On Thursday of this week I spoke and participated in a conference designed to encourage and equip pastors of small churches. In America the average church has an attendance of less than 100. Numerical growth is not always a sign of health or death in a church. Many small churches are vibrantly alive, making a big impact for the Kingdom. Others are stagnant and in need of revival and break through. When it comes to numbers the 200 barrier is one of the toughest for churches to exceed.   

Why do many churches remain small? And what can larger churches learn from these issues? In the conference this week the facilitator mentioned several marks of small churches. These churches are very strong and resilient and have a firm sense of belonging. I believe that every church should be aware of these characteristics.

However, certain mindsets can hinder us and cause the church at any level to struggle:   

1. A church will remain small when they base their identity on the past. When a church is consistently looking back at what used to be rather than having a vision for the future there will be little progress in reaching the world with the Gospel.   

2. A church will remain small when they find their identity through their buildings. These churches are known primarily as a place rather than as a people on mission. Resistance to change will often be found in the DNA of these churches. They slowly if ever change methods or facilitate major changes to their buildings.   

For over 113 years Olive has been a church blessed of God. Our past has been glorious but that must not dominate our future thought. Buildings come and go. Few people realize some of our first buildings were across Olive Road where Walgreens is now located. In the future we will need to build more buildings and redesign and/or remove others. We must maintain an attitude and structure that allows Olive to have a strong sense of belonging. Olive is no small church. 

BIG dreams from people with BIG ideas ready to make BIG sacrifices will be required to make a BIG impact for the Gospel. 

Pastor Ted Traylor 

Posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 9:49 am.
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