Small Congregation Big Potential

Kindle Edition There are many questions that leaders of small-membership congregations ask themselves about their church's future. Lyle Schaller suggests that two in particular should rise to the top of the list. First, what's the right size of for a church? Is the small congregation averaging two or three dozen people at worship a legitimate order of God's creation? You bet it is, says Schaller. Second, should these congregations make their plans on the basis of few resources and fewer options, or should they see themselves as possessed of pools of talent and expanding possibilities? If you are convinced that the former is true, then this book is not for you. If, however, you are among those who believe that small-membership churches are distinctive places of Christian witness and service, spreading the gospel and living in service to the world in ways that other, larger churches are not, then this book is for you. In it you will find the right questions to ask as you seek to lead a small-membership congregation, and solid, practical guidance for doing so.

Do you lead a small church? Big churches get all the love. Articles, books, conferences—they mostly feature leaders of large congregations. Yet big churches are a small part of the ecclesial landscape. In fact, more than 90 percent of churches have fewer than 200 people. That means small churches play a big part in what God is doing. Small Church Essentials is for leaders of these smaller congregations. It encourages them to steward their role well, debunking myths about small churches while offering principles for leading a dynamic, healthy small church. Based on the popular six-hour lecture that Karl Vaters delivers to church leaders across the country, Small Church Essentials will affirm small church leaders and show them how to identify what they do well, and how to do it even better. Readers will: Be assured that leading a small congregation does not make them ministry failures Come away inspired to lead with passion, regardless the size of their church Have field-tested principles for leading a church in their context Possess new metrics for biblically measuring vitality in small churches Have a toolkit of resources to use in their everyday ministry Karl Vaters has been a small church pastor for 30 years, is the author of The Grasshopper Myth: Big Churches, Small Churches, and the Small Thinking that Divides Us (2013), and travels extensively to churches and conferences to speak about leading a small church well. If you are pastoring a small church, this book will be a breath of fresh air. It will affirm your calling while giving you fresh tools to help you lead. It will help you: Stop believing lies about small churches Lead your church to fulfill the role only small churches can Understand your congregation’s strengths and weaknesses Turn around a dying or unhealthy church Identify good trends and bad in church and culture

One poll declared him the most influential American church leader of the last 100 years. Lyle E. Schaller has written literally millions of words of insight and advice for church leaders. His books alone number nearly 60 titles and span 40 years of publication, beginning in 1964. Now, this single volume makes available his best insights, organized by topic and framed with fascinating background perspective of Schaller himself. This volume both introduces Schaller to a new generation of church leaders and is a handy resource for those who grew up on Schaller's writing and count him as a major ministry influence.

The vast majority of United Methodist churches are small membership churches that can be and are vital places of ministry that matter. Most are situated in areas where there are people outside any faith community and have great potential for ministry. This Guideline will help you be an effective leader in your smaller church. This is one of the twenty-six Guidelines that cover church leadership areas including Church Council and Pastor-Parish Relations; the administrative areas of Finance and Trustees; and ministry areas focused on nurture, outreach, and witness including Worship, Evangelism, Stewardship and Christian Education, age-level ministries, Communications, and more. To see a full list of Guidelines, search by typing keywords: “Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation 2013-2016,” and click “search."

"This is the best book I have ever read on congregational development! I wish I had written it." (Lyle E. Schaller, Parish Consultant) The common experience of large congregations getting larger and small congregations getting smaller has given rise to the belief that growing congregations tend to hit a barrier at the 150-200 attendance mark. The dividing line in American Church attendance is 150 people on an average Sunday. Churches below this seem to have a harder time growing. Above this, churches seem to have an easier time growing. Trying to grow a smaller church can feel like trying to break through what Martin calls the “200 barrier.” Martin explains that there is no barrier; there are just two different ways of being a church—the “Pastoral Size” church and the “Program” church. The “Transitional Church” is really a hybrid of these two cultures, and this dual nature produces stress and tension where the idea of a 200 barrier often becomes a self-fulfilling expectation. How does the Pastor Size church culture really work? What are the key elements of the larger American Church? How does this create a large church culture that becomes self-supporting? Martin looks at these elements and shows how the Transitional Church can avoid mistakes in their effort to grow “beyond the barrier,” and why transformation and change is so difficult. Drawing on sociological and anthropological studies about the significance of numbers in human organizations, Martin proposes practical steps that leaders of Transitional Churches will want to take.

Step into the pulpit in a small membership church, and you’ll sometimes find your fair share of challenges, but you’ll almost always find more than your share of blessings as well. Those blessings, and the chance for authentic, life-transforming preaching, are what preaching in the small membership church are all about. Lewis Parks knows those blessings well. For nearly 40 years he has preached in small membership churches and taught others who serve in them. In this book he lays out the distinct roles that preaching in the small membership church calls on us to fill, and offers down-to-earth, substantive guidance on how to be the best preacher you can be in these most numerous, and most important, outposts of Christ’s church.

Brandon O'Brien helps pastors and church leaders understand that a smaller church is sometimes better than a big one. He demonstrates the strengths of small congregations, including that today's church "shoppers" want services that are local, personal, and intimate. Also, small churches provide space to nurture close relationships across age and lifestyle barriers, and they facilitate a higher level of commitment from laypeople. And small church budgets are often more effective because of greater efficiency. The Strategically Small Church will encourage small-church pastors in their ministries and challenge them to play to their strengths.

Offers pastors new inspiration and fresh worship encounters with God.Worship is the most important time in the life of the gathered faithful. Inspirational and accessible, this book is will help pastors and worship leaders fully ground worship in scripture and tradition while being responsive to current times.Included: practical worship helps for the Christian year, tips to involve the congregation in leadership and participation, ways to incorporate music and other arts in worship, and select ideas for congregations of up to one hundred.A sample basic worship library