I have a question for my readers. Would a book about small-town ministry would be helpful to Christians?
I’ve been pastoring a small church for my entire ministry, and have experienced great discouragements from it with little help from LifeWay® or other Christian book outlets.
I’ve faced questions like, “Since we are so small, how can we be the kind of church that will attract families?” or “How does a pastor develop his people to be open to newcomers when the regulars are inherently shy?”
One person challenged me to look at my small church like a “Mom & Pop” store in a town with a Wal-Mart. People go to Wal-Mart because they have what folks are looking for. They’ve got everything for everyone. But in the “Mom & Pop” shop, folks get something they CAN’T get at Wal-Mart… personalized service. So it is with the small church. We need to find that one thing that we do BETTER than the big, full-service church.
Another thing that has frustrated me as a small-church pastor is the lack of resources available to help us little guys. The publishers and think-tanks all emphasize programs and ministries that are labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive; they are for large churches. While there are always the arguments that these programs can be “adapted” to the small church, truth is, that’s not always so. Even when it is so, it isn’t always practical because the rural church is a different sort of ministry by nature.
So what do you think? Would you be helped or interested in a book about small-town or small-church ministry? Click the “comment” link and let me know.
Thanks in advance.
I’ve been pastoring a small church for my entire ministry, and have experienced great discouragements from it with little help from LifeWay® or other Christian book outlets.
I’ve faced questions like, “Since we are so small, how can we be the kind of church that will attract families?” or “How does a pastor develop his people to be open to newcomers when the regulars are inherently shy?”
One person challenged me to look at my small church like a “Mom & Pop” store in a town with a Wal-Mart. People go to Wal-Mart because they have what folks are looking for. They’ve got everything for everyone. But in the “Mom & Pop” shop, folks get something they CAN’T get at Wal-Mart… personalized service. So it is with the small church. We need to find that one thing that we do BETTER than the big, full-service church.
Another thing that has frustrated me as a small-church pastor is the lack of resources available to help us little guys. The publishers and think-tanks all emphasize programs and ministries that are labor-intensive and cost-prohibitive; they are for large churches. While there are always the arguments that these programs can be “adapted” to the small church, truth is, that’s not always so. Even when it is so, it isn’t always practical because the rural church is a different sort of ministry by nature.
So what do you think? Would you be helped or interested in a book about small-town or small-church ministry? Click the “comment” link and let me know.
Thanks in advance.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for reading my post. Add your comments. They will be reviewed by me before being posted, so if you don't want them seen by everyone, just say so in your comment. Please be respectful; I don't post comments with profanity of any kind. Look forward to hearing from you.
Pastor Greg