SIMUL: The Journal of St. Paul Lutheran Seminary, Vol. 4, Issue 2 (Winter 2025)

SIMUL

Winter2025

Small and Rural Church

TheJournalofSt.PaulLutheranSeminary

SIMUListhejournalofSt.Paul LutheranSeminary.

ISSN:3066-6996

CoverPhoto:Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church, Elbe, Washington.

Disclaimer:

The viewsexpressedinthe articlesreflectthe author(s) opinionsand arenotnecessarilythe viewsofthe publisherand editor.SIMULcannotguaranteeand acceptsnoliabilityforany lossor damageofanykind causedby the errorsandfor theaccuracy ofclaims made by the authors.Allrightsreservedand nothingcan be partiallyor inwholebe reprintedor reproduced withoutwrittenconsentfrom the editor.

SIMUL

Volume 4, Issue 2, Winter 2025

Smalland Rural Church

EDITOR

Rev. Dr. DennisR. Di Mauro dennisdimauro@yahoo.com

ADMINSTRATOR

Rev. JonJensen jjensen@semlc.org

AdministrativeAddress: St. Paul LutheranSeminary P.O.Box251 Midland,GA 31820

ACADEMICDEAN

Rev. Julie Smith jjensen@semlc.org

Academics/StudentAffairsAddress:

St. Paul LutheranSeminary P.O.Box112 Springfield,MN 56087

BOARDOFDIRECTORS

Chair:CharlesHunsaker

Rev. GregBrandvold

Rev. JonJensen

Rev. Dr. MarkMenacher

Rev. Michael Hanson

Rev. Julie Smith

Rev. Culynn Curtis

Rev. Dr. ErwinSpruth

Rev. Dr. JamesCavanah

Rev. Jeff Teeples

Rev. Judy Mattson

TEACHINGFACULTY

Rev. Dr. MarneyFritts

Rev. Dr. DennisDiMauro

Rev. Julie Smith

Rev. VirgilThompson

Rev. Dr. Keith Less

Rev. BradHales

Rev. Dr. ErwinSpruth

Rev. Steven King

Rev. Dr. OrreyMcFarland

Rev. HoracioCastillo(Intl)

Rev. AmandaOlsonde Castillo(Intl)

Rev. Dr. Roy HarrisvilleIII

Rev. Dr. HenryCorcoran

Rev. Dr. MarkMenacher

Rev. RandyFreund

EDITOR’S NOTE

Welcome to our fourteenth issue of SIMUL, the journal of St. Paul Lutheran Seminary. This edition studies an institution near and dear to most of our hearts: the small and rural church. We had previously planned to cover the intra-Lutheran controversies of the late sixteenth century, but due to a lack of authors we switched the topic, and I’m sure glad we did. As you will soon discover, this is the longest issue we’ve ever published because so many authors wanted to weigh in on how to help small and rural churches succeed.

This edition studies an institution near and dear to most of our hearts: the small and rural church.

In this volume, David Wendel shares his experiences helping NALC churches flourish through his “Fresh Eyes for Ministry” summits, I provide seven simple steps for planting a church, Kiersten Banks provides a millennial’s perspective on how a rural Lutheran church brought her back to worship, and Mark Menacher provides winsome warnings and cogent strategies learned from serving decades in small and rural church ministry.

But that’s not all! Steve King looks at what small and rural churches can do immediately with the resources they already have, Brett Jenkins explains how small congregations can better expand the kingdom of God, and Leah Krotz shows how rural churches can leverage the natural advantages of relationship and community that so many people desperately need today.

I finish out this issue with two book reviews on Heath Curtis’ The Small Town Church and Pastor (2024) and Karl Vater's Small Church Essentials (2018).

What’s Ahead?

Upcoming Issues - Our Spring 2025 issue will feature Lutheran perspectives on C.S. Lewis.

SPLS now offers the Th.D. – We are excited to announce that St. Paul Lutheran Seminary is partnering with Kairos University in Sioux Falls, SD to establish an accredited Doctorate in Theology (Th.D.). The Th.D. is a research degree, preparing candidates for deep theological reflection, discussion, writing, leadership in the church and service towards the community. The goal of the program is to develop leaders in the Lutheran church who are qualified to teach in institutions across the globe, to engage in theological and biblical research to further the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to respond with faithfulness to any calling within the church. Those who are accepted into and complete the program will receive all instruction from SPLS professors and will receive an accredited (ATS) degree from Kairos University.

The general area of study of the Th.D. program is in systematic theology. Specializations offered within the degree include, but are not limited to: Reformation studies, evangelical homiletics, and law and gospel dialectics. The sub-disciplines within the areas of specialization are dependent upon the interest of the student provided they have a qualified and approved mentor. Other general areas of study, such as biblical studies, will be forthcoming. For the full description of the

program, go to https://semlc.org/academic-programs/ If you are interested in supporting our effort to produce faithful teachers of Christ’s church, contact Jon Jensen jjensen@semlc.org. All prospective student inquiries can be directed to Dr. Marney Fritts mfritts@semlc.org.

Giving - Please consider making a generous contribution to St. Paul Lutheran Seminary at: https://semlc.org/support-st-paul-lutheran-seminary/.

I hope you enjoy this issue of SIMUL! If you have any questions about the journal or about St. Paul Lutheran Seminary, please shoot me an email at dennisdimauro@yahoo.com

GLIMMERS OF HOPE FOR SMALL TOWN AND RURAL MINISTRY

David Wendel

Are you a member of a small-town or rural congregation? Are you pastor of a congregation in a rural or small-town context? If you said “yes” to either one of these questions, there may have been times when your congregation was just struggling to survive. Such an experience may have led to serious questions - “How do we continue?” or even “Can we continue?” Since industrialization began in the U.S. there has been significant rural flight to more urban areas with greater opportunities for employment, shopping and entertainment, leaving many existing rural congregations with fewer members, families and potential for stability, not to mention growth. This rural depopulation is documented in a 2019 article by Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter.

How widespread is depopulation? In all, 746 counties representing 24 percent of all U.S. counties are depopulating, and nearly all of them 91 percent are rural. Just 9 percent of urban counties are depopulating …. Such depopulation is a clear indicator of a lack of demographic vitality in a significant part of rural America.

Over one-third (35 percent) of all rural counties (676) are depopulating … Today, only 6.2 million residents remain in these depopulating rural counties, a third fewer than resided there in 1950.1

Working with Small Churches Across North America

For the last twelve years, I have served as assistant to the bishop for ministry (and ecumenism) for the North American Lutheran Church. The bulk of my time was spent working with pastors and congregations in the call process, most of whom were under 100 average worship attendance, many with average attendance between 20-50!

While congregations have been struggling for years, it is clear that the recent pandemic and increasing secularization have had an impact on decline in already small congregations. Carey Nieuwhof, pastor and writer in Ontario, reported that after reopening after the pandemic, congregations were seeing a loss of 10-40% of their pre-COVID attendance, and after an initial surge in online worship “attendance” after Easter 2020, that surge has declined and current in-person and online attendance is only higher than pre-COVID attendance in 18% of congregations. This means that online and in-person attendance in congregations is flat or declining in 82% of congregations.2

For the last twelve years, I have served as assistant to the bishop for ministry (and ecumenism) for the North American Lutheran Church.

Consider what this might mean for a congregation of 20-50

average worshipers, as well as a congregation with an average attendance under 100. Most were already struggling financially, and fewer worshipers is almost always reflected in reduced giving. It also means fewer folks participating in other activities, fewer members supporting the week-to-week worship, learning and service ministries, fewer active disciples of Jesus in the congregation supporting mission outside the congregation. These challenges are multiplied when the smaller congregation may be in small-town, rural contexts. Often, pastors and members see these realities as a “deathknell,” a self-fulfilling prophecy of collapse leading to negativism, defeatism and a general sense of, “why bother?”

Fresh Eyes for Mission

My experience with these smaller, often rural congregations compelled me to develop a renewal process entitled, “Fresh Eyes for Mission Summits,” aimed at addressing decline and stagnation is congregations of all sizes and shapes, yet particularly helpful for smaller and rural congregations. While congregational decline in worship attendance and giving is a reality in North American congregations in every context: urban, suburban and rural; the effect of such “shrinkage” is particularly impactful in smaller and rural communities. Furthermore, a smaller, stable (or even declining) general population doesn’t support congregational growth, regardless the outreach and evangelism efforts of a congregation. The challenges, then, can be more pronounced and obvious, leading to even greater fear and anxiety about the future of already small and struggling congregations. What guidance can

be offered to smaller congregations in small-town and rural contexts?

Determine Reality

First, determine reality. Many congregations develop narratives which are in and of themselves, self-defeating. Small town and rural congregations often have communal memories of thriving generations long gone by, when pews and Sunday School classes were overflowing, confirmation photos included crowds of confirmands and church buildings were sprawling facilities with educational and fellowship wings. Larger farming operations and greater employment opportunities elsewhere led to the movement of younger persons and families away from rural, small town America. That, together with the decline in birth rate in recent years has led to smaller, less vibrant small towns, which has meant smaller congregations, often with few or no children or youth. As the remaining members walk down the halls of the church, viewing photos of huge congregational rally days, large Sunday School and confirmation groups, it’s easy to develop a narrative that their congregation will continue to decline and will inevitably close! That narrative quickly becomes a self-fulfilled and selfdefeating prophecy.

Small town and rural congregations often have communal memories of thriving generations long gone by.

For this reason, it’s essential that congregations assess the reality of their situation. When reviewing the last ten years of average worship attendance and income, what is often

discovered is that the situation is not as dire as the commonlyaccepted narrative suggests! Yes, the congregation, currently, may not be as it was post-World War II when the Baby Boom filled our churches with children and youth. And yet, many small town and rural congregations find that realistically, they have been stable in recent years. The lack of children and youth may be reflective of the wider communal situation, as school enrollments are also down due to declining birth rates.

One congregation I worked with was convinced they would be forced to close within six months, when in reality, income and expenses as well as worship attendance had been fairly stable for ten years. Upon realizing this, they expressed a sense of hopefulness and began to think about and plan for the future!

Assessing reality within the congregation is essential, but it is also necessary to assess the reality of the surrounding community context. Data is often available from government sources indicating current trends related to population and school enrollment. Has there been growth or decline in recent years? Are there areas of growth within 15-30 minutes-drive time of the church location which might be targeted for outreach, either through direct mailing or door-to-door delivery of fliers inviting the unchurched or the nominally churched to visit? Sadly, small town and rural congregations often become inwardly focused after years of being “familyoriented” – a dysfunctional phenomenon where ministry has been focused for generations on the families who started the congregation. COVID-19 increased the inward focus in many congregations and even more so in small town and rural contexts. But simple, common-sense outreach efforts will

often bear fruit. The addition of one or two new member households in a congregation of 25-50 average worship attendance will make a significant impact in energy and excitement for ministry!

Develop Mission Outside the Church Walls

Second, it is important for congregations of all sizes to develop or redevelop mission outside the walls of the church building! As I worked with congregations in renewal, I often shared that when in seminary in the late 70s, evangelism was understood as “the pastor unlocking the doors of the church on Sunday morning!” My experience as a young pastor in 1981 was that even in Hobbs, New Mexico (aka the “oil patch”) we had considerable numbers of visitors worshiping with us on Sunday morning. That isn’t the case for many congregations today, especially in rural and small-town settings. In many of the churches I visited, congressional leaders admitted that most people in their community knew little about their congregation, if they even knew of its existence at all. Congregational involvement in the community, whether in village or town or township is the best way to achieve two purposes: to love and care for our neighbors, while also being visible—introducing others to our congregation!

Set Goals for Growth

Third, don’t be afraid to set goals for growth! Setting goals

for a small town and rural congregation creates a mindset that we are not accepting decline, but are looking towards the future. If a smaller congregation has an average attendance of 25, it’s not reasonable to set a goal for the year of growing to 50 average worship attendance! Worship attendance grows slowly, as it’s an average over a number of Sundays. Set a goal of increasing average worship attendance by 3-5 worshipers, then keep that visible so that members realize their presence makes a difference! Maybe make a chart so that folks will see their progress.

Now there are pastors who believe that tracking attendance and being intentional about growth are legalistic methods which aren’t reflective of the fact that it is more important to have members growing in faith, rather than numbers. While there is some truth to this, the fact remains that there is no indicator more reflective of congregational health and vitality than worship attendance, just as there is no indicator more reflective of an individual’s spiritual health and vitality than worship attendance! In corporate, communal worship, we hear God’s Word and receive the presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar; we dive deeply into Holy Scripture hearing readings from Old and New Testament, and we listen to the faithful proclamation of it. We join together with the assembly of believers in an act of public witness, and we join in fervent prayer with other followers of Jesus as we support and encourage the overall ministry of our congregation! Often, those who reject intentionality in tracking worship attendance are those pastor and congregational leaders in declining congregations, who are afraid to look honestly at the reality of

their church life! (See the first point above.)3

Small Town Ministry is about Relationships

Fourth, it’s important to remember and celebrate the reality that ministry in the small town and rural church is not primarily about size, but about relationships! Pastor Brad Hales, Reformation Lutheran Church, Culpeper, VA, formerly parttime staff of the North American Lutheran Church and an experienced pastor, pastor developer and expert in congregational renewal, developed a course for the small and rural church that is still available as a free recorded course online.4

The resource is aimed at helping congregational leaders consider the special relational blessings of ministry in small town and rural contexts. It explains how to strengthen relationships within congregations and between congregations and within the wider communities outside the congregation.

Manage Congregational Finances for the Long-Term

Fifth, to survive and sustain themselves, smaller congregations will need to manage their finances for the long-term. This may mean cooperating with other nearby congregations, sharing church facilities with local congregations of other denominations, or sharing a pastor with another congregation or congregations. This is one of the most difficult transitions to accept, when a

To survive and sustain themselves, smaller congregations will need to manage their finances for the longterm.

previously “free-standing” congregation with its own pastor enters into conversations with another congregation to share space or share a pastor. Many will see this as regressive. However, it may also be understood as freeing; freeing the congregation from the financial pressure of covering the cost of a full-time pastor and family, maintaining a church building and property with fewer members, feeling continually pressured to remain solvent and viable. Sharing ministry with another congregation and/or pastor is very much a “back-to-the-future” strategy, as many congregations in North America had their origins in such partnerships and cooperation. In twenty-first century ministry, creative relationships between congregations, even of differing denominations and traditions, can be life-giving and lifesustaining!

Renewed Hope

Finally, it’s worth remembering that there is a renewed hope for small-town and rural congregational ministry! This hope is discussed by Thom Rainer in his article, “Five Reasons Rural and Small-Town Churches are Making a Comeback.” He points out:

1. The migration trend from these less populated areas has reversed.

2. There are a lot of people in rural and small-town areas.

3. More church leaders are expressing a calling to rural churches and small-town churches.

4. More church leaders are serious about rooting themselves and their families in these communities and churches.

5. The simpler life of rural or small-town areas is becoming

increasingly attractive to many people, including church leaders.5

In spite of the rural depopulation cited above, many rural and small-town communities are have experienced growth and signs of hopefulness. Johnson and Lichter write:

Though rural depopulation is widespread, many rural counties are thriving and gaining population. Indeed, 35 percent (673) were at their peak population in 2010 and contained 24.8 million residents in 2016—54.5 percent of the rural total. Such growing rural counties often benefit from proximity to metropolitan areas or are centers of recreational and retirement activity that attract urban tourists, retirees, and businesses. The remaining 31 percent (599) of rural counties, which contain 14.6 million residents or 32 percent of the rural population, have had mixed periods of growth and decline, but their cumulative population losses have been far more modest than in the depopulating counties that have been in decline for many years.6

While small-town and rural ministry presents its own unique challenges and opportunities, it is worth remembering the Church of Jesus Christ began with twelve disciples! Obviously, even twelve disciples can be a worthwhile worshiping, serving community!

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel served as Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry and Ecumenism from 2012 -2023, and now serves as Senior Pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Westerville, Ohio.

Endnotes:

1Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter, “Rural Depopulation in a Rapidly Urbanizing America,” University of New Hampshire, Carsey School of Public Policy, February 6, 2019, https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/rural-depopulation-rapidly-urbanizing-america.

2“COVID-19 Conversations: Nona Jones on Digital and Social Ministry,” Church Pulse Weekly Podcast, Barna, Jul 29, 2020, https://www.barna.com/research/digital-social-ministry/.

3For more information about the importance of tracking worship attendance, see “ How to Track Church Attendance,” One Church Software, June 6, 2024, https://onechurchsoftware.com/how-to-track-church-attendance/.

4Brad Hales, “Small and Rural Church Ministry,” NALC Renewal Team, North American Lutheran Church, https://north-american-lutheran-church.teachable.com/p/small-and-ruralchurch.

5Thom S. Rainer, “Five Reasons Rural and Small-Town Churches Are Making a Comeback,” Church Answers, November 25, 2019, https://churchanswers.com/blog/five-reasons-ruraland-small-town-churches-are-making-a-comeback/.

6Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter, “Rural Depopulation in a Rapidly Urbanizing America,” University of New Hampshire, Carsey School of Public Policy, February 6, 2019, https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/rural-depopulation-rapidly-urbanizing-america.

SEVEN SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL MISSION PLANT!

Dennis R. Di Mauro

Let’s face it - most pastors don’t want to start a mission church.

There are a number of reasons for this. Pastors feel that church plants are too expensive, too risky, too stressful for their families, or they ask for too much commitment from their members. They usually feel that taking on an existing church is much easier, more satisfying, and more likely to succeed.

So, it might surprise you to learn that, according to a North American Mission Board study, 68% of mission plants are still going after 4 years of ministry.1 That’s right my friends – if you start a mission church, it has over a two-thirds chance of succeeding!

And remember, even if you answer a call to an existing church, it still has a good chance of failing. A recent article explains that an existing Lutheran church has up to an 8% chance of failing over four years.2 So, I guess ministry is tough these days any way you slice it.

And because ministry is tough no matter if you lead a mission or an existing church, it might be worthwhile considering church planting. Because I believe the benefits of church planting far outweigh the disadvantages. And I speak from experience! I lead a group of disciples who started a church plant fourteen years ago, and that mission church is bigger and more effective today than ever before.

Advantages of Church Planting

So, let’s take a look at a few advantages that church planting offers over existing church ministry.

1) It’s Brand New - Church planters are never told that “this is the way we’ve always done it” because the “always done it” never happened! This offers mission leaders a unique opportunity to design the ministry they feel is most effective at the very start.

I lead a group of disciples who started a church plant fourteen years ago, and that mission church is bigger and more effective today than ever before.

2) It’s the Best Training Possible for a New Pastor – Church planting provides a unique opportunity for a new pastor to learn everything about what it means to do ministry – from administration, to outreach, to visiting. You’ll learn everything because you are usually the only person on staff!

3) It’s Professionally Satisfying – There’s really nothing like starting something new and watching it grow and succeed.

4) It Actually Enlarges the Kingdom - Church planting builds a culture of evangelism which seeks to convert unbelievers to the faith, and then it energizes those new members with

countless opportunities for ministry.

How to Start a Successful Church Plant

From our experience in starting Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenton, VA, we have found that there are seven steps to creating a viable church plant. Obviously, there are some table stakes in this process. It helps to be in a growing area, and in an area with limited Lutheran options. For instance, if you live in a shrinking rural town of ten thousand people and four existing Lutheran churches, it might be difficult, although probably not impossible, to build a viable and self-sustaining congregation. The church plant must also be run by dedicated disciples immersed in prayer and the reading of the Word. They must be willing to dedicate significant time to furthering the growth of the congregation. These disciples will also need to be able to accept disappointment once in a while - and then trudge on. And while the growth of any church will be the direct result of Holy Spirit’s power, don’t kid yourself, you will have to work –and you’ll have to work really hard.

However, discipleship, demographic studies, and Christian action aren’t really the key points I want to share with you in this article. No doubt you can find thoughtful essays on these subjects elsewhere. My goal here is to be quite practical and lay out for you seven important steps to follow that will maximize your chances for church plant success. If I were to sum all those points ahead of time, the overarching goal is to create a sense of legitimacy in the visitor’s mind that God is

building a viable church that will be there in the future to fulfill his/her spiritual needs. So here are my suggestions:

Step One: Identify a Core Group and Start Worship Immediately

This is a key step in the original planning of any church start. The question is – do you have the people needed to even get this thing off the ground?

Trinity started with just sixteen attendees in one of our members’ living room. That’s a little small for a core group, but it was good enough. So, as a rule of thumb I would suggest that you start with a group of fifteen, at least, with 50% of those being disciples willing to invest significant time in its formation. Immediately identify musicians, assisting ministers, ushers, and others willing to start worship as soon as possible. Get each member of the core group involved somehow.

We started in a local public gymnasium in a county park. I know that some evangelical sources tell you to start with a home Bible study3 and then move into worship, but I don’t believe that this works in the Lutheran space. I believe that it is uber important to get a traditional Lutheran service (LBW, LSB, etc.) started as soon as possible so as to not lose the momentum and excitement of starting something new. I also think that Lutherans are a sacramental people to the core - if the sacraments aren’t

As a rule of thumb I would suggest that you start with a group of fifteen, at least, with 50% of those being disciples willing to invest significant time in its formation.

available immediately, they will lose confidence in the effort and look elsewhere. Even if a pastor is unavailable, you might be able to get a local pastor to bless the sacraments and have a deacon or lay leader lead the service in the beginning. But DO NOT start without a minimal fifteen-person core group, otherwise you will be wasting your time.

Step Two: Create a Website and a Bank Account

I believe it was Pastor Tony Ede who told me that 60% of NALC congregations do not have a web presence. This is a very sad state of affairs because it means that young people have no way of finding these congregations - they live on their phones! So, a website is a bare minimum. My suggestion is that if you don’t want to create a website, don’t start a mission church – period. Our website is www.trinitylutheranva.org and it resides on Faith Connector,4 which provides setup, hosting, support, and biannual updates, and costs about $500 a year, but obviously other options are available. Your church also needs to get itself onto Google and Yahoo maps so people can find you on GPS.

You should also set up a church page on Facebook and keep it updated. Other options are also available, such as X and Instagram, but we’ve haven’t gotten much traction from either. Another first step is getting a bank account and a treasurer, and that means registering an EIN number with the IRS as soon as possible (a requirement for the bank account). You can’t start collecting tithes until you have that bank account, and you need to start building a nest egg from day one.

Step Three: Start Two Services

One nearly foolproof way to grow a church is to start an additional service. Your congregation will instinctively oppose this move because they will think it will poach people from one service to another or will make the church less unified. Neither of these outcomes will likely happen. A second service almost always creates significant growth in the first year – usually around 20-25% growth. I know it doesn’t make sense, but there must be a science to this because it always seems to work out that way. If you want to grow, add a service. If you want to grow more, add another service. More opportunities for worship mean more attendance. Don’t believe me? Show me a megachurch with one service.

One nearly foolproof way to grow a church is to start an additional service.

I would also put all those services on Sunday morning. If you have one service, start it at 10am – this is the best time favored by most churches;5 if you have two services, maybe 9am and 11am; three services - 8am, 9:30am and 11am. These aren’t hard and fast rules - fit the times to your congregation’s needs. I would also include traditional and contemporary/praise options. Put Sunday School, First Communion, Confirmation and the Coffee Hour in between the two services, if you have two. If you don’t have any kids that doesn’t mean you can just skip religious education. Every church plant (and every church in need of renewal) should have Sunday School, First Communion, and Confirmation prepared before it has any students. Otherwise, when families come in, it will be their first

and last Sunday at your church! When young parents ask “is there a Sunday School” you have to be able to say “yes” - every time. This will make the first two kids who enter your church the very first Sunday school students because you had a Sunday School teacher and a prepared curriculum waiting for them.

As to the lack of unity created by a number of services, this phenomenon can be mitigated by a social hour, congregational events, or by small groups.

Step Four: Obtain a Worship Space

Nothing creates a sense of legitimacy in a visitor’s mind like a dedicated worship space that can be used 24/7. This is especially important in the Lutheran space, allowing for midweek services, meetings, and activities. It should be located on a major highway with attractive signage and be as modern and spacious as possible. But just finding any 24/7 space is crucial, no matter what it looks like. At Trinity, we rent an old church building built in 1957 and have completed numerous leasehold improvements using congregational labor and grants. It’s not perfect, but it did convince the community that we’re not going anywhere, and I think that is half the battle.

Step Five: Call a Full-Time Pastor

Finding a pastor is hard. Finding a good pastor is even harder. And then you have to pay the pastor! Obviously, this is a challenge for many church plants. In our case, I worked

part-time for two years as a vicar without pay to get the church off the ground. Sounds crazy? Well, it might be. But the sad truth is that someone has to pay for all this, and that means significant sacrifice by the congregation and the pastor. The temptation will arise to just hire a part-time pastor, or to have lay leaders run the church with a nearby pastor available to consecrate the sacraments. But I believe that both of these so-called “cheaper solutions” will drain the church of funds much faster that the allegedly more expensive solution of hiring a pastor and then paying that pastor a full-time package. There’s an old saying, “You gotta spend money to make money,” and that saying works in the church as well.

There’s an old saying, “You gotta spend money to make money,” and that saying works in the church as well.

There is simply no long-term substitute for a trained preacher who can serve as a consistent leader/administrator for the congregation. A fulltime pastor allows a church to lead weddings, funerals, counseling, outreach into the community, home visits, and so much more. And I hate to beat the legitimacy drum once more, but it is so important. Because until you have a full-time pastor, no one will consider you a REAL church and few seekers will join your church.

Step Six: Outreach

For some reason, we Lutherans still think that Sven wakes up on Sunday morning and thinks “I should go to Lutheran church today.” We seem to have missed the last fifty years of life in America! Hello? Sven doesn’t think like that anymore. And

neither does Hans. It’s just not on their radar screens. But you know what? They might think a little more like that if we invited them to church. The sad truth is that we can’t expect people to come to church…no we need to invite them to come to church! In fact, asking people to come to church is estimated to generate more than 80% of church growth.6

Now how do we do that? How do we reach others for Christ? Well, the first thing we need to do is to be active members of the community. We need to make friends and build relationships. I often ask my church members how many friends they have….two, five, ten? But what we don’t understand is that disciples have to have hundreds of friends! The plain truth is that church is not a club. We all need to get out from behind our four walls to make it work. Yes, it’s a little scary out there, but it’s also rewarding beyond belief.

One of the things I have found to be effective in outreach is serving as a hospital chaplain. It allows me to meet perhaps as many as ten new people every week…to pray for them, learn about their health and their lives, and then invite them to church. But the ways we can serve people and make connections are literally infinite. Examples include participating in street fairs; holding car washes; starting a pub theology group at a local bar; offering “Free Prayer” at Panera or another public place; serving at a nursing home, senior center, or food bank; or even knocking on doors. I also like asking parents if their children have been baptized or are interested in confirmation. This may be weighing on their hearts, and the church can play a vital role in introducing their children to Jesus.

Step Seven: Build Disciples

But we know that most of the people in our churches do not have any desire to do these things. Why? Well, it’s because they weren’t taught to do any of these things. Most grew up in a time when the birth rate was high, teens played softball with the Luther or Walther leagues, and asking people to come to church was deemed impolite.

But those days are long gone. Today, we have to change the Lutheran culture back to what it was in the days of the apostles - the days when Christians were in the minority (just like today) and had a burning desire to share the redeeming gospel of Jesus.

That means a constant drumbeat of outreach: in our preaching, in our adult classes, and in the church culture in general. Preventing an “inward” focus means constantly encouraging members to invite friends to church, and getting everyone involved, in at least some way, in some sort of community outreach.

Things to Avoid

Most of our church members grew up in a time when the birth rate was high, teens played softball with the Luther or Walther leagues, and asking people to come to church was deemed impolite.

But it’s almost as important to review what not to do than what to do! I’ve seen more than one church plant fail due to some common mistakes. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen is delaying worship until after a constitution, articles of

incorporation, or bylaws are established. In fact, I know of a congregation that no longer exists, that did only that in its first year! Members quickly lose patience with this kind of footdragging, and they drift away. As mentioned before, it’s best to start worship as soon as possible in a gym/school, etc. Get started now!

The second thing to avoid is conflict. Most mission churches are ruined not through a lack of zeal or outreach, no, most failed churches implode from the ravages of internal conflict. So avoiding conflict between members is paramount. Pastors and lay leaders must be proactive in resolving conflicts between members before they ignite into an all-out war.

A controlling and unkind leadership is also a parish killer. The sad fact is that many individuals with mental illness seek to lead congregations, either as pastors or as members of the church council. They will try to control every aspect of the church, and if they lose control, they will seek to burn it all down. I’ve seen this many times. The council needs to intervene when this occurs, and sadly, it probably will, at least once in the life of every congregation. It’s important to have clear policies in the church constitution for removing pastors, presidents or council members by a simple majority vote.

But above all, the best practice is to lead by consensus. I remember a promising church plant that changed worship locations three times over its short life, once with only 55% of the members in favor of the move. The resulting loss in attendance was crushing, and that mission church is long gone. Making sure that 80% or more of the congregation agrees with a major decision is the best way to move forward. If you can’t

get 80%, don’t do anything.

Conclusion

I hope I have convinced at least some of you of the joys and feasibility of starting a new church. And it is my prayer that through these suggestions, you might avoid some of the pitfalls which have plagued other churches. Indeed, helping start Trinity Lutheran Church has been the most satisfying experience of my professional life. So, if God has put church planting on your heart, consider me a possible resource as you seek to serve Him by building a new community of faith!

(This paper is based on a presentation given at the NALC VA Mission District Conference on May 21, 2022).

Rev. Dr. Dennis Di Mauro, the editor of SIMUL, is Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (originally a church plant) in Warrenton, VA, and he can be reached at dennisdimauro@yahoo.com Endnotes:

1Ed Stetzer and Phillip Connor, “Church Plant Survivability and Health Study 2007,” North American Mission Board, February 2007, https://resources.pcamna.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/3/2021/06/CPMainReport.pdf

2Greg Smith, “Are 10,000 Churches Closing Every Year?” So What Faith, April 9, 2019, https://sowhatfaith.com/2019/09/04/are-10000-churches-closing-every-year/

3“Start A Church How Can a Bible Study Become a Church?” Never Thirsty, https://www.neverthirsty.org/bible-qa/qa-archives/question/can-bible-study-become-achurch/

4Faith Connector Websites, https://www.faithconnector.com/

5Tom Rainer, “What Is the Best Time for a Worship Service?” Church Answers, Episode #221, May 3, 2016, https://churchanswers.com/podcasts/rainer-on-leadership/what-is-the-besttime-for-a-worship-service-rainer-on-leadership-221/

6“Extending an Invitation: Simple Steps to Encourage Church Members to Invite Others,” ACS Technologies, Jan. 17, 2025, https://www.acstechnologies.com/church-growth/extending-aninvitation-simple-steps-to-encourage-church-members-to-invite-others/

LOST AND FOUND: A MILLENNIAL’S RETURN TO THE CHURCH

Kiersten Banks

In their book, Starting a House Church, Kreider and McClung share a study on church attendance completed in 2007. The findings showed that although the U.S. population grew 13.2 percent from 1900 to 2000, church attendance only increased by 3 percent. Based on their findings, they estimated that by 2020, only 14% of Americans would attend church at all, and that by 2050, the percentage would be under 10%.1

A post-pandemic study performed by Gallup explains that “Americans have been less likely to attend religious services over the past three years, and … it does not appear that church attendance will revert to pre-pandemic levels.”2 Though the reasons for this vary from person to person, according to sources like Survey Center on American Life,3 Comfort Tek,4 and the Pew Research Center,5 the reasons people–especially millennials and younger–are leaving the church in droves can be summed up in three categories (in no particular order): 1. Personal harm done by the church. 2. Misalignment with personal values.

3. Feeling a lack of personal contribution. Most pastors might not have these reasons at the top of their list of why people don’t attend church. And I think that’s because from the inside looking out, it can be hard for many pastors and church leaders to see from the perspective of the “lost sheep.”6 If we’re honest, it’s easier to assume that it has more to do with the non-attendee’s laziness or indifference. After all, holding that assumption and doing little else is a whole lot easier than sitting across the table from a person and listening to his/her story. Though the desire to fill our churches often comes from a sincere longing to love and serve God’s people, most of us find ourselves at a loss for where to even begin. But what if the solution isn’t figuring out a new and improved program or ministry, but something much more elementary?

A Millennial's Church Story

My father pastored a small Pentecostal church in a rural town in South Carolina. I can still picture the wooden pews and cerulean blue carpet the best décor the ’90s had to offer. I remember the comforting scent of the sanctuary, reminiscent of an old book. Like all good Pentecostals, we waved hand-sewn flags and never missed an opportunity to play the tambourine loud and offbeat. The high energy of passionate praise and prayer is a familiar feeling to me. But more than any of that, I can still see the faces of the people in our congregation.

My father pastored a small Pentecostal church in a rural town in South Carolina.

I particularly loved when my dad let me join him for home visits. If visiting Brother and Sister Davis was on the day’s agenda, I would count down the hours until school let out and I made sure to bring my baby doll along—Sister Davis would certainly want an update on how my baby was doing. Though housebound, she was often busy with a crochet project and would ask me what my baby might need. Did she need dresses, diapers, hats, or a blanket? Christmas came early the day she gifted me a granny-square blanket she had made just for me. Twenty-five years later, that blanket still lives in my attic.

I remember Sister Davis weakly lifting her hands in worship as we stood by her bedside just days before her passing. At only six years old, it was the first time I witnessed the peace that comes with dependence on Jesus. I felt a deep, unfamiliar sadness at her funeral. The concept of death was blurry to me at that age, but the assurance that she was with Jesus, and that I would see her again, was easy to believe. Years later, when I took up crocheting, I often thought of her. These early experiences shaped my faith and were among the reasons I enjoyed being a pastor’s daughter.

However, I quickly learned that not everyone was like Sister Davis. Just as easily as I can picture that bright blue carpet, I can recall the financial instability of pastoring in a small town, the impossible expectations placed on both my mother and father, and the tension it put on their marriage that ultimately led to divorce. Though my parents did their best to shield me from the challenges that unfolded behind the scenes of ministry, at just ten years old I became acutely aware of the strain of pastoring, with its potential to wreak havoc on a person’s mental,

emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Even still, I found myself in ministry early in life. Serving as a worship director in our multi-generational Free Methodist congregation required careful song selection to keep everyone simultaneously satisfied. You could be sure that the less-thansatisfied congregants would make their complaints known. Volunteering as a youth pastor and in women’s ministry through my twenties called on the same skills of finding new and improved ways to keep everyone interested and engaged, all while doing my best to navigate the hierarchy and politics of church leadership.

My story is not uncommon, but after experiencing more than one form of abuse inside the walls of the church, I crumbled under the constant pressure to adhere, perform, and produce. By my late twenties, the church seemed to mostly be a place that ruthlessly took from me, with no concern for the damage it left behind. Confused, I was left thinking, “This can’t be what God is really like.” In early 2023, my husband and I started to think that church was not for us.

In the months that followed this revelation, Psalm 23 became the only Scripture I felt able to stomach. My morning routine included making a cup of coffee, lighting a candle next to my favorite chair, and reading the Psalmist’s words again: “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.”7 Candles weren’t a part of our church tradition outside of a Christmas Eve service. Though I

My story is not uncommon, but after experiencing more than one form of abuse inside the walls of the church, I crumbled under the constant pressure to adhere, perform, and produce.

didn’t fully understand it, lighting that taper candle, morning after morning, felt like one small thing that somehow helped me connect with God.

During this season, I remembered a church in our town that I had been curious about years prior but had never worked up the nerve to visit. It was a Lutheran church, after all who knows what in the world we’d hear there? Nevertheless, I went to the one place I knew I could find all of the answers – Google. Through minimal research, I found their livestream on Facebook. The idea of attending a brand-new church in person was completely overwhelming, but listening and learning the order of service from the safety of my home felt more accessible. Every Sunday, for several weeks, I tuned in.

At the end of each service, the pastor would quote a portion of Scripture I knew very well: “In the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord took bread, broke, and blessed it…”8 I’d watch from my chair by my candle as he called every single member by name. “The body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for you.” Mysteriously, I would choke back tears. I couldn’t make sense of it, but I knew that I wanted whatever it was that was being given in the exchanges I was witnessing.

Several weeks later, my husband and I walked into Reformation Lutheran Church in Culpeper, Virginia. Our plan was to slip in, hopefully unnoticed, and slip right back out. We’d unknowingly shown up during Sunday School. From the front of the sanctuary, Pastor Brad noticed us in the hallway, clearly lost. He stopped what he was doing and enthusiastically said, “Kiersten, come on in!” Having only had one encounter with the man, I could not believe he remembered my name—much less

pronounced it correctly. We stayed through Sunday School until the service began.

As worship started, I watched as the acolyte lit the candles, just as I had done by myself for months. This simple, routine act to the members of this church was, to me, a comforting and sure sign that God was here with me. Every time I felt unsteady or unsure as worship continued, I’d focus my attention on one of the flames.

We chatted with Pastor Brad after the service. Though we told him we were looking around at churches, it wasn’t entirely true. Honestly, we had mustered up all of our courage just to walk through the doors of this one.

“There are so many great churches in Culpeper,” he responded. “Visit all of them! See where the Spirit is leading you!”

We had never been to a Lutheran church, but we had most certainly never had a pastor encourage us to try out other churches while we were standing inside of theirs. The general rule of thumb was that once you got people in the door, you did whatever you could to keep them there. We didn’t know how to respond, but the freedom to go somewhere else ended up being one of the things that made us want to come back.

“There are so many great churches in Culpeper,” he responded. “Visit all of them! See where the Spirit is leading you!”

After attending a month’s worth of Saturday night services, we asked Pastor Brad if we could set up a time to meet with him. A few days later, we sat down at a tiny table in a local restaurant and cautiously shared our story with him over cheeseburgers and fries. Then, like bracing for a punch to the gut, we waited for a

lecture full of empty platitudes to come.

“You know, Cody and Kiersten, it sounds like in your experience with church, you’ve had to live under a lot of legalism. Like a lot of it has been up to you.” My husband and I, cutting eyes at each other, nodded our heads in agreement. He went on, “I want you to know, that isn’t the gospel. In the kingdom, we get in on God’s riches at Christ’s expense. It’s through the free gift of faith, not by anything we do.”

I didn’t know it then, but in a few short sentences, the gospel had just been preached to me—not in a pristine sanctuary but while I was dipping my last few fries in ketchup. It was good news that I had never heard before, even though I was no stranger to the church.

A few weeks later, we decided to attend what the church called a “ministry fair.” Each ministry at Reformation set up tables with posters, pictures, and information about what they offered. I was curious, but I was not going to be joining a ministry. That much was certain. Nevertheless, we slowly walked around the room, taking in each of the unique displays. At one of the last tables, an older woman in a wheelchair sat beside a table full of quilt samples, prayer cloths, and crochet projects. She reminded me of Sister Davis. We struck up a conversation, and she explained that she was part of the quilting and crochet ministry. “We’re in desperate need of knitters and crocheters,” she told me. I mentioned that crocheting was one of my favorite hobbies and that I’d love to help, but I didn’t have much time to offer.” Oh, if you were to crochet one prayer shawl this whole year, it would be one more than we have! There is absolutely no pressure.” Somehow, I heard myself joyfully agreeing to help and

started on a project the next week. Slowly looping one stitch at a time made me feel like I was a part of something even as someone who had no idea where, or if, she belonged in the body of Christ.

We continued to attend church, and week after week, I’d take a deep breath as the candles were lit. I’d repeat in my mind, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” I’d confess my sins and receive absolution. I’d rest in the words of each song and hear the preaching of the gospel. I’d memorize a little more of the Apostles’ Creed. I’d hear again, “Kiersten, the body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for you,” and focus on the taste of the wafer and the wine. All the while, without my effort or recognition, faith was growing in me.

As the months went on, without warning, I began to wonder what if I went to seminary? If it was possible for the church to be anything like what I had experienced in the last year, I wanted to be a part of it. We weren’t coerced to join, pushed into ministries, or guilted into attending. We were simply welcomed—exactly as we were. It was grace that motivated us to stay and become involved, not shame. And now, I find myself encountering that same amazing grace as I study and learn as a student at St. Paul’s.

The Lost Sheep

In Luke 15, Jesus confronted the religious rulers of his day in

Jesus and the Lost Sheep

a way He often challenged those in power—with a story. Knowing that the teachers of the law were frustrated with Him, He offered them a parable about a shepherd and his sheep. It’s important to note that in ancient Jewish society, shepherds were often considered unclean or, at the very least, socially lowstatus.9 Yet, Jesus asks these men who were most concerned with outward appearances to put themselves in the shoes of a lowly shepherd and consider how they would respond if they were to lose one sheep out of a hundred.

Rabbis at this time believed that God would receive sinners who returned to Him—provided they returned in the right way. But here, Jesus compares sinners to a lost sheep, implying that they are actually incapable of finding their way back to the safety of the flock at all.10 Speaking to men who placed the responsibility of returning on the lost sheep, He reveals that He is the one who seeks and saves the lost. Or, as David Guzik puts it, “God finds the sinner more than the sinner finds God.”11 Jesus’ example in Luke 15 provides a powerful model for pastoral ministry, even in the 21st century. While a New Testament scholar could offer a more in-depth analysis, for the purposes of this discussion, let’s focus on three aspects of Jesus’ actions: His seeking, His carrying, and His rejoicing, found in Luke 15.

A Luke 15 Model

In this chapter, Jesus doesn’t place blame on the sheep for losing its way but instead goes out of His way to seek it out. As pastors, what does it look like to actively seek out the people

both within and without our congregations? For example, are there those who have to work on weekends? Could a midweek worship service be offered for them? While the goal isn’t to meet the demands of each individual member, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can seek to be sensitive to the specific needs among our people. Being attentive and creative in how we address the particular needs of those God has entrusted to us is one of the many ways we can faithfully seek like Jesus does.

Second, in this passage we aren’t told what state the lost sheep is in. We’re only told what happens once it’s found: it is carried. I believe Pastor Brad’s response to us when we shared our story of pain is one example of what being carried can look like. When we create safe environments and opportunities for wounded people to share their experiences, we offer them the loving presence of Jesus. In simple things our body language, eye contact, and the time we give—we are telling the truest story of the body of Christ. We are not called to fix the brokenness in others’ stories but to carry the gospel into those broken places in simple, yet profound, ways.

When we create safe environments and opportunities for wounded people to share their experiences, we offer them the loving presence of Jesus.

Lastly, even though the shepherd in the story has ninetynine other sheep, he rejoices over finding the one that was lost. What’s more, he calls others to join him in his joy! When we recognize and celebrate the value of each person, we reflect the love and dignity Jesus bestows on every individual and the unique contribution he or she brings to the whole. This

can take the form of celebrating the diverse gifts and talents within our congregations and creating opportunities for those gifts to be used within the church. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 reminds us that we are one body with many parts. Acknowledging and making room for each part to function— even if that part is a group of women who crochet prayer shawls is one way we can rejoice alongside our Good Shepherd.

Conclusion

We know that growth within the church is vital and necessary, but what if, in some ways, God is calling us not to get bigger, but smaller? When I was found, carried, and brought back, what I discovered surprised me. Lit candles, a crochet ministry, and a pastor who handed me the gospel over cheeseburgers were not on my radar—but they became tangible expressions of a deeper, spiritual reality.

At times, we’re all guilty of relying on Americanized strategies to build our churches and ministries. Yet, while we're busy perfecting banquet plans, it seems that Jesus is busy multiplying five loaves and two fish.12 Though it may seem counterintuitive to invite small churches to get smaller, it is just as counterintuitive to leave the ninety-nine to find the one. As one millennial who has wandered off more than once, I can assure you—we don’t need new and improved programs that convince us to stay. What we do need is for all of us to keep lighting candles and keep reminding ourselves that the darkness cannot overcome the light. We desperately need to

keep handing over the gospel in as many places and ways as we can. We need to seek, carry, and rejoice over one lost sheep at a time, a sinner who is finally coming home. We need to keep breaking the bread and pouring the wine, telling others that it is “for you.” We and the generations to come—need to be reminded that small stones slay giants and that small lunches feed the multitudes. We need to keep doing small things in our small churches and to never forget that it is most certainly Jesus who is taking those small offerings and multiplying them to feed and find us all.

We need to seek, carry, and rejoice over one lost sheep at a time, a sinner who is finally coming home.

Ms. Kiersten Banks lives and works alongside her husband in Culpeper, VA. A part-time student at St. Paul Lutheran Seminary, she also has the joy of leading the first church plant of the Reformation Lutheran Church House Church Network. When she’s not studying or working, you’ll find her at her pottery wheel, crocheting, or immersed in one of her many home or art projects.

Endnotes:

1Larry Kreider and Floyd McClung, Starting a House Church (Bloomington, Minnesota: Chosen Books, 2007), 32–33.

2“Church Attendance Lower Than Pre-Pandemic,” Gallup News, accessed February 21, 2025, https://news.gallup.com/poll/507692/church-attendance-lower-pre-pandemic.aspx.

3“Young Women Are Leaving Church in Unprecedented Numbers,” American Survey Center, accessed February 21, 2025, https://www.americansurveycenter.org/newsletter/young-womenare-leaving-church-in-unprecedented-numbers/.

4“Why Are People Leaving the Church? Top Reasons,” ComforTek Seating, accessed February 21, 2025, https://churchchairsbycomfortek.com/why-are-people-leaving-the-church-top-reasons/.

5“In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace,” Pew Research Center, accessed February 21, 2025, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-ofchristianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/.

6Luke 15:1–7,The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), All subsequent Bible citations in this article come from the ESV Version.

7Psalm 23:6

81 Corinthians 11:23-26

9“The Shepherd’s Status,” Eternal Perspective Ministries, accessed February 21, 2025, https://www.epm.org/resources/2008/Mar/11/shepherds-status/.

10“Luke 15 Commentary,” Adam Clarke Commentary, StudyLight.org, accessed February 21, 2025, https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/acc/luke-15.html.

11“Luke 15 – Bible Commentary,” Enduring Word, accessed February 21, 2025, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/luke-15/.

12Matthew 14:17-19

A PARISH IS A PARISH NO MATTER HOW SMALL

Mark Menacher

To paraphrase the recurrent theme in that great theological tome, Horton Hears a Who: “A parish is a parish no matter how small.”1 How true might that be? The following impressionistic portrayal of small parishes begins with the author’s impressions of having served in a variety of numerically challenged churches. This analytic (or perhaps anecdotal discussion) does not claim to be “scientific” or statistically argued from available research on this topic.2 Nonetheless, in some small way hopefully some aspects of this essay will prove useful to those serving small churches.

Raised in the Rural Church

The author’s family started attending church regularly at Christ Lutheran Church in Wyoming, Michigan when he was in fifth grade. Christ Lutheran was a cinder block box mission start of the American Lutheran Church (ALC) located in a supposedly expanding area of Grand Rapids, Michigan, which did not expand as anticipated. Despite the disappointing demographics, the parish grew until its pastor left under a cloud. The church then called an extremely well-educated pastor who nearly killed the congregation. Fearing for its

existence, the congregation fired him, called another pastor returning to the ministry, and started to recover and continued to do so while the author went to university and later to seminary.

Seminary

During his first year at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, the author’s Ministry in Context (MIC) placement was at the Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbus. This German-English bilingual congregation was composed mainly of Siebenbürger Sachsen (Transylvanian Saxons), who had fled Romanian communism after the Second World War. Although Columbus had considerable German heritage, this congregation largely attracted only Transylvanian Saxons, which meant that the congregation would have a limited future if the English-speaking portion of the congregation did not grow, and it did not.

During seminary, the author was one of two recipients of a Lutheran World Federation scholarship to study at the Theological Seminary in Leipzig in former East Germany a few years before the Berlin Wall came down. While there, the author undertook a student placement at the Evangelisch-Lutherische Pfarramt & Kirche Marienbrunn in South Leipzig. The oppressive communist state proved effective in helping East German churches become and remain small.

Internship

Being a bit remedial, the author completed seminary with a

The Transylvania Saxon Flag

fifth-year internship which was served at Holy Family Lutheran Church (another cinder block box) in Cabrini-Green Homes, the “notorious” projects on Chicago’s Near North Side. Apart from the pastor’s family, the intern, and one lady with a black husband, the parish membership was all black. The church and developing school boasted offerings of $16,000 per annum which fell considerably short of its then $250,000 annual budget. The senior pastor networked extensively and very creatively to rustle up the remaining $234,000 needed to keep the church and school operating.

First Call in the United Kingdom

After graduating from seminary, the author and his new Welsh wife moved to North Wales in the United Kingdom (UK) ostensibly for one year which turned into ten. Although the author was invited to be rostered with the United Reformed Church (URC) in the UK, for theological reasons he declined. He would, however, regularly provide pulpit supply for the URC and for the Presbyterian Church of Wales during that decade. A couple of years into their stay, the author accepted a call from the Lutheran Church in Great Britain (LCiGB) to start an Englishspeaking congregation in Manchester, England in the church building (yet another cinder block box) of an overseas congregation of the Protestant Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland - EKD). Ordained to “non-stipendiary” ministry, the author would travel twice monthly 50 miles each way to Manchester from North Wales to hold services for second generation Lutheran Poles, Latvians, Hungarians, etc., who were supposedly “dying for English language services.” Unfortunately,

all those second-generation ethnic Lutherans must have died. After five years of effort, the congregation, composed mainly of Americans in the UK on business, decided to terminate the experiment.

Back in the USA

Upon returning to the US in 1999 to a troubled ELCA, the author accepted a call and became the longest serving pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Au Gres, Michigan, an historically “problem church” whose members had broken off from the town’s LCMS congregation in the wake of the Seminex controversies. When founded, St. Paul Lutheran Church took up residence in the office and laundry facility of an RV trailer park which never developed (another, though only partial, cinder block box). With a population of 840, Au Gres sported six churches which were surprisingly collaborative if not quite ecumenical.

Ministry in San Diego

Currently, the author serves St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in La Mesa, California, a suburb of San Diego. Founded in 1945, St. Luke’s church and later school grew rapidly and in its heyday had 1,100 members and three services on a Sunday. Unfortunately, shortly after the ELCA merger it called a pastor who did just about everything which a pastor should not do. Consequently, members became St. Luke’s chief export. When the subsequent pastor and the author’s predecessor

When the subsequent pastor and the author’s predecessor could not hold the rump of the scandalridden congregation together, the author was called to “turn the ship around.”

could not hold the rump of the scandal-ridden congregation together, the author was called to “turn the ship around.” When the author first read this congregation’s disastrous profile, he thought, “They will be lucky to get a pastor.” Eighteen years on, St. Luke’s is still looking for a pastor, and the author hopes that they will find one soon.

In recent years, the author was additionally called to serve the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche in San Diego (German Evangelical Church in San Diego) holding its once per month German service in an ELCA church facility. For a variety of reasons, after existing for 66 years this parish gathered for its final Gottesdienst on Christmas Eve 2024. Given his previous experience straddling the linguistic and cultural divides of aging ethnic entities, this congregation’s demise came as no surprise.

The Plight of Small Parishes

Though in no way comprehensive, nor perhaps even representative, the preceding, cursory autobiographical details provide the perspective for the following descriptive discussions pertaining to the plight of small parishes in some of their urban, ethnic, and rural manifestations. After a brief “analysis” of small church dynamics, some theological reflections for such churches conclude this essay. Regardless of the perspective and approach taken, few would disagree that small churches have a difficult row to hoe.

Apart from their contextual, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity, in many ways small urban, ethnic, and rural parishes seem surprisingly alike. Viewed positively, because they are small, they are by nature very interpersonal, often familial. Built into these churches is the dynamic which larger congregations

seek to emulate with “small group” ministries. Such familiarity is often expressed through operational and administrative informality and simplicity. Small church members are also more likely to be quite knowledgeable, if not conversant with most or all aspects of parish life because delegating or relegating such to paid staff is not feasible. Small churches can also be well connected with their communities. In rural settings, that might mean a whole town. In a city or in the inner city, it could be a strong neighborhood identity. For ethnic parishes, strong overlap of members may exist with their respective ethnic cultural clubs or societies.

Despite their numerical paucity, small churches can become very good at pooling their resources and energy to carry out their various ministries. In turn, this can create a healthy sense of ownership for the church’s existence and mission. Rural and inner-city parishes often build collaborative intraor interdenominational relationships, or both, to realize their wider sense of service. Due to linguistic or cultural barriers, ethnic churches are frequently inhibited or disinclined to engage more broadly.

Unfortunately, such positive aspects of small parishes are often overshadowed by discouraging, dysfunctional, and destructive dynamics which threaten congregational viability. Surprisingly, these deleterious dynamics are uncannily uniform across urban, ethnic, and rural churches despite their differing contexts and compositions. All three types of churches are oftentimes short on financial and thus personnel resources. They frequently need to use borrowed or rented spaces for church

Consequently, small parishes as “church”

can become and feel overlooked, isolated, and inferior which can be quite discouraging to both membership and

pastoral leadership alike.

activities, and if they have their own properties, building and property maintenance becomes difficult, if not impossible. Consequently, small parishes as “church” can become and feel overlooked, isolated, and inferior which can be quite discouraging to both membership and pastoral leadership alike.

Small church membership often entails having congregational leadership of limited abilities and skills who struggle to run even a small organization. If small churches can afford a pastor, not to mention one with a family, such parishes seem obliged to install a revolving door for the not so steady stream of first call seminary graduates looking for greener pastures and bigger flocks on the Monday following their installation. The resultant lack of continuity and consistency in the pastoral office can disrupt just about every aspect of congregational life. Additionally, finding suitable church musicians, especially organists, is probably more precarious than procuring a pastor. A minimally able musician does, however, eliminate the pastor’s propensity to preach to the choir (mainly because there is no choir). If unable to call a Lutheran pastor, small congregations become tempted to hire a pastor of questionable theological provenance who sadly may also be of questionable personal or professional character, a particular danger for ethnic parishes.

Such dynamics, even in once healthy congregations, can lead to a downward spiral of decline during which the parish at some point moves into survival mode accompanied by ever more desperate attempts to stave off death. Those with vested interests in the congregation are then tempted to tighten their grip on power to the point of strangulation. In a bid to “turn the ship around,” the ever fewer congregants become enticed

by trendy, if not gimmicky “church growth” techniques applied in recipe fashion in the hope of recovering or resurrecting a glorious past, which effectively means walking backwards into the future. After all, “It’s right there in the Bible. After Jesus fed the 5,000, he took up baskets of bread. So, if we take loaves of bread and leave them at Sunday visitors’ houses, our membership will surely rise.” More effective, if pitched right, is combining Jesus being a carpenter with the Field of Dreams prosperity promise. Often badgered into sacrificing their personal and collective resources, congregants are told that a parish construction project will certainly save the day: “If you build it, they will come.”

When “they” do not come for predictable reasons, not infrequently the pastor becomes the scapegoat (see Leviticus 16:9-10) for most, if not all the congregation’s woes. As the parish-pastor relationship deteriorates, sooner or later, usually sooner, the pastor seeks opportunities or is goaded to escape. Conversely, though more occasionally, a dysfunctional pastor will project his/her pathological personality onto parishioners and then blame them for the church’s ills. This can propel the spiral of decline even faster. In aviation, at least, what might appear to be a downward spiral may actually be a spin. Recovery from a spin requires several counterintuitive control inputs to recover from a fast-approaching fatality.

Small Church Through Luther’s Eyes

A dysfunctional pastor will project his/her pathological personality onto parishioners and then blame them for the church’s ills.

Whatever analytical or anecdotal value the preceding paragraphs may have, they are by and large

irrelevant. From biblical and from Lutheran theologicalconfessional perspectives, a congregation’s size and its individual or corporate quirks and characteristics frequently and unfortunately distract both parishioners and pastors from the nature, mission, and life of the church. In cursory manner, the following paragraphs seek to support this assertion.

As Martin Luther states in his exposition of Psalm 51, “The proper subject of theology is the sinful human being, guilty and lost, and the justifying God and saviour of the sinful human being. Whatever is sought or discussed in theology outside this subject is error and poison.”3 In the Smalcald Articles, Luther defines the nature of human sin as “unbelief, false belief, idolatry, mistrust of God, being without fear of God, presumptuousness, despair, blindness,”4 all abundantly present in small desperate churches. In his Large Catechism, Luther explicates how sin as unbelief or false belief functions, “Thus to have a god is nothing other than to trust and believe in him from one’s heart. As I have often said, the trust and the faith of the heart alone make both God and idol (Gott und Abgott). If the faith and trust are right, so is your God right. Conversely, where the trust is false and not right, then that is not the right God. For both belong together, faith and God. That upon which you hang your heart, I say, and entrust it is actually your god.”5 By trusting the serpent’s words rather than God’s word, humanity’s first parents lost both the image and likeness of God, became like the devil himself, and left the rest of humanity to be born in Adam’s image; that is in sin.6 According to Luther, the reality of such depravity cannot be truly conceived or comprehended but is itself a matter of belief.7 In short, a sinner is a sinner in any and every parish no matter how small.

The Augsburg Confession8 is particularly helpful for assessing

and understanding the discouraging circumstances of small churches. Consequent to human sin (Article II), the Son of God entered sinful human reality so “that he would be a sacrifice not only for original sin but also for all other sins and to propitiate God’s wrath” (Article III). Faith in Christ grants forgiveness of sin, righteousness before God, and eternal life “not through our merits, work, or satisfaction” but “out of grace” (Article IV). To obtain such faith, God instituted the office of preaching (Predigtamt), which is giving the gospel and the sacraments, through which the Holy Spirit effects such faith as he wills (Article V). Notably, Luther did not understand this office as the domain of “clergy.”9 Perhaps most importantly, the church as a gathering of believers and its unity are created where the gospel is purely preached and the sacraments are administered according to the gospel (Article VII). Lutherans define that gathering theologically and not numerically. As Christ himself promises, where two or three are gathered in his name, he is there with them (Matthew 18:20). All statistical margins of error aside, two or three believers gathered together unquestionably constitutes an exceedingly small parish.

In Luther’s understanding of the priesthood of all believers, “whoever has crawled out of the water of baptism can boast that he (she) has been consecrated a priest, bishop, and pope, although not everyone is suited to exercise such an office.”10 Thus, in a pinch those so suited, even if not formally or extensively trained, may be called by their fellow priests to exercise the office of proclamation.11 As Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20

Luther

- ESV). Thus, the true church hears and heeds the voice and the call of God (John 10:27-28).12 “The call [vocatio] ... is the word by which our nature, corrupted by the devil and sin, is regenerated.”13 “Therefore, the word is not God’s word because the church says it. Instead, because the word of God is spoken, the church thus comes into being. The church does not make the word, but it is made by the word.”14 “Now, where you hear or see such a word preached, believed, confessed and accordingly lived [done = thun], have no doubt that a true ecclesia sancta catholica, a ‘Christian, holy people’ must certainly be there, even when they are very few; for God’s word does not return empty.”15

Whatever being suited to exercise the office of proclamation in a Lutheran context may fully entail; minimally, yet essentially, such officeholder(s) must capably and confidently wield the word of God properly and proficiently differentiated to address the whole human being theologically before God. The failure to do so is the devil’s work.16

The fundamental, but frequently misunderstood or disregarded theological anthropology of the New Testament understands each believer as composed of both spirit and flesh (see Romans 6:19, John 3:6, and Galatians 5:17). Lutherans frequently refer to this as simul peccator et iustus (simultaneously sinner and justified). According to Luther, “Thus ... the Christian is divided into two times. Insofar as he is flesh, he is under the law; insofar as he is spirit, he is under the gospel.”17 Furthermore, by failing to distinguish the flesh from the spirit and further by having brewed and stewed (gebrewet und gekocht) the two together in the saints, as Luther says, the pope, councils, and bishops have given rise to all manner of factions, idolatry, and fanaticism in the church.18 Unfortunately, many so-called

Lutherans are not immune from making this same fatal mistake. “Therefore, whoever knows well how to discern the gospel from the law should give thanks to God and know himself to be a theologian.”19 As Luther in the Small Catechism reminds, only the gospel calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies both each guilty and lost sinner and the whole of Christianity, and keeps them all in the one, true, justifying faith in their one Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.20 “Therefore, where you hear the gospel being rightly taught or see a person (einen Menschen) being baptized, or the sacrament being administered and received or absolution being spoken, there you can boldly say, ‘Today I have heard and seen God’s word and work; yes, heard and seen God himself preaching and baptizing, etc.’”21 By virtue of his promise granted in his word and in his sacraments, Christ makes himself present to sinful human beings, even where formally there is no parish at all.

Tentmaking Ministry

So, what is a small church to do when it has neither suitable parishioners nor adequate resources to pay a pastor to fulfill the office of proclamation? The luxury of dedicated church buildings and fully paid pastors and staff is unknown in the New Testament. According to Acts 18:3, St. Paul was a tentmaker by trade. Subsequently, “tentmaking ministry” refers to a pastor working a secular job full- or part-time in order to serve struggling congregations. For example, while in the United Kingdom the author worked full-time for Britain’s National Health Service as a clinical specialist health advisor and

So, what is a small church to do when it has neither suitable parishioners nor adequate resources to pay a pastor to fulfill the office of proclamation?

counsellor. While called to Au Gres, Michigan, he taught German I, II, and III in the local high school for a school district whose total student population Kindergarten through twelfth grade was 425 pupils. Perhaps teaching a subject necessary for college admission in a rural school system struggling to attract qualified teachers was a form of tentmaking ministry in reverse. Since serving in the San Diego area, the author has taught aviation weather and aviation law in the missionary aviation department of a small Baptist college.

Tentmaking ministry is both challenging and rewarding. Not everyone is suited for it, and not every tentmaker is suited for every tentmaking situation. With respect to the “proper subject of theology,” however, tentmaking ministry attends to the crux of the Lutheran ecclesial enterprise. Besides serving as a way to keep small churches operating, by design tentmaking ministry keeps a pastor focused intently on the fundamentally verbal and relational nature of biblical and Lutheran confessional theology. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14ESV). The divine word incarnate in a single person manifestly attests to how God himself seeks to speak to all his people in all his parishes no matter how large or how small.

Rev. Dr. Mark D. Menacher is Pastor of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in La Mesa, California

Endnotes:

1Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who (New York: Random House Inc., 1954, renewed 1982).

2For readers interested in a more researched approach, the author highly recommends Gary Gilley’s This Little Church Went to Market (Webster, NY: Evangelical Press USA, 2005) and its subsequent book This Little Church Stayed Home (Webster, NY: Evangelical Press USA, 2006). Though theologically and denominationally different, Gilley’s analyses are not without merit in relation to the author’s perspective on small churches.

3“Nam Theologiae proprium subiectum est homo peccati reus ac perditus et Deus iustificans ac salvator hominis peccatoris. Quicquid extra hoc subiectum in Theologia quaeritur aut disputatur, est error et venenum.” See D. Martin Luthers Werke - Kritische Gesammtausgabe (Weimar: Hermann Böhlau, 1883-), 40, 2: 327, 11-329, 2, especially 328, 17-19 [hereafter WA]. Unless otherwise stated, translations are the author's. Corresponding references to the same where existent are cited from Luther's Works, American Edition, 55 vols., J. Pelikan and H. Lehmann, eds. (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House and Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1955), 12: 311 [hereafter LW].

4Die Bekenntnisschriften der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche, 12th edition (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998), 434 (hereafter BSLK). Unless otherwise stated, translations are the author's. Corresponding references to the same are from Theodore G. Tappert, ed. and trans., The Book of Concord - The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 302 (hereafter Tappert, BoC).

5BSLK, 560 = Tappert, BoC, 365.

6WA 42: 166,28-30; 208,5-8; 248,9-250,7 = LW 1: 223, 281, 338-340.

7BSLK, 434 = Tappert, BoC, 302.

8BSLK, 53-61 = Tappert, BoC, 29-32.

9In relation to Article V, both the BSLK (58 note 1) and Tappert’s BoC (31 note 4) cite that Luther understood this office “nicht klerical” or “in other than clerical terms,” respectively. The KolkWengert version of the Book of Concord omits this note to Article V by design.

10WA 6: 408,11-13 = LW 44: 129.

11WA 11: 411,22-412,4 = LW 39:309.

12“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28 - ESV).

13WA 43: 387,42–388,9; especially 388,8-9 = LW 4: 349. See also WA 50: 644,12–29 = LW 41: 167–68.

14WA 8: 491,33–35 = LW 36: 144-145.

15WA 50: 629,28–31 = LW 41: 150.

16Luther writes, “I must continually pound in and wedge in, drive in and bring in such difference between these two kingdoms even though it is written and said so often as to be vexing. The annoying devil never ceases to stew and brew [kochen und brewen] the two kingdoms in one another. In the devil's name, the secular leaders always want to teach and master Christ, how he should lead his church and spiritual government. Likewise, though not in God's name, the false parsons and sectarian mobs always want to teach and master how one shall organize secular government. The devil is thus very busy on both sides and has much to do” (WA 51: 239,22–30; LW 13: 194–95).

17WA 40,1: 526,21-22 = LW 26: 342.

18WA 46: 789,16–27 = LW 22: 274.

19WA 40,1: 207,17–18 = LW 26: 115.

20BSLK, 511-512 = Tappert, BoC, 345.

21WA 45: 521,34-37 = LW 24: 67.

CONCENTRATING ON WHAT A RURAL CHURCH CAN DO

Steven King

I grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a typical suburban boy in what was a very large Lutheran congregation (at the time). One might say it was a “successful” congregation that had served as an anchor of faith in that part of town. My confirmation class had 50+ students in each grade level, bringing together youth from many different school districts. There was very little overlap between the kids I knew from church and those I knew from school. Truth be told, I can’t say that I knew many fellow congregation members at all – whether adults or other youth.

Flash-forward to my time in seminary when I was assigned to serve my internship in the city of Milwaukee. I remember at the time wondering if I was going to like being part of such a “small” congregation, being so different from the congregation I grew up in. I did not know at the time that comparatively speaking, my internship church was still a fairly large congregation, with multiple paid staff members.

As I drew near to graduation, I was fortunate to have my home congregation in St. Paul interested in calling me as an associate pastor. Everything was lined up for graduation and ordination. Then one day, I was talking to a seminary friend on

the phone when he happened to mention that he had been up at the administrative office. He said, “I see you changed your mind.” Little did I know that the synodical assignments had just been posted, and I had been assigned to the rural Southwestern Minnesota Synod. My subsequent call to a two-point opencountry rural parish was my first experience in small church ministry.

My wife and I, along with our newborn baby, moved into a church-owned parsonage in a town of seventy people, which was little more than a grain elevator surrounded by two streets of homes and a small church. The bigger of the two churches I served was in the middle of a cornfield, accessed by a thin gravel road (“turn where the old schoolhouse used to be”).

I look back now and smile at some of the humorous moments and misunderstandings I encountered as a “fish-out-ofwater.”

A large part of my introduction to rural church ministry was the culture shock we experienced moving to an environment very different from what we knew, where the distance between places always seemed five to ten times farther than it ought to be. I look back now and smile at some of the humorous moments and misunderstandings I encountered as a “fish-out-of-water.” These stories could fill a whole essay in themselves. But more to the point, I learned very quickly how small church ministry was different from anything I had known before.

A Dejection in Morale

On a pastoral level, one of the first things I noticed within the

congregation and community was what I would describe as a pervasive lack of morale. The Farm Crisis of the 1980’s had taken its toll on many agricultural communities.1 Many formerly family-owned and -operated homestead properties had been bought up by large companies in the years prior, not only leaving many without an inheritance to pass on to their children, but also forcing the next generation to move to the cities to find work. By the time I arrived, nearly every family had lost most of their young people, with little hope for their return. There was a general lack of hope and optimism, which often expressed itself in a sense of personal failure – even though the prevailing circumstances had been totally beyond their control.

This carried over to the church as well. It was very hard to talk about the present life of the congregation without reference to “the way things used to be.” It was as if people held two contradicting opinions at the same time: they would simultaneously deny what had been lost, and yet still cling to the false hope of restoring what no longer existed. In doing so, many members often overlooked what the ministry was (and could be) in the present, resigned only to a future of decline.

This situation required an intentional application of pastoral care. As much as I wanted to move forward and set myself to the many tasks of ministry I hoped to accomplish, I had to bear in mind that people had been through a time of trauma (no less than what would be caused by the destruction of a tornado or the diagnosis of a terminal illness). It called for much listening to personal stories of pain, and for a divine Word of promise that was greater than the struggles of circumstance and the hopelessness of a clearly fallen world. That had to be the premise I started with, and had compassion

for, even though my natural inclination was to prove myself, since “being a successful pastor” occupied most of my thoughts.

Sometimes, for me, this was a simple matter of learning to stop and look up from the computer when someone stopped by the office or called on the phone. I confess with some shame that it was hard for me deal with such “interruptions” when I was in the middle of trying to do my pastor’s job. Didn’t these people know I had work to do?

The truth was, I had set quite the agenda for myself. I had come through the door running, with a schedule of multiple Bible studies, weekly preaching, monthly visitation of all homebound members, restarting and leading a youth group, teaching confirmation, and putting things back into order that had gone by the wayside. I was applying all I knew about church growth and intentional discipleship.

The truth was that I, too, had quickly become enraptured by the idea of bringing back “the way things used to be.” My former experience in large Program Churches was the goal I tried to recreate, and I focused much of my time making that happen. I did things in the parish that had not been done in years; I developed and organized new programs that were endorsed by the most recent articles on effective ministry. And I can say that the wave of activity I brought to my pastoral role did have many positive results. But looking back, I now sometimes wonder if those results were more for my own benefit than anything else, to show that we could be just as

But looking back, I now sometimes wonder if those results were more for my own benefit than anything else, to show that we could be just as successful as those big city congregations.

successful as those big city congregations.

It took me some time to understand and see the people as the ministry to which I had been called, not the programs and activities, not the growth in numbers for numbers sake, not just counting heads but engaging with people’s lives. That revelation did eventually come, but I wish I had learned that sooner in my career. I see things a little differently now.

Discipleship in Practice

In recent years, seeing the emphasis in the broader Church on discipleship and renewal in congregations, I have somewhat of a mixed reaction. I’ve always had a passion for evangelism and church growth. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of being involved on a number of occasions in church planting and development and had the honor of leading a small-town mission congregation from its humble beginnings to becoming an active and thriving congregation. I have also emphasized teaching ministry and developing strong educational programs in the churches I’ve served. In many ways, these are at the heart of what I believe discipleship is all about.

But sometimes, in contemporary conversations, too often I feel like what is promoted is often programs for programs’ sake. We work in order to say that we’ve done it; we’ve put in the effort to be successful Christians or successful congregations – as if that itself is our goal and purpose. When it comes to discipleship and renewal in small or rural churches, sometimes I wonder if we are really asking: “How do we make small churches operate like big churches?” Or perhaps, “How do we make rural,

country churches more like those growing churches in the suburbs?”

With a strong desire to promote discipleship training among our own churches in recent years, I found it odd that my denomination’s discipleship team was made up almost entirely of leaders from the largest congregations (their congregations are big, so they must know what they’re doing). But for some reason, the same discipleship program did not seem to function as well in the small or rural churches that needed it the most (which are 90% of our congregations as a whole).

I can’t help but wonder if we are trying to put square pegs into round holes, because we are simply more impressed by squares, and do not truly appreciate what it is like to be round. Perhaps it is just a “bigger is better” mentality, or the illusion that more activity means more importance -- or more value -- in a spiritual sense. Maybe we have been led to believe that serious discipleship is about creating busy church members, obediently carrying out their assigned ministry tasks.

As a pastor who now, in addition to my full-time job, currently preaches on a week-by-week basis to a congregation of less than ten people in worship, I see many of the same false expectations and illusions that I saw early in my career. I see people with good and faithful hearts, longing for what once was and never will be again. I see people given a false expectation of what they should be, or what they could be if they just worked a little harder. I see people who wonder whether they would be more successful if they

I see people who wonder whether they would be more successful if they changed the name on the sign from “Lutheran” to “Community” Church.

changed the name on the sign from “Lutheran” to “Community” Church -- like all the other churches in the area. They wonder maybe if we “hired a band” to play on Sunday mornings, people would start flocking into the church (after all, something like that happened in the movie “Sister Act”).

I acknowledge that there are certainly places where changes to “business as usual” could serve a good purpose in a congregation and work to great effect. These initiatives can encourage and inspire people to grow in the way they participate in their church and spread the love of Christ in their communities. But I believe that genuine faith cannot be measured in the way that the things of this world are measured. I believe that on judgement day, the blessed will be surprised by the impact of those humble moments of ministry that did not seem impressive to others. They will ask, “Lord, when did we …”2 and He will answer, “You did it for me.”

The Blessing of Simplicity and the Wisdom of Age

Having served the church in rural areas my whole career, among many small and multiple-point congregations (with most of my colleagues serving in similar circumstances), I have come to have a great respect for small town and country churches, and for the people that are a part of them. I have seen great faith among those who seem to others to be small and weak, insignificant or backward, those who are dismissed by the allegedly more successful.

As a “voting member” at several former churchwide conventions, I’ve witnessed the difference between the general theology and piety of those from predominately rural synods as

opposed to those in urban and suburban settings. I have been especially impressed that it was often the down-to-earth laity from farming communities who fought for biblical and confessional integrity, in spite of pressure from their pastors and bishops to do otherwise. Indeed, I am grateful for where God led me, and for the people I’ve served among in ministry.

Perhaps some might say I have developed a new bias over the years on behalf of small rural churches, very different from what I had when I first entered ministry. Perhaps that makes me partial; I’m sure God will be the judge of that. However, I know where my heart is.

Not knowing what others may write for this issue on the topic of ministry in Small and Rural Churches, I am confident that other authors will have much better and more practical advice than I can give at this point in my ministry. But I wanted to raise at least a word of caution. It is easy to look for the silver bullet that will turn things around for congregations that appear to be insignificant or ineffective. But I have found that much of what passes for discipleship is idolatry, worshiping at the feet of what the world considers successful ministry.

I have been especially impressed that it was often the down-toearth laity from farming communities who fought for biblical and confessional integrity, in spite of pressure from their pastors and bishops to do otherwise.

With the limitations faced by many congregations, which they themselves often inaccurately perceive as “failure,” I pray that small congregations would not fall victim to unrealistic pressures and expectations to be something they are not. I hope we can avoid the temptation to measure “success” according to numbers

and activity, seemingly for its own sake, at the expense of ministry to people as they are. My hope for the Church is that activity and programs aren’t just an easy substitute for depth of faith.

Expectations vs. Experience

So what would I recommend, especially for the small churches? What would I say to the older churches that are simply not what they once were, and probably will never be? What about the churches in areas where the surrounding population is not increasing? What can we say to congregations that do not seem attractive to the modern church-shopping audience?

First of all, I would say, “Value the people you already have; value the people that are there.” Recognize who they are and get to know them. Be ready to minister to those who come to you, instead of evaluating people based on activity or current membership status. If you are the pastor, be organized with names and contact information, and try to learn who people are. Visit them in their homes and encouraged them to visit their fellow church members as well. Dust off that old membership list or go through the trouble to painstakingly recreate one yourself from random sources hidden in file cabinets.

In the church I currently serve, I had one request when I agreed to serve as their indefinitely-available-weekly-supplypastor. I asked that they would provide me with a contact list of all the people connected to the congregation, either presently or in the past. I never received one. So, like Gandalf in the bowels of the record-chamber of Minas Tirith, I had to compile my own

list from ancient manuscripts.

This often meant talking to the people who know the other people. The stereotype of small communities is that everyone knows everybody else. Whether or not that may be true, try to find that one person who’s in everyone else’s business - you know who I’m talking about - the one who has the local police scanner turned on 24/7 and then ask that person about what’s happening with people in the community.

Draw upon the many overlapping networks of relatives and neighbors. Find out those who used to be connected with the church but are no longer -- remembering the fact that there are reasons why people are no longer connected, and that these people may no longer get along with the people who are connected.

Treat inactive members as real members. If they don’t come to church, go to them.

Treat inactive members as real members. If they don’t come to church, go to them. Do this not to get something out of them, as if you might magically transform them into active church members, but with the attitude that you are called by God to minister to them. Meet people in their needs.

The Importance of Funerals

In small communities, especially those with older people, funerals and burials are an important but often underestimated ministry of the church. I realize that pastors have differing views in such matters, but I have always tried to make myself available to preside at member and non-member funerals alike. I am well aware of the burden and time constraints this requires, and local circumstances will differ, but many some cases I have found that

this was the only way that I was able to make a connection with people outside the congregation. It is an evangelism opportunity – not necessarily for adding members to the roster of the church, but for reaching out with the promise of Christ.

But in one of my parishes, I found out that making the church available for funerals wasn’t going to be easy. This is because people were routinely denied burial in the church cemetery based on the Cemetery Committee’s strict observance of membership requirements spelled out in the church constitution.3 (I found this strange given that, as pastor, I was provided with neither a membership list nor a copy of the church constitution.) Again, I acknowledge that local conditions differ and that congregations have different policies in such matters. However, in terms of evangelism and discipleship, I could see that funerals were one way our small congregation could minister in the present to inactive and former members from the past. That little congregation might not be able to have a large youth group or a praise band, but they were able to care for people in grief. And that is a ministry we all can do.

Much of this encouragement I address regularly in preaching and teaching, as relevant Scripture texts present themselves. Instead of talking about what our congregation used to do, I strive to lean on God’s promise of what we can do. I will admit, in the years I have served my current congregation, I have instituted no new programs; I have created no new committees or groups. To some that may look like I have little interest in discipleship or faith renewal.

But we do worship regularly, regardless of how many or how few show up. I often preach on topics submitted to me directly by people of the congregation (letting them know in advance

when their question will be addressed). I have led online Bible studies, which are not only open to the public, but have included a full half of my congregation on a weekly basis! (Don’t be impressed, you can count that many on your fingers.)

To put it more succinctly, I believe the key to small church ministry and renewal is a genuine focus on Word and Sacrament ministry,4 rather than on programs and special emphases -- even those labelled with the term “discipleship.” I believe in focusing on the people of the congregation and what they can do, rather than what they used to do in the past, or what the measure of worldly success suggests they ought to do to ensure their future. I want us to be the candle that burns brightly, even if there is not much wax left in the candle holder.

The truth is, among the few that still gather here from week to week, I have seen people who have clearly grown in their faith in the time I have known them. I have seen people who have responded to God’s Word and have expressed a deeper understanding of who Christ is and what he has done for them. I have seen people look differently at their neighbors and those outside the church than they once did. I have seen these same few people embrace with love and care those whom we were told did not deserve it. To me, that is genuine discipleship. That is renewal.

I believe in focusing on the people of the congregation and what they can do, rather than what they used to do in the past, or what the measure of worldly success suggests they ought to do to ensure their future.

The Rev. Dr. Steven E. King is the managing editor of Sola Publishing.

Endnotes:

1Iowa Public Television: “1980s Farm Crisis,” 26 Mar 2017, http://site.iptv.org/mtom/classroom/module/13999/farm-crisis.

2Matthew 25:37-39

3Minimum requirements for membership often include attendance, giving, and participation in the sacraments to determine voting rights, etc. But these are not restrictions on those to whom a congregation is allowed to minister. Note: NALC Model Constitution, Section 8.05 e. “removal from the roll due to inactivity as defined in the bylaws. Such persons who have been removed from the roll of members shall remain persons for whom the Church has a continuing pastoral concern.”

4Augsburg Confession, Article V

BIG HOPES FOR SMALL CHURCHES: WAYS IN WHICH THE LORD EXPANDS HIS KINGDOM THROUGH SMALL COMMUNITIES

Brett Jenkins

In my time as Dean of the Atlantic Mission District of the North American Lutheran Church, I had the chance to meet many wonderful people serving our Lord in contexts and conditions that would never make the front page of Christianity Today or the websites of the church consultants who have of late become so prominent on the American religious landscape. These are fantastic disciples of Christ, deeply invested in their local churches, solid in their Biblical and creedal commitments, and eloquent about their desire to see their churches grow by reaching their neighbors for Christ. They are also—often—disheartened by their apparent lack of progress on that front, feeling under-resourced, and to put it plainly, exhausted by the often-Herculean efforts they were

putting in as part of the 20% of “doers” infamously so-described by “the Peter principle.”

America is, depending upon your point of view, famously or infamously capitalist, and the logic of the free market creates unfortunate ways of thinking that are completely inappropriate when applied to religion, whose objective is connection with a higher order of being than that on offer in the marketplace, whether the controlling principle of that market be Adam Smith’s invisible hand or the central planning committee of a never-quite-achieved socialist utopia.

This is even more so when the religion in question is Christianity, whose founder and object of faith declared Himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life,” who not only excoriated people, but drove them from the Jerusalem temple for the sin of turning His father’s house into a den of thieves. Still, this has not kept sometimes self-described religious entrepreneurs from Charles Finney to the Reverend Billy Sunday to Joel Osteen from employing everything from carnival barker’s tricks to sophisticated modern multi-million dollar marketing programs to figure out what sells religiously and use that knowledge to fill up revival tents, stadiums, and churches patterned more after Broadway and movie theaters than ancient temples, cathedrals, basilicas, or even synagogues and Anabaptist meeting houses.

Being surrounded by recently-planted churches modeled along such lines, or even looking at more traditional churches with larger congregations, more children, and the luxury of staff dedicated to differing ministry specialties, many of the wonderful people I met throughout my mission region feel frustrated if not downright depressed by the prospects of the little churches they

Adam Smith

love so much. They feel like the owners of the family-run hardware store that has just heard that a Lowe’s was moving in at the edge of town. While they love the Lord, they can’t imagine how or what God could do that would allow them to “compete” in the American religious marketplace.

A Failure of Imagination

Having seen the famous scene in A Miracle on 34th Street when an avuncular Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle coaches a youthful Natalie Wood in the art of “imagination,” many Americans associate the term with fantasy and escapism. This is unfortunate, because imagination is the mind’s tool for considering possibilities before committing oneself to them. Imagination is the key reason some cultures are famous for industries that engage in R&D—research and development—while others are known for a very different kind of R&D reverse engineering and development. Imagination is a way of exploring a foreign land without committing oneself prematurely to its actual geography, thinking through the possible challenges and promises that the land might hold. This is nowhere more true than in that most foreign of all lands, the one called “the future.”

I would argue that most attempts to revitalize the ministries of small and rural congregations, while engaged in with great intentions and effort, steer more often into fantasy than they do

A Miracle on 34th Street

into an imagining of the future ahead informed by both experience and knowledge of God’s Word. Either well-meaning churchmen and women simply try to do better what they have always done, or in frustration that the tried-and-true does not seem to be working any more, they seek to reverse-engineer and imitate the ministry strategies of the seemingly-successful big box evangelical church down the road. They are either trying to reverse-engineer their own past or their neighbors’ present. What both approaches have in common is a lack of imagination. But, if church leaders start exercising their imaginations in the context of small church ministry, they will soon discover a small but dedicated coterie of researchers who have specialized in helping such churches which, by the way, form the majority of American Christian communities.1 While scholarly studies of such congregations tend be descriptive in character, the professional literature, with its focus on application in ministry, tends toward the prescriptive, rooted in what my anthropologist wife would recognize as ethnographic analysis. I hope in this article to introduce a more academic seminary audience to the work of some of these authors as well as my own reflections.

Belief in God’s Providence

If capitalistic Darwinism is assumed to be the ubiquitous mechanism of modern American culture, the self-help literature of the aspiring CEO is its training manual and survival guide. It is regularly assumed that organizational management techniques (not to mention fiscal practices) of the business world are easily transposable into the life of the church.

As a consequence, trust in God’s providence as an existential component of faith gets short shrift in most congregations of any size. The focus is rather on resources for ministry and techniques for acquiring and maximizing such resources. Even that language of “resources” betrays the fundamental problem; while it is certainly true that Christians should (in the words of the offertory prayer from the Lutheran Book of Worship) “offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us, ourselves, our time, and our possessions,” such things are not raw material for the Church’s mission but rather the object of it. As Luther so unswervingly points out in his Small Catechism, God the Holy Spirit is the agent in the Church’s mission because He is the anima of the whole Christian experience, no matter what size the congregation. As an explanation of the third article of the Apostles’ Creed, the parent is instructed to remind their children:

I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.2

Note that while business literature focuses on the acquisition,

Lutheran Book of Worship

allocation and management of resources, a properly Christian approach to church life begins and ends in doxology. Doxology is impotent when exercised as a pious fantasy or theological abstraction. We cannot “offer with joy and thanksgiving” anything to God for the transformative purposes of His kingdom if we do not believe sometimes in the face of what expert consultants will tell us. We believe not merely in the universal sense, but here in this place as a concrete expression of what is universally true, that God has called those whom He would have be part of this congregation. He has gathered this group of believers for rejoicing and labor in this particular corner of the universal Christian mission field, enlightened them with the gifts that they need for this season of this congregation’s ministry, and sanctified them for the holy work of celebrating the Sacraments. Here they receive God’s effective Word, reaching people outside the community through Christian witness in order to invite them into these joyful divine realities.

While it is certainly true that there are best practices to be shared and lessons to be learned, without a robust and persistent focus on God’s providence in the preaching, prayer, and catechetical life of the congregation both corporately and individually, church leadership and management literature will simply be what Reneé Girard defined as techné, instrumental techniques ordered to sociological ends, deprived of the animating inner life of the Spirit. The church’s ministry is fundamentally different than what is on offer at the local social, book, or political club.

Reneé Girard

Gratitude for Smallness

It may help the small congregation to begin and end its mission by focusing on some of the distinct spiritual advantages they possess precisely because of their smaller size. While the inability to offer the programs, pomp, and charismatic personalities at the center of so many larger churches may seem to be an evangelistic disadvantage when trying to reach a population shaped by the expectations of the marketplace, it must be remembered that not all spiritual seekers are the same. While Baby Boomers lionized worship with high entertainment value and built mega-churches around the personalities of charismatic communicators, a far smaller percentage of Generation Z and Millennials attend church at all, and those who do so actually tend to distrust the smoothly presented façade of such organizations.

Because the decision makers in small churches tend to be Baby Boomers (and increasingly, Gen-X’ers), with the attendant tastes and prejudices typical of those generations, the advantage possessed by the smaller church is all but invisible. That advantage, palpable to younger generations, is authenticity over polished presentation. While no one actually enjoys a poorly presented sermon or out-of-tune choir anthem, if its content is theologically solid and a steady weekly diet of the same is observably forming a congregation for genuine Christian discipleship, those seeking authentic spirituality and spirituallynurturing friendships will be attracted and retained.

That advantage, palpable to younger generations, is authenticity over polished presentation.

Missiologists with a Homefield Advantage

Because authenticity is the watchword for those a smaller church is likely to attract, knowledge of and connection to the local community is another prime advantage for the small church. Whereas the big box churches tend to operate from models of ministry intentionally shaped by the most successful churches (read “large” or “growing quickly”), small churches have grown out of the life of local people and consequently, more closely reflect the culture in which they are embedded. In an introductory text on the field, missiologist Gerald D. Wright notes that there are a number of ways to understand the mission of the Church.

“…the late David Bosch in Transforming Mission (1991) demonstrated that the missionary efforts of the church through the centuries have reflected considerable variety with regard to purpose. This variety has ranged from the embodiment of agape to the “Christianizing” of culture to the expansion of Christendom, both in terms of government and orthodoxy. Bosch concluded his impressive survey with a summary of what he called “emerging paradigms,” which further enlarged the potential scope of missions’ purpose, encompassing missions as missio Dei, enculturation, liberation, and ministry by the whole people of God, to name a few. A cursory examination of current texts in missiology reinforces this perception of diversity.”3

This diversity is worth noting because while the style of church

that has seen explosive growth in the North American context over the last five decades is focused on numerical growth (as it turns out, mostly by membership transfer rather than evangelization of non-Christians), most small churches have a more balanced focus to their common life, with explicit outreach efforts balanced against ongoing service in the surrounding community (including justice advocacy), internal spiritual growth through ongoing catechesis, and diligent glorification of God in worship.

While it may seem a bit strange to think of the local congregation’s work as missiological in an American context, in a West that is increasingly acknowledged as being post-Christian in character, it may be wise to do so. Missionaries have always had to invest significant time getting to know their mission field in order for their work to be fruitful. In the post-Christian West, the smaller congregation, with its intimate knowledge of and connection to its local context, has a missiological advantage over its larger neighbors.

Emerging from the COVID-19 epidemic, in 2023 the Surgeon General declared a loneliness epidemic.

Intimacy

“Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name,” went the refrain to the 1980’s sitcom Cheers, and four decades later, the hunger that song articulated is even greater in modern America. Emerging from the COVID-19 epidemic, in 2023 the Surgeon General declared a loneliness epidemic. In the U.S., Gallup has been tracking this data since spring of 2021, when the

roll-out of the first COVID-19 vaccines began.4

The most recent results from the end of summer 2024 were obtained from 6,289 U.S. adults surveyed as part of a probabilitybased panel of about 100,000 adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As summarized by Gallup, “Although progress has been made in reducing loneliness in the U.S. since the pandemic [from 24% down to 20%], a significant number of U.S. adults -- an estimated 52 million, based on Gallup’s current estimate -- still struggle with it.” (emphasis added)

Another poll by Gallup, this one international in scope, further illumines the picture of loneliness by age cohort, with respondents under the age of 30 being the most lonely, with 25% of teens and 27% of twenty-somethings saying they are very/fairly lonely.5

The application of this information for the small church seeking ways forward is obvious; loneliness seems to be endemic to the modern, technophilic condition, but is greatest among the age cohorts that are least likely to regularly attend church. According to the work of Dr. Jean Twenge in her seminal study iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us, these younger age cohorts are also most open to interconnectedness with other age groups, which means that the evangelistic efforts of the local church are best tied to incorporating new people into the overall community as opposed to offering programs tailored to the needs of particular age cohorts. Small church revitalization consultant Kevin Harney refers to this as the gift of being “a belonging before believing culture.” He writes:

One of the greatest things people need is a sense of home, family, belonging. Those who are still far from Jesus and searching for something more often need to be welcomed into the church and embraced before they take that final step of faith. They need to be accepted, loved, valued and embraced as part of the church community, even if they do not yet understand what we believe. They need to be loved by God’s people on their way to loving the Savior. … Small churches are uniquely prepared to create this kind of atmosphere. Christian congregations dot our communities that are loving, gracious, caring families. There are also people all around our communities who are lonely, yearning for belonging and seeking a place where they will be embraced.6

If a small church can attend to its intra-congregational dynamics, ensuring that they are intimate but not exclusive, this can be a great source for renewed energy and commitment within the congregation as well as an attractive element for those coming into contact with the church.

Revitalization or Renewal?

They need to be loved by God’s people on their way to loving the Savior. … Small churches

are

uniquely prepared

to create this kind of atmosphere.

The most common language you come across in the professional literature regarding small church life is that of “revitalization.” This is understandable in light of the statistics.

According to Thom Rainer, one-half of all American congregations have fewer than 70 in worship attendance and around 8,000 churches close annually.7 I do not, however, like this word, as it literally means “to bring back to life,” implying that life is largely absent from the small church in its current incarnation. I do not agree with this, though I am not blinkered to the challenges small congregations face.

I prefer instead the biblical language of “renewal.” At a key rhetorical moment in his letter to the Roman church itself facing profound challenges generated by the dictum of the emperor that temporarily drove half the congregation out of the capital city—Paul writes:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2)8

Though Paul has in view here the individual Christian presenting his or her body to the Lord as an act of sacrificial worship, he has in mind (as he does throughout the letter) the good this will engender for the whole congregation. All Christians and the churches to which they belong are in perpetual need of renewal, for never has the old Adam been wholly drowned in the waters of Baptism, never do sin, death, or the devil take a day off short of the eschaton.

As Paul makes clear, the renewal of the mind comes through the Word of God, but that effective Word is to be used to test one’s circumstances to discover what is the will of God, both for the individual and the community. The small church has the advantage of less institutional momentum and fewer people in making decisions.

This is not to say that in the smaller church there is no momentum to be overcome or intra-personal challenges to be met with both courage and compassion, but if a small church is healthy, such obstacles are not only not insuperable, but they are also easier to tackle than in the more complex systems of large congregations. Of course, if a congregation is not healthy, the work of renewal is even more vital - so renewal is needed, no matter the perceived state of a congregation’s current ministry.

As I conclude this article, I would encourage those still reading to begin their internet searches with the term “revitalization” because it is ubiquitous in the professional literature, but do not believe the lie that term communicates; so long as “the Word is being preached in its purity and the Sacraments administered in accordance with the gospel,” the Holy Spirit of God is already present, animating your smaller congregation. You do not need to be brought back to life; you need renewal, and the Lord in His providence has already given you all the gifts you need for that renewal in His eternal Word, His sustaining Sacraments, and in the imagination to apply that word to changing ministry contexts. His love is incarnate in the love your

The small church has the advantage of less institutional momentum and fewer people in making decisions.

congregation members have for one another, and the thoughts and analyses of other Christians in “the one holy catholic and apostolic church” whose goal it is to help your congregation experience “life, and life more abundant.”

Rev. Brett Jenkins is a pastor of the NALC with degrees from The Pennsylvania State University and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and is completing his D.Min. at the Institute of Lutheran Theology. He is the husband of Dr. Lisa D. Jenkins, the father of Iain and Elizabeth, and the pastor of Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nazareth, PA. When not pastoring, he enjoys building guitars, making music, and writing poetry.

Endnotes:

1According to The Hartford Institute for Religion Research, quoting the 2023 Faith Communities Today Overview, median Sunday congregational attendance in the United States is 60, but this does not tell the whole story. The report estimates that 70% of smaller churches (100 participants or less) draw 14% of all those who attend worship, while 70% of churchgoers attend the largest 10% of all congregations, which average over 250 in regular attendance. See “Fast Facts on American Religion,” Hartford Institute for Religious Research, https://hirr.hartfordinternational.edu/fast-facts-on-american-religion/, https://faithcommunitiestoday.org/, accessed 2/16/2025.

2Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert, The Book of Concord: the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, 2000), 355–356.

3Missiology: An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Missions, ed. John Mark Terry (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2015), 19.

4Mary Page James and Dan Witters, “Daily Loneliness Afflicts One in Five in U S.: Loneliness Rate Edges Up to 20%, Highest Level in Two Years,” Wellbeing, Gallup, October 15, 2024, https://news.gallup.com/poll/651881/daily-loneliness-afflicts-one-five.aspx

5Ellyn Maese, “Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely,” Gallup Blog, October 24, 2023, https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/512618/almost-quarterworld-feels-lonely.aspx

6Kevin Harney, “The Power of Small Church Outreach,” Outreach Magazine, March 14, 2024, https://outreachmagazine.com/features/small-church/45720-the-power-of-small-churchoutreach.html

7Thom Rainer, “5 Signs Small Churches Are Making a Comeback,” Outreach Magazine, July 29, 2019, https://outreachmagazine.com/features/small-church/44909-5-signs-small-churches-aremaking-a-comeback.html

8The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2001).

HOW RURAL CHURCHES CAN FOCUS ON THEIR STRENGTHS

Leah Krotz

I am a fan of the small and the rural. The rural church has been my home for all of the six decades of my life. I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and attended third through eighth grade at a tiny American Lutheran Church (ALC) Christian day school with a total of about seventy students in three classrooms. I had twenty-seven students in my high school graduating class. After university, my husband and I made a conscious choice to return to his small town in Kansas, choosing rural America to raise our children and shape our lives. We belonged to a Lutheran congregation that had been started as a mission church in the 1950s. As lay people, we watched as the congregation declined from around 100 in worship to less than half that by the time we left.

I took classes to become a certified lay minister because of the great need of help for pastors in our rural area. When I eventually attended seminary and entered my second career as an ordained pastor, I felt called to serve small, rural congregations, and that is what I continue to do today.

I’ve seen little country churches eventually succumb to

changing demographics and close their doors. I’ve attended council meetings and heard the lament, “why don’t we have any young people in the pews?” I’ve sat through keynote addresses and webinars touting church growth and thought, “How does any of this pertain to us?” I’ve seen the wistful eyes of elder members who mourn how full the church used to be.

And yet, I’m hopeful for the future of the small rural church, and in this article, I will share some of the reasons why, as well as insights I’ve gleaned from others on how rural churches can focus on their strengths to serve God’s kingdom in their communities, and the world.

Small Churches Are Different

There are many differences between small churches and large ones besides the obvious ones of size and scale. I’d like to highlight a few of them here.

First, small churches and rural churches are often older congregations. Their buildings were sited when the demographics were vastly different than they are currently. “While large congregations make new investments in affluent, up-and-coming areas, small ones more frequently find themselves in economically stagnant areas. With many neighbors in need.”1

I’m hopeful for the future of the small rural church, and in this article, I will share some of the reasons why, as well as insights I’ve gleaned from others on how rural churches can focus on their strengths to serve God’s kingdom in their communities, and the world.

Secondly, small congregations are often served by pastors who

are bi-vocational, part-time, retired from another parish or career, or serving multiple parishes. Pastors in small churches act as a “jacks of all trades,” and they may be the only staff member on the payroll. Because of this, small churches rely heavily on lay leadership and volunteer involvement.

Third, many small churches suffer from a feeling of being “less than.” I once had this conversation with a retired pastor at my son’s church in another state. “Oh, Nebraska,” he said. “I remember getting out of seminary and feeling sorry for the ones who had to go there for their first call.”

He later apologized, but this attitude is far from uncommon, particularly among those who haven’t experienced the many wonderful advantages of life in rural America first-hand. And after years of revolving short-term calls, as pastors stayed only a year or two before moving on to bigger churches and the brighter lights of city parishes, rural churches are often left feeling second-best, a feeling that’s only exacerbated by the church-growth movement.

As an example, Teresa Stuart cites the Effective Church Group website, “The language of size is conflated with ‘success,’ ‘influence,’ ‘excellence’ and ‘effectiveness.’ This logic paints small congregations as stunted, failure-to-thrive places. The site urges readers to re-tweet, ‘Every large church was once a small church,’ with the implication that thank God they got over it, and maybe you can, too.”2

It’s Not as Bad as We Think

The small-town church in which I grew up would be

considered medium-small by today’s standards.3 I remember my dad serving as head usher, and he would comment that it was a bad Sunday if there weren’t 350 people at the worship service, with more than 500 packing the pews and sitting on folding chairs set up the aisles and in the narthex on Christmas Eve.

Many who grew up in the church have that kind of nostalgic view, and it can taint our current perception of how many people our churches are reaching. As a pastor, it can be disheartening to gaze out over rows of empty pews, to find the congregation huddled in the back quarter of a sanctuary built to hold four times as many. As a church member, it’s tempting to remember the “good old days” when Sunday School classrooms were bursting at the seams and arriving late to church meant you might need an usher to help you find a seat.

But in fact, in much of rural America, our population has decreased at a far greater rate than

But in fact, in much of rural America, our population has decreased at a far greater rate than attendance at our churches. For example, Thayer County, Nebraska, where my current congregation is located, had a population of 14,775 in 1910.4 In 2020, the population had shrunk to 5,034.5

attendance at our churches.

The nearest comparative figures I could find show that the congregation had 650 baptized members in 1909, which was 4% of the county’s total population. In 2020, the church had 409 baptized members, which was 8% of the county’s population. So, while there may be fewer people in the pews, we are actually reaching a greater proportion of the population.

Growth in Numbers Isn’t the Goal

American churches sometimes place too much focus on size. Pastors, meeting each other for the first time, describe their churches by saying things like, “We worship about 150 each Sunday,” or “we have 400 members.” And, let’s be honest, we tend to round those numbers up!

The church growth movement has been much touted in recent decades. Mega-churches are lifted up as success stories in their various denominations. Church conferences and denominational gatherings usually feature speakers from large, suburban congregations, who often share programming and mission ideas that are impossible for smaller churches to emulate. Rather than feeling encouraged and strengthened for their calling, pastors of small churches can come home feeling inadequate and overwhelmed.

It’s true that looking at a row of declining numbers in a succession of annual reports can be discouraging, even if those numbers are due to population factors that are out of our control. But numbers don’t tell the full story, and shouldn’t be the primary way we describe, or think of, our congregations. Karl Vaters, author of The Grasshopper Myth and De-Sizing the Church, writes,

Certainly, over the last 2,000 years the church has seen massive numerical increase. In many places today, there are levels of church growth that are astonishing. But historically, every genuine move of God that produced numerical increase was the result of churches trying to honor God by

going deeper, not because they were trying to get bigger.

“Conversely, we all know of far too many examples of pastors and churches whose obsession with growing larger has caused them to compromise on the very principles the church should be standing for. In short, trying to grow doesn’t bring lasting growth. Making disciples does.”6

Our focus should be going deeper, not bigger. In other words, are the members of the congregation, however many there are, reading and studying the Bible? Is prayer at the center of congregational and home life? Are people sharing what Jesus is doing in their lives with their unchurched neighbors, friends, and co-workers? Are members reaching out generously to those in need?

The end goal of discipleship is to get people to act like Jesus did, not to fill the pews or the bank account.

We need to always remember that we are called to make disciples, not members. The end goal of discipleship is to get people to act like Jesus did, not to fill the pews or the bank account.

The Church Is Not a Building

Along with focusing too much on numbers, there are a couple of other pitfalls that small churches must be aware of, in order to avoid them.

Many congregations are rightly proud of their history, the stories of immigrant forebearers who built these lovely buildings with great sacrifice, who overcame hardships to leave a legacy of

faith for their descendants. We care for these historic buildings and cemetery grounds faithfully, as we should.

But we need to be careful not to let our proud history and our buildings and cemeteries become an idol. Our finances, our church council meetings, our focus, should not be primarily on maintaining our structures, but on our mission in the community and the world.

In the words of the old children’s song,

“The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people.”7

Our buildings are a means to serve the gospel, not an end in themselves. We should always be asking ourselves how we can best use this resource to serve our neighbors and reach out to our community. Would one of the Sunday school rooms be a good place for the local AA group to meet? Should our basement be designated as the community tornado shelter? Would our unused parsonage make an excellent preschool? Could the lot next to the church be used for a community garden?

And, if the maintenance of our building is too great a burden, do we need to downsize so that our resources can be used for outreach and mission, rather than utilities and property insurance? It may be that a congregation, freed from maintaining a too-large building, will find new life in a smaller, simpler meeting place. Some congregations have also worked out sharing arrangements with other congregations or been able to use their

building to host a congregation worshipping in another language. There are exciting possibilities, if we remain open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and look at our situation with fresh eyes.

Don’t Try to Be What You’re Not

Another trap that we can fall into is trying to do things the way the big churches do them. We might overburden our volunteers by offering too many programs and events, or be disappointed when we can’t assemble the talent for a worship band. We might try to continue offering the same children’s programs we did forty years ago when we had three times as many helpers available.

A congregation of fifty people might be better served by one or two people leading songs at a microphone, accompanied by someone on keyboard or guitar. A church with eighty members might not be able to pull off an Easter extravaganza with live animals and a full choir, but they can certainly offer an inspiring sunrise service at the cemetery or someone’s creekside property. A small church might choose to offer a one-day Bible camp at the local park rather than a weeklong, full day vacation Bible school.

As we’ll see in the remainder of this article, smaller isn’t lesser, it’s just different. Rural and small churches have unique strengths that can be used to effectively do the work of God’s kingdom.

Interconnectedness Comes Naturally

Small and rural churches have a huge advantage that is a direct result of being small and/or rural—we are naturally relationshipbased.

Small and rural churches have a huge advantage that is a

direct result of being small and/or rural—we are naturally relationship-based. Members of the congregation don’t just see each other on Sunday mornings, they cheer together at the high school football game, bump into each other in the aisles of the grocery store, and serve together on the village board or in the Lion’s Club. People know one another, and because of this interconnectedness, are able to reach out quickly when someone is hurting or needs help. It’s harder for people to fall through the cracks in small communities and churches.

In the same way, visitors and new members can be easily welcomed. The pastor can truly know each and every member, and is able to become a part of their lives. Inter-generational activities happen more naturally in small churches, where everyone worships together and attends church events and Bible studies that aren’t segregated by age or gender. People see one another in multiple roles. Teens might see their pastor refereeing their basketball game or serving as their 4-H leader. The nurse who gives your kids their flu shots might also be their Sunday School teacher and the chair of the library board. Your bank loan officer could also be the person teaching confirmation class and the one flipping burgers at the community picnic.

Because of all of the connections already in place, small rural churches are woven into their communities. They are often one of the largest buildings around and may be a community anchor in the downtown center. They host the Red Cross blood drive, offer their basements for disaster relief efforts, and hold benefit meals for those suffering a medical crisis. When a traveler is passing through and in need of help, they are easy to spot. In many places, their doors are always open to anyone who wishes for a quiet place to pray or reflect.

Scarcity Leads to Creativity

“American religious institutions are facing a crisis: they don't have enough clergy to lead congregations, particularly in rural areas.”8 This headline from a recent NPR “All Things Considered” segment is not news to leaders of small and rural congregations. But some are finding resources from within, either by raising up their own pastors or coming up with creative ways to find pastoral leadership that’s “outside the box” of a full-time, seminary-trained leader for each congregation.

Some congregations have worked out a shared pastorate with one or more nearby congregations. These can range from simply calling an existing community pastor, or they might involve a merger of multiple congregations. Some pastors have been called to a “tent-making” ministry, where they work at another profession as well as pastor a small church. Some pastors retire from ministry or another profession and then are called to a part-time ministry in a church. Some serve a congregation part-time while also working in another ministry role such as writing, teaching, chaplaincy, or consulting. And many congregations are being served by a member of the congregation who saw the need and felt the call to explore pastoral ministry.

Online and blended seminary programs have made it possible for these “home-grown” pastors to receive an excellent education while remaining in service in their congregations and embedded in their communities. In fact, not having a full-time pastor

Many congregations are being served by a member of the congregation who saw the need and felt the call to explore pastoral ministry.

or staff can even be healthy for a small congregation, because it allows room for the lay people of the congregation to explore and use their gifts more fully, whether by stepping up to lead a Bible study, visiting the homebound, or planning worship services. The priesthood of all believers can be beautifully demonstrated in such an arrangement.

The author of Small, Strong Congregations, Kennon L. Callahan, says, “Small, strong congregations have reasonable pastoral resources. The art is to have almost enough in the way of pastoral resources to be helpful, but not so abundant an array of pastoral resources so as to be harmful…. Some congregations learn the syndrome of pastoral dependency. Healthy congregations want just enough of a pastor.”9

Authentic, Participatory Worship

“In countless small, strong congregations across the planet, people find the service of worship to be warm and welcoming. They have the feeling that the service includes them in open, encouraging ways. There is a sense in which there are no strangers in this service of worship. The feeling is that the service is the gathering of a warm, caring family.”10

Small churches may not have professionally trained musicians, worship bands, full choirs, massive pipe organs, or all of latest technological bells and whistles. But this very lack is an advantage in creating worship services that involve and include the community of believers.

In a congregation of fifty worshippers, four might be ushers, two communion assistants, one an acolyte, one a reader, one

playing the keyboard, and one giving the children’s message. In this example, twenty percent of the people there are directly participating in leading the service.

In a small congregation, the preacher can more easily ask for responses during the sermon or encourage worshippers to spontaneously add petitions to the prayers of the people. Sharing the peace can mean that everyone has a chance to greet everyone else. Young people can accompany a hymn on the instrument they’re learning to master or bring forward a noisy offering.11 The goal is to use everyone’s gifts to the glory of God, not to strive for perfection.

Teresa J. Stewart explains that large and small congregations have different aesthetics. Large congregations have a performance aesthetic, which requires teams of experts, high production values, and predictable scripts. “The result is a kind of performative excellence. It works beautifully for big groups. But it comes at a cost: it risks turning worshipers into passive observers!”12

Small churches, on the other hand, have a participation aesthetic, which avoids the need for extensive resources. It allows for the active participation of the congregation and “offers a different kind of excellence: a collaborative creation from the actual contributions of ordinary folks…. When we participate, we are less likely to evaluate execution and more likely to experience belonging.”

Sharing the peace can mean that everyone has a chance to greet everyone else.

One in the Spirit

Ultimately, of course, every congregation, large or small,

urban, suburban, or rural, is part of God’s Church, the whole Christian Church on earth. Small and rural churches are a unique, beautiful, and necessary part of that tapestry, ordained by our Savior to go and make disciples of all nations. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit strengthen and encourage all of us, no matter the size of our church, to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (ESV)13

Rev. Leah Fintel Krotz is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, LCMC, in Bruning, Nebraska. She received her undergrad degree from the University of Nebraska and her M.Div. from St. Paul Lutheran Seminary. She and her husband, Rick are the fifth generation to live on their family farm and love spending time with their children and grandchildren. She also serves as an ambassador for Hope 4 Kids International.

Endnotes:

1Teresa J. Stewart, The Small Church Advantage: Seven Powerful Worship Practices That Work Best in Small Settings (Knoxville, TN: Market Square Books, 2023), 14.

2Ibid, 17.

3Sam Rainer, “The New Mid-Size Church Advantages,” Church Answers, September 9, 2024. https://churchanswers.com/blog/the-new-mid-size-church-advantages/.

4David Drozd and Jerry Deichert, “Nebraska Historical Populations Quick Reference Tables,” Nebraska Historical Populations Quick Reference Table, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/center-for-publicaffairs-research/documents/nebraska-historical-population-report-2018.pdf.

5U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: United States, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045224.

6Karl Vaters, “Shouldn’t Every Church Try to Grow? (The Quick Answer Is ‘No’),” KarlVaters.com, January 27, 2025, https://karlvaters.com/try-to-grow/.

7Donald S. Marsh and Richard K. Avery, “We Are the Church,” Hope Publishing Company, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw4145.aspx.

8Nina Keck, “Churches in America Are Having a Hard Time Finding Pastors,” NPR, November 25, 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/11/25/nx-s1-5193755/churches-in-america-are-having-a-hardtime-finding-pastors.

9Kennon L. Callahan, Small, Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths and Health for Your Congregation (Jossey-Bass, 2000), 146.

10Ibid., 158.

11A noisy offering is when the congregation's children collect loose change (or quiet bills) in tin buckets, trying to make as much noise as possible! They then pour their offerings into a big bucket held by the pastor and we pray over the offering. We have a noisy offering once a month for a special project. Right now, we're raising money for Water 4 Kids International. Our children love doing this!

12Stewart, 28.

13The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).

BOOK REVIEWS

Curtis, Heath R. The Small Town Church and Pastor: A Concise Pastoral Theology for Pastors and Elders. Middletown, Delaware: Self Published, 2024.

In 1985, John Mellencamp released the now classic hit, “Small Town,” which reflected upon his upbringing in rural Indiana. Here are two of its verses….

All my friends are so small town

My parents live in the same small town

My job is so small town

Provides little opportunity

Educated in a small town

Taught to fear Jesus in a small town

Used to daydream in that small town

Another boring romantic, that's me1

In this song, Mellencamp describes the joys and struggles of living in a rural town, a place where faith is a way of life, family roots run deep, deep friendships are made, but also where opportunities to achieve dreams are often few and far between.

Heath Curtis, a Lutheran pastor and currently president of the Southern Illinois District of the LCMS, reflects upon his

John Mellencamp

ministry serving in small towns that are very similar to the one Mellencamp sings about. In this terse volume, Curtis shares his love for rural America and the joy of raising children in a small town, and then he provides useful strategies for building a successful small and/or rural church.

He starts with the statistics: over two-thirds of the congregations in the LCMS are under 100 in weekly worship attendance. That means that most pastors will spend at least some of their ministry in a small church. And according to Curtis, those churches often suffer from four main problems: declining and older membership, strained finances, the lack of volunteers, and inactive members.

How does one tackle these formidable issues? Let’s start with declining and older membership. Curtis writes, “What your people need most is a pep talk: This is happening to everybody! It’s not a problem unique to our congregation or Synod. It’s all over America (and the world). We’re not a bad church or a bad people or a bad pastor. This is bigger than us, but we can get through it together under God’s grace” (p. 7).

What your people need most is a pep talk.

But what to do next? Curtis finds that denominations that have the greatest identity in the minds of their members have the best ability to retain those members. So, he suggests building discipleship grounded in our Lutheran identity, and this means celebrating days of Christian formation: such as baptisms, the first day of Sunday school or confirmation class, etc. He has also created a family devotion booklet which he hands out at “Back to School Sunday” which he feels has been crucial in building Lutheran identity in his parish (he will even email you the digital

file of the devotion book for free).

What about finances? This is a difficult subject, but Curtis believes that we can’t ignore what the Bible has said about giving, and this subject is also in the Table of Duties in Luther’s Small Catechism. So, it is our responsibility to share God’s Word concerning stewardship with our parish members. Curtis has authored a book entitled Stewardship Under the Cross2 and coauthored another book entitled Stewardship for the Care of Souls. 3 In both these resources, he describes how he learned to preach stewardship through the lectionary readings. He also believes that transparency is vital, because when a congregation learns that there is a genuine financial need, they will step up to the challenge. Another suggestion is sharing resources with other congregations, such as secretaries, pastors, or facilities to save money.

How about the challenge of finding enough volunteers? Curtis notes that previous generations volunteered naturally, in groups like the Lutheran Layman’s League, the YMCA, and the bowling team. But church members today (for whatever reason) are reticent to make a long-term volunteer commitment. But perhaps these roles can be shared? For instance, Curtis suggests holding a Sunday School training, and then allowing volunteers to sign up online for the Sundays they can serve as teachers.

What about inactive members? This is a tough one. Curtis estimates that most people on the rolls of a rural church rarely attend. To make matters worse, there is no easy way to get them back. But according to Curtis, removing them from the member rolls isn’t the answer since it cuts them off forever. He suggests communicating with inactive members regularly to keep a

connection, inviting them to events often, and being ready to minister to them should they seek to reengage.

But perhaps the most interesting part of this book concerns simply how to be a pastor in a small/rural environment. One of the things country people do best is wear different hats. The local business owner may also be the mayor and a member of the volunteer fire department. So, a pastor needs to have responsibilities and even hobbies outside the church if he/she wants to be recognized as competent. Curtis warns, “for the love of all things holy: don’t just tell your elders that your only hobbies are reading and studying theology!” (p.17). It is also important to be recognized as hard-working by your church members. Pastors should maximize the time that they interact with members during the week.

Curtis also stresses outreach in the community. He writes, “It’s good for the small-town pastor to get to know his community leadership: the mayor, the city council or town board, the banker, the fire chief, the cop or sheriff’s deputy that patrols town, etc.” He also suggests finding out where the “elders in the gates” meet. This is the group of retired guys that meet in just about every small town and can be a source of invaluable knowledge of the history of the town as well as what is currently happening in the community (p. 26).

For the love of all things holy: don’t just tell your elders that your only hobbies are reading and studying theology!

Overall, Curtis has provided a very practical resource for maximizing success in the small and rural parish. One of the best things Curtis has done pastorally is add a Wednesday divine service. This worship opportunity has allowed so many families

who have sports commitments on the weekend to hear the Word preached and receive the sacrament. An added bonus in the book is the “Frau Pastor” section written by Heath’s wife Rebekah. She advises pastors’ wives to stay off the church council, and to “keep your hobby horse in your own playroom,” that is – don’t get involved in the minutia of church business, just stay in your lane.

Vaters, Karl. Small Church Essentials. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2018.

In 1954, Dr. Seuss published his classic children’s book, Horton Hears a Who, the story of an elephant who hears a very soft voice. The voice belongs to the mayor of a tiny city that resides on a small speck of dust. Understanding that hundreds of lives are at risk in this vulnerable situation, Horton is determined to protect them. “After all, a person’s a person no matter how small.”4 So the elephant places the dust speck on a clover, and spends the rest of the book defending the tiny town from other jungle animals who think Horton’s Whoville is all in his head. They want to throw that clover into a pot of beezle-nut stew!

To convince the other animals of the town’s existence, Horton orders the entire community to make some noise. And so they “rattled tin kettles! They beat on brass pans,/On garbage pail tops and old cranberry cans!/ They blew on bazookas and blasted great toots/On clarinets, oompahs and boom-pahs and flutes.”5

And yet, it still wasn’t loud enough for the other animals to hear them! But then they found the one little shirker in town who wasn’t doing anything. So the mayor put him on the top of the “Eiffelberg Tower,” and there he screamed a single “yopp.” “And that Yopp…That one small extra Yopp put it over/Finally at last! From that speck on that clover/Their voices were heard! They rang out clear and clean./And the elephant smiled, ‘Do you see what I mean?.../They’ve proved they ARE persons, no matter how small/And their whole world was saved by the Smallest of All!’”6

Now I don’t know about you, but as a small and rural church

pastor I sometimes feel like the mayor of a dust speck who is derided by others. Every time I am asked how many people are in my church, I cringe. Because this is the question that people in large churches ask to quickly demonstrate that their church is a lot bigger, and therefore a lot better, than yours. But is that true? Are small churches just failed projects that should be thrown into a pot of beezle-nut stew? Or is a church a church, no matter how small? This is the question that Karl Vater attempts to answer in his game-changing book.

Vaters begins with some statistics. Almost every pastor will lead a small church at least once in his/her career, and most pastors will never lead a congregation with an average attendance larger than 250 people. If that is the case, then nearly every pastor can benefit by understanding the dynamics of small church life.

Furthermore, small churches accomplish more for the kingdom of God. Quoting church planter Neil Cole, Vaters notes that “ten smaller churches of 100 people will accomplish much more than one church of 1000” (p. 90).

One of the first things to understand is that the priorities of large and small churches are different. “Big churches need to prioritize vision, process, and programs, while small churches need to prioritize relationships, culture and history” (p.61). This is because large and small churches act differently. Vaters writes, “the constant restating of a vision, while essential and empowering in a big church, can feel patronizing and manipulative in a small church” (p. 63). And that means building personal relationships, creating a unique culture (guiding

Every time I am asked how many people are in my church, I cringe. Because this is the question that people in large churches ask to quickly demonstrate that their church is a lot bigger, and therefore a lot better, than yours.

principles), and emphasizing the history of the church (think Luther and the reformers) are all crucial components for success in a small congregation.

One of the most eye-opening parts of this book is his “Ingredients for a Big Church.” These ingredients include: the gift of raising funds, years of relentless work to find land and buildings, highly complex administrative and delegation skills, and supervising architects, designers and contractors. His point is that most pastors don’t have these skills, or if they do, they have no interest in doing these things. Maybe a smaller church fits the skills sets of those called to ministry better?

Perhaps pastors would be better served by concentrating on the basics: leading by example and with integrity, listening, thanking those who serve, building a culture of change, etc. In Vater’s Acts 2 model, the pastor’s role is to be the spokesperson to a congregation that already has received the Holy Spirit. So the pastor’s job isn’t to push his vision on the people, rather his job is to speak for the people who have already been filled by the spirit. Vaters writes, “A careful reading of Acts 2:42-47 shows the early church didn’t make bigger and better their business. Instead, they focused on five priorities: worship, prayer, evangelism, learning and loving” (p. 81). So, it ain’t rocket science – the ingredients for a healthy church include loving and worshipping Jesus; and then loving, serving, and making disciples of others (p. 86). Keeping these things as the main things is vital. A small church can be a healthy church, but that doesn’t

“Ingredients for a Big Church” include: the gift of raising funds, years of relentless work to find land and buildings, highly complex administrative and delegation skills, and supervising architects, designers and contractors.

mean they all are - many are just stuck and unable to grow. This might be because the church is inefficient (no website, poor floor plan), exclusive, frozen in time, or out of any connection with the surrounding community.

Another problem is that small churches attract control freaks. Vater suggests dealing with problems before the controlling person does. But ultimately, dysfunctional churches need a lot of pastoral attention and a lot of love.

Another must is outreach, what Vaters calls “emptying out.” He thinks we do a lot of “filling up,” worship, fellowship and discipleship,” but we aren’t as good with “emptying out,” which includes discipleship also, but also ministry and evangelism. Perhaps asking what your church does well and then emphasizing that is the ticket. Or finding a need in the community and filling it?

Vaters also advocates the “Closet Rule,” which is “don’t add a new ministry until you’ve dropped an old ministry. Or until your closet grows” (p. 120). That means making hard decisions about what ministries to keep. But adding an endless list of new ones isn’t the answer. When thinking about existing ministries, Vaters suggests three options: renew it, replace it, or say goodbye to it.

Another revelation from this book comes in the area of small groups. Think you need small groups to grow? Well, if you have a small church, it already is a small group. Small groups are for big churches that need to build relationships, but small churches already have those strong relationships. So why not skip the small group and instead start ministry teams that can give your members a sense of purpose, like maybe mentoring new members?

I had to laugh when Vaters wrote this about mission statements, “If your church doesn’t have a mission/vision

statement or you have one but no one has thought about it since it was filed away in 1977, you don’t need to call an emergency vision-casting meeting to remind everyone that they need to Know, Grow and Go, Love, Learn & Live or Become fully devoted followers of Jesus” (p.184). Vater writes, “Great mission statements don’t make great churches or fix broken ones; we have to do the mission first. We shouldn’t put anything into words until we’re already putting it into action, because the only real hope that a church will follow through on it is if it’s based on what the church is already doing” (p.184-185).

So, if you’ve felt frustrated doing ministry on a dust speck, stop worrying about what the other animals in the jungle are thinking. Perhaps it’s time to stop asking yourself how you can become a big church and instead ask how you might serve God best with the resources you have right now!

You don’t need to call an emergency vision-casting meeting to remind everyone that they need to Know, Grow and Go, Love, Learn & Live or Become fully devoted followers of Jesus.”

Endnotes:

1John Mellencamp, “Small Town,” Lyric Genius, Nov. 2, 1985, https://genius.com/Johnmellencamp-small-town-lyrics

2Heath R. Curtis. Stewardship Under the Cross: Stewardship for the Confessional Lutheran Parish (Self Published, 2011). A pdf of this resource is available for free at lcms.org/stewardship.

3Nathan Meador and Heath R. Curtis, Stewardship for the Care of Souls, Lexham Ministry Guides, ed. Harold L. Senkbeil (Bellingham, Washington: Lexham Press, 2021).

4Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who (New York: Random House, 1954), 7.

5Ibid., 50.

5Ibid., 59.

Image Credits

(Pages 1, 3, 110) Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church, Elbe, Washington, Architect: Rev. Karl Killian, Photographer: Steven Pavlov, 6 Sept. 201, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Senapa, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Elbe_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church.jpg

(Page 12) Sign in Hobbes, New Mexico, by Road Travel America from USA - Hobbs New Mexico, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115282153

(Page 38) Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne, “Good Shepherd,” oil on canvas, 1650, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Lost_Sheep#/media/File:Champaigne_shepherd. jpg

(Page 45) “Flag of the Transylvania Saxons,” Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Flag_of_Transylvania_Saxons.svg

(Page 53) Lucas Cranach the Elder, “Martin Luther,” GalleriX, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23260036

(Page 72) Unknown Author, “Adam Smith,” National Gallery, London, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20413810

(Page 73) The Miracle on 34th Street, 20th Century Fox, 1947, http://iveneverdonethat.com/blog_files/miracleon34th.html, Fair Use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61404545

(Page 75) Lutheran Book of Worship, Augsburg Press, 1978, Fair Use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12565431

(Page 76) “Photo of Renee Girard,” Photographer - Vicq - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3231001

(Page 99) “Photo of John Mellencamp,” DoD photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, U.S. Air Force, 29 January 2007, Public Domain, http://www.dodmedia.osd.mil

(Page 104) “Front Cover Art for the Book Horton Hears a Who!” Fair Use, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HortonHearsAWhoBookCover.jpg

“And that Yopp…That one small extra Yopp put it over/Finally at last! From that speck on that clover/Their voices were heard! They rang out clear and clean./And the elephant smiled, ‘Do you see what I mean?.../They’ve proved they ARE persons, no matter how small./And their whole world was saved by the Smallest of All!’”

- Dr. Seuss