How small congregations can be huge for the church
View #5: 36 views of the future of church
Every time I visited a small congregation, they thought I was there to close them.
I worked for the Diocese - the ‘corporate office’ - so of course they did!
No one from the Diocese ever came to visit unless it was bad news (even if that is not technically true, it’s how people felt).
And truthfully - even when I was there to help, I mostly felt helpless.
I was there for ‘congregational development’ - but the model I was using was from a playbook that is 60 years old. One that isn’t really working for larger churches today, and definitely isn’t working for small ones.
These congregations were right to be worried.
We all know that most congregations are small.
The average attendance on Sunday is 65. My own denomination - the Episcopal Church - is smaller than that.
The church I serve today is about 35: and 20-25 on a Sunday.
But I don’t think they’re scared of being closed any time soon. In fact, the place is full of energy for the Gospel.
And they’ve taught me what thriving church looks like - and could look like - if we are willing to change our vision.
It’s not the size of the congregation that is the problem. It’s what we expect from them.
We still have the mid 20th century vision of church in our heads:
Full-time clergy with benefits.
Focused mostly on Sunday worship.
A few other staff - parish administrator, musician, custodian.
A set of programs and committees.
A building to take care of.
A mission (not generally defined) to ‘grow’ .
Most small congregations cannot manage this - nor can they manage a ‘scaled down’ version of the same vision (part-time salaried clergy, no staff, a couple of programs…).
This makes members small congregations feel like failures. I think in the back of our minds, we all think this way - we see them as a problem to be solved.
I see them as the future of church.
For the rest of the year, I’ve decided to go full Hokusai - parroting his ‘36 Views of Mount Fuji’ - and just describing what I’m seeing.
36 views of the future of church.Where the ‘Good Stuff’ of church is, and how we can let go of the ‘stuff’ that no longer supports our ministry.
View #5: Small church is a network of disciples.
I was talking with a fellow church re-imagination evangelist -
I made this joke … what if we stop calling him bishop and called him senior global pastor? And said that we have 25 campuses and 2000 members and 150 services every month. Now we're competing head to head with any big church if we just change our perception a little bit.
I love the change in perception!
And I love how we can think of our small congregations not as ‘large church lite’, but as distinct communities of faith within a larger structure.
Instead of expecting each and every one of them to uphold the structure themselves.
And I love that we can view the size of a congregation as an advantage - a way to practice our faith in an intimate setting - really knowing each other, and knowing God together.
Here’s what I see:
We can start from a different place in terms of our expectations and visions for ministry. This works for all congregations - but small churches have the advantage of much more flexibility.
Dioceses, denominations, or other larger churches help with the administration and organization that needs to be done (church management software makes this easier every day).
Clergy and congregations find new ways of supporting each other in ministry.
Congregations focus first on discipleship - how they are growing in faith together, and sharing Good News with others.
The expectation is that congregations are small - when they hit 75 or so, a new community is born.
Buildings are shared creatively - and other income streams are explored - so ministry can be supported for all.
A network of discipleship grows in intentional ways.
Center your life - or your congregation’s life - around following Jesus the way the first Christians did….
Father Cathie, just a word about a project I'm involved with. Pastor died. Congregation dropped from 100 to 12. Presbytery killed it. Now there is remnant that wants to meet online for the summer. I have no idea what will happen but I'm along for the ride.
I have a hard time seeing a congregation of 35 as viable. Unless you are imagining a completely unpaid clergy force. Letting wardens be the “in charge” folks further entrenches the family size dynamic - clergy are just hired hands. Also, how would we train these clergy? The local options available right now are not yielding well formed priests. I think there are serious problems with the ATS model right now, but residential 3 year MDiv is still the best way to get a priest that actually is competent. It would seem a far better option to dig in our history and recover the minster model (I make that argument in my Substack) Small parishes then become house churches or convenience chapels to the mother minster. Then priests can serve as a college of ministers serving an area.
What I could not accept is the idea of being an hourly employee for a little parish. I served 17 years scrapping in small churches giving my lifeblood. (I have a little small parish PTSD) Now I serve a program-sized cathedral and don't have the frustration with vestries content with survival and not growth.
If growing is not going to happen, cut bait. Don't die a death of 1000 papercuts. And golly, if one is the bishop, have some guts and close those places that are continually working on the diocesan dime.