As I’ve been reminded over and over during the last few months of studying the prophets, God’s plan of redemption is powerful, a solid promise, and a far, far cry from the often-hijacked definition of success.
All tagged small church
As I’ve been reminded over and over during the last few months of studying the prophets, God’s plan of redemption is powerful, a solid promise, and a far, far cry from the often-hijacked definition of success.
May you find rest in the winter of doubt and receive the affirmation of spring.
If we began our congregational ministry by assessing what we have to offer, we’d likely find it’s a lot.
Squaring off against the darkness, acknowledging its created separateness from the light that is God in the lives of people, is our posture for this season.
Embody the unchanging story, the gospel that is truer than true, where you are “you-er than you,” rather than living in response to an old memory tape.
Does a reluctance to ask for help translate to a theology of prayer? It may. This week, 10 other “first things” take the place of the pride that binds.
Small churches must answer the question, “How can we, as a small church, be faithful to what God has called us to be faithful?”
Is the voice of God always a word? Might it be found in a child’s exploration of a grandparent’s elderly, muscular hands? Is God’s voice in the soil they worked? Listen.
“Why don’t they understand?” is not our best question in these moments as we attempt to understand our country’s struggles or our sibling’s perspectives or our child’s hurts.
Just like with so many other things, small churches enter into this pandemic with a unique set of strategies and difficulties.
They wanted to go beyond simply writing a monthly support check to local and foreign missions or benevolent efforts. They wanted to put their Christianity to work.
Everyone knows each other in rural towns, but I have come to know that there is a difference between knowing of someone and actually knowing them.
I want the people whom I come in contact with to leave our time together, whether brief or extended, and think, “That was the best part of my day.”
Smaller churches carry great strengths that can support flourishing spiritual communities.
If our urgency is misplaced, we will create unnecessary tension that ultimately pulls us – and possibly others – away from the will of God.
Becoming a minister of a small church means, for better or worse, you have married into a family.
Each church might be able to share some of the natural and even unlikely places where ties are created, but here are some that I have seen strengthen a church.
How do we keep from trending toward extinction? How do we convince people that church life is much more than just a tradition or formality?
Whether you show up for Summit or not (although I hope you do!), please remember that you and your church are not alone.