitude of a vital congregation. The size of the membership will determine how, but not whether the church goes about its mission and ministry.

What are some of the indicators of a vital congregation? A vital congregation

• is a Christ-centered, transformational, relational community, where each person's name and gifts are known and laity are equipped and engaged in leadership;

• nurtures faith in each person by sharing the Bible, each person's story, and service, both individually and through an intentional system of small groups;

• preserves a sense of continuity and presence, despite obstacles or changes, with strong pastoral and lay leadership;

• responds to human need in a caring, gracious way with dignity and respect, supported by worship that empowers and enlarges the Christian life.

Writer and editor Brandon O'Brien, in "Five Strategic Advantages of Small Churches," notes five strengths that smaller churches, particularly, can use with great effectiveness.

• Authenticity. "First, be yourself. ... Second, make sure your behavior lines up with your stated convictions."

• Lean and Focused. Instead of running many generic programs, the small church should zero in on one or two programs that focus on the unique needs of the local context.

• People-powered. If a small church limits the number of programs it runs, then the bulk of the church's ministry has to come from its members. Empowering and releasing members to minister in the community requires that you know your congregants well enough to know what they are passionate about, gifted for, and already involved in.

• Intergenerational Relationships. Students who seek a church home after high school are those who have had meaningful relationships with other adults in the church besides their parents or have been given opportunities to serve younger children in the church, and so are more likely to view the church as important to their lives.

• Ministry on the Margins. The largest churches attract a fairly well-defined demographic. The average age of a mega-church attendee is forty. Nearly a third of them are single and, on the whole, the mega-church crowd is more educated and wealthier than the average members of smaller churches. But smaller, nimbler churches can reach the people who fall outside this demographic.

(Adapted from http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/ brandonobrien-five-strategic-advantages-of-small-churches-740.asp.)

Small but vital churches embody Christ's activity in the world. The trap is in thinking, "We have to get bigger to get better." Freeing, energizing action comes in realizing, "We have to get better to get bigger," though bigger is not a worthy goal in itself. The goal is to focus on what God would have you do. Being faithful to and focused on the mission is what draws others in.

Think about the attitude that church members have about themselves as the church. Do they focus on assets, gifts, and relationship with God to be out in ministry, or do they seek to hold on to whatever is left from days gone by?

Biblical Witness

God has a special love and purpose for things that are small. Just as God once lifted up the tiny nation of Israel to be a witness, God still calls the small church to do the same. Jesus taught that the meek and lowly were especially blessed (Luke 6:20-23), that the widow's mite was a valued offering (21:1-4), and that seeking the one lost sheep truly mattered (15:1-7). These passages focus on nurture of the people of Christ.

The writer of Deuteronomy reminded Israel that God chose and loved them not because they were numerous but because they were "the fewest of all peoples" (7:7a), yet Isaiah taught that they were to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:5-6). Jesus taught that the tiny mustard seed had great potential (Luke 13:18-19). These Scripture passages illustrate God's call to ministries of outreach and witness.

The apostle Paul, writing to the community in Corinth, celebrated that "A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. ... In the church, God has appointed first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then miracles, then gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12: 7, 28). In the small house churches, or even a cluster of them in a wider community, Paul affirmed that in the divine economy, the people of faith are gifted with the resources they need to be in ministry and mission.

Flowing from this, we can see four basic assumptions that guide all healthy small churches.

• The congregation has a strong sense of God's mission in the world. This purpose drives the vision, stewardship, and commitment of the congregation.

• The ministry of the baptized — lay and clergy — is claimed and celebrated, and it fosters a strong sense of identity. All are included and respected, regardless of differences among them.

• There is a strong connection between church and community. The church knows the community, has clarity about its capacity to serve, and seeks effective ways to do so.

• Discipleship is primary, not a pastime. Making disciples and growing in discipleship are the priorities that guide every decision.

Model Discipleship

Key to modeling discipleship is how you carry out your mission as leaders in the church. Modeling discipleship requires you to be a disciple yourself — a grace-filled follower of Jesus Christ who puts faith into action, joyfully joining in God's mission to the world. Through participation in the mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, you not only engage in your area of ministry but also work to empower others to be in ministry. The vitality of your congregation and the church as a whole depends upon the faith, abilities, and actions of all who work together for the glory of God.

One of the most significant ways we develop new leaders is through the core process for carrying out our mission as stated in ¶122 of The Book of Discipline:

We make disciples as we:

• proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather into the body of Christ;

• lead persons to commit their lives to God through baptism by water and the spirit and profession of faith in Jesus Christ;

• nurture persons in Christian living through worship, the sacraments, spiritual disciplines, and other means of grace, such as Wesley's Christian conferencing;

• send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being and becoming a compassionate, caring presence, and working to develop social structures that are consistent with the gospel; and

• continue the mission of seeking, welcoming and gathering persons into the community of the body of Christ.

To better remember and understand the core process as written in ¶122, think in terms of H.O.P.E. — Hospitality, Offer Christ, Purpose, and Engagement. Through these discipleship paths of H.O.P.E., new disciples are made and sent out to reach even more people to bring into the body of Christ.

We go into the world in outreach and mission, offering hope through proclamation of the gospel, seeking, welcoming, and gathering as we offer hospitality to those not yet in the body. We offer Christ by providing an opportunity for people to commit their lives to God through baptism by water and Spirit and profession of faith. We nurture people in Christian living to help them find a true sense of purpose in life, learning what it means to live out their belief through acts of piety and acts of mercy, Christian conferencing, regular participation in the sacrament of Holy Communion, and other means of grace. Through engagement, we send out these grace-filled followers of Jesus Christ who are putting their faith into action, helping to transform the surrounding community and offering hospitality in the name of Jesus Christ. Thus H.O.P.E. cycles back around.

Ask yourselves and the leadership of your congregation how your church might become a place of hope. Whether your church is small, medium, or large, it is essential to have an intentional discipleship system like H.O.P.E. in place. No matter which discipleship system you decide to use, the components of this core process should be established in every local church as we make disciples and develop leaders to accomplish the church's mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. After all, it's all about hope.

Remember, your visibility as a leader in the congregation places you in a position to model good habits of personal devotion and discipleship. As you engage in spiritual practices and serve in outreach and mission, you serve as an example and mentor to others.

Organize for Ministry: NOW(rm)

Local churches have the freedom, within the bounds of The Book of Discipline, to organize their ministry in ways that take into account the capacity of the membership and the context in which their ministry happens. This blessing allows for creativity (we don't all have to look alike) and imposes a bit of structure through mandated categories of ministry. These mandated ministries are nurture, outreach, witness, and resources for ministry (administration), or NOW(rm). The acronym just introduced, H.O.P.E., describes the same process and lens for organizing and analyzing ministry. This Guideline will explore the NOW(rm) categories, with the understanding that the lines between them are not tidy.

The Book of Discipline defines the work of nurture, outreach, and witness ministries for churches of all sizes:

The nurturing ministries of the congregation shall give attention to but not be limited to education, worship, Christian formation, membership care, small groups, and stewardship. Attention must be given to the needs of individuals and families of all ages.

The outreach ministries ... shall give attention to local and larger community ministries of compassion, justice, and advocacy. These ministries include church and society, global ministries, higher education and campus ministry, health and welfare, Christian unity and interreligious concerns, religion and race, and the status and role of women.

The witness ministries ... shall give attention to developing and strengthening evangelistic efforts of sharing of personal and congregational stories of Christian experience, faith, and service; communications; Lay Servant Ministries; and other means that give expressions of witness for Jesus Christ (¶252.2.a–c).

The task for your church is to survey the congregation and wider community to discern needs as well as the capacity of the congregation to respond to those needs. There are three important keys to designing successful ministries using NOW(rm):

1. Leadership Commitment. People who make the ministry decisions in the church must share a common understanding of what it means to be in ministry, and they must commit themselves to working together for success. They must be trained and encouraged. NOW(rm) is not about doing things right but about doing the right things. A vital congregation must do more than simply nurture the people who come into the building; it must reach beyond to live out discipleship in the community. Leaders must work together to set in place a discipleship system of nurture, outreach, witness, and resource ministries. When leaders know, respect, and trust one another, they may more easily understand and name what the church expects of them and what they offer the church.

2. Assessment of Current Ministry and Needs. Honestly review the needs and activities of people or groups in the church and community who are being served and those who are not. Successful leaders discern where the place of greatest potential is for ministry by using demographic studies, interviews, and informal conversations and by "pounding the pavement." Most annual conferences have a subscription to "Mission Insite," an excellent demographic tool you can use to begin to know the composition of your neighborhood and community and to form appropriate questions to learn more. By knowing the community, you are in a position to respond to decisive moments that may open or deepen a spiritual experience for someone. Does the church do an equal job of taking care of those outside the church and those within? Are nurture ministries balanced carefully with outreach and witness? Is the church focused more on mission, maintenance, or survival?

3. Creativity: Risk and Try Something New. Sometimes the patterns of ministry can become our prison. The more successful past ministries are in our minds and hearts, the more powerful they can be in controlling the present and, ultimately, the future. We do the same activities in the same way year after year (and wonder why we are not getting the same response we once did). A new day often demands a new faithful response. We must honor traditions and still address people's emerging needs and expectations at the same time. Do new ideas thrive or die in your church? Remind your church that it needs to be willing to take some risks. Some of your efforts will produce growth; others won't. Do not waste time dwelling on failure; learn from it instead.

Nurture Ministries (N)

People need a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and the Christian community. Nurture expresses the need for Christians to be cultivated in the Christian faith, to acquire and apply the spiritual resources necessary to provide effective outreach and witness ministries.

Nurture brings to mind activities like Sunday school, visitation of sick and homebound members, and the worship ministry of the congregation. However, it is helpful to remember that the church's nurturing ministries are much broader.

The Christian formation ministry of the church incorporates Sunday school as well as Bible studies, prayer groups, confirmation, orientation and membership classes, and other short- or long-term classes or small groups. Short-term classes can address a variety of needs in the congregation, from instruction on Christian parenting, to care of the elderly, and even congregational conflict management. The educational ministry of the church also includes leadership training for church officers, Sunday school leaders, teachers, and other small-group leaders.

Perhaps the most urgently needed type of nurturing ministry today is simply assisting members of the congregation in their daily walk of faith. People who seek to grow in faith are constantly assailed by a variety of activities that compete for their time and energy. Growing disciples need help in developing habits that include the daily practice of the means of grace (study of Scripture, prayer, fasting and abstinence, and so on).

Although overlooked in many churches, having fun together (fellowship) is another way to provide joyous emotional support to all members of the congregation. Plan events that meet the needs of families, older people, single people, children, youth, and include those who feel discriminated against or marginalized by society. Sometimes this can be accomplished through intergenerational activities. At other times, a group with similar interests may find mutual support by spending time with one another.

One key driver of vitality in congregations is the intentional use of small groups and programs for people of all ages represented in your church and local community. Within those groups and programs, you have both the training ground and nurturing opportunity to grow disciples, who then mature in faith and become leaders of discipleship.

The Sunday worship service is an important vehicle for nurturing the congregation. Take care to plan worship with wide appeal. In general, the more the members of the congregation help to plan and participate in the worship services, the more meaningful these services are for them. Worship should be inspirational, spiritually stimulating, and challenging. Lively, God-centered worship is a crucial component of vital congregations. Congregations may debate the appeal and value of traditional versus contemporary worship, but every form of worship must take into account the context in which it is offered.