I have been super blessed to preach in smaller Churches. I LOVE IT! I have so much respect for the preachers in rural America! One Christmas Eve I drove many miles to preach to three or four people, my memory is starting to fade, it was very cold, but inside the Church the warm hearts brought forth the peace of JESUS! The first Sunday in October I will be traveling to the First Baptist Church Glenwood, New Mexico to preach! Love those folks and love my brother Pastor Dave Schumm! If your Church needs a Pastor to fill the pulpit, please please email me. pastordewey@fggam.org
From Lifeway Research:
The vast majority of churches are small in attendance. But there seem to be a few myths about the small church pastor.
By Matt Henslee
Although only 10% of churches have more than 250 people and 70% have 100 or fewer, I won’t quibble on the reality that “typical” or “normative” is a better descriptor than “small” for churches that run fewer than 250 in attendance. The vast majority of churches are small in attendance. But there seem to be a few myths about the pastors who lead them.
Your mileage may vary, but people have said or implied to me each of the myths I’ll bust in this article on multiple occasions and in various contexts. Maybe you’ve heard them or even thought or said them yourself. Whatever your role, whatever your context, let’s take a moment to bust some of these myths wide open.
3 Myths About the Small Church Pastor
From The Christian Post:
Churches that don’t invest more in discipleship-oriented children’s ministries will be “standing on a burning platform,” warned Matt Markins, head of the child discipleship organization Awana.
For most people, their worldview formation is “largely fixed” by age 13, according to findings conducted by the research organization Barna Group. That’s why Markins believes strongly that worldview formation is not “a youth group conversation” for when youth are in high school, but rather “this is a child formation conversation” and a “canary in the coal mine.”
“The Church looks to the canary in the coal mine as the high school dropout rate [when] students walk away from the Church after high school. But the purpose of the canary in the coal mine isn’t the moment the canary falls over, it’s what deadly gas led to that and where did it come from?” Markins told CP ahead of Awana’s Child Discipleship Forum held from Sept. 22-23 in Nashville, Tennessee.
FGGAM STATEMENT OF FAITH:
God’s Word is the final authority for faith and life.
as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
