How To Pastor A Small Church Effectively

Many people judge churches by the number of cars in a parking lot or people in the pew so how can a man pastor a small church effectively?

God is in the Small Things

God has no respect for persons any more than He does for size. God looks at the heart and not at the outward appearance and He is not interested in how large a church is but how the member’s hearts are bent toward serving and glorifying Him so we must always remember that “God shows no partiality” (Rom 2:11) and “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1st Sam 16:7). Some of the most powerful ministries come from the smallest of churches. Zechariah wrote “For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth” (Zech 4:10) so never judge a church’s effectiveness in ministry by a simple headcount. God can do anything He wants through anyone He wants, even if it’s one person.

Contending for the Faith

Today it seems that the pastor has to fight or contend for the faith that was once and for all originally delivered more than just a few years ago. Jude wrote to the church; “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3) and this is getting more and more difficult today because as Paul prophesied, “in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good”(2nd Tim 3:1-3). It’s hard for the pastor to get members to love others when they are self-absorbed, self-loving. Paul wrote to Timothy to “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2nd Tim 2:1-2) and that must include fighting for the truth.

Stay Biblical

Paul charged or commanded Timothy “in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2nd Tim 4:1-4). The pastor must preach the Word and if necessary wound them with the Word in the hopes of healing them from inconsistencies in their Christian walk.

Falling Away from the Truth

Paul once again prophesied “that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared” (1ast Tim 4:1-2). Can anyone debate whether there has been a war on the Word of God? Today, truth is often compromised to make it culturally relevant, ignoring the fact that God changes not, nor does His Word change with times. Many are departing from the faith in record numbers today because the “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4). That’s the trend in American Christianity; if it afflicts us, turn it off; it if hits home, tune it out; if it convicts us, shut it out. Some churches are so unbiblical that they have no truth from which they fell from; they were already in error when they began.

Staying Faithful

How can a pastor effectively lead a small church? By staying faithful to the teachings of God’s Word and not compromising with the truth to fit the comfort level of the ears of the members. God will not bless any church or any pastor that does not stay faithful to biblical teachings. If the pastor is not faithful in the small things then how can God ever trust them with newer members or church growth? Some want church growth so badly that they appeal to the public by offering family activities, “fun” church, seeker-sensitive teaching’s, and even drawings for prize giveaways. What a horrible motive this is! This problem with that is they will come to the church to seek to be entertained and not because they are sinners in need or repentance and faith in Christ. The pastor today might be so conscious of offending someone that they offend no one but the Word of God is intended to comfort the afflicted but afflict the comfortable. The truth sets you free or it really makes you mad. You must be willing to offend those if necessary rather than let them die in their sins.

Conclusion

The pastor of a small church has never had it so hard as they do in this day because people don’t like to hear they need to change but change is what we all need. Don’t be discouraged if you’re pastoring a small church or you’re in one. God doesn’t care about the size of the church. He wants us to contend for the faith that’s been delivered once and for all in the Bible and this means the pastor must stay biblical, preaching expository verse by verse teachings. He must remain faithful to the Word of God but also to God Himself. Someday, Jesus will say “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’” (Matt 25:21) and not “Well done though good pastor of a huge mega-church with 5,000 members” because it’s all about the quality of biblical teachings, not the quantity of words being preached and it’s most certainly not about the size.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.