I’ve Pastored Small Churches. Here’s the Advice I Needed.

You find yourself preaching to a couple dozen people. You feel a tinge of embarrassment and discouragement. It’s small, but you’ve felt it before, and it won’t go away. You wonder whether you should even call this “preaching” or “pastoring” when the size feels more like a Bible study than a church service.

I have been there, having grown up in a small church and having pastored two small churches. I found myself struggling and would often ask: How do I keep going? What can I do to help this church survive and then blossom?

What I’ve needed most—and what you need, too—is some sound advice. Not dense theology but frank and honest counsel. Here are six tips to help you not just survive but flourish as you lead your small church.

Table of contents

1. Focus on health, not size
2. Love and use what you got, not what you don’t
3. Enjoy the personal blessings of a small church
4. Communicate the advantages of a small church
5. Let go of your ego
6. Set a bold, God-sized vision

1. Focus on health, not size

Harry Reeder, in his book From Embers to a Flame (P&R, 2017), counsels people on how to revitalize small or dying churches. He gives one crucial piece of advice that especially applies to pastoring small churches: Be concerned with health, not size or growth. Size and growth are up to God. As with people, so with churches: Health typically produces growth. So speaking practically, focus on your spiritual health and the spiritual health of your flock.

1. Make your walk with God vibrant.
2. Spend significant, quality time ministering to people.
3. Study and labor hard in preaching and teaching. (Make this aspect of your ministry as rich as you can.)
4. Finally, implement a plan to move your church members toward greater maturity.

Whether you’re preaching to 15 or 1,500, your people deserve your study. Give your sermon prep depth with Logos.

2. Love and use what you got, not what you don’t

Small churches often tend to attract some interesting people! I have often wondered why. Does the size make you notice people more, or do certain sheep just like smaller pastures? I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, some of their idiosyncrasies can bother and discourage us.

But this offers a great opportunity to model Christ-like love to your church. Rather than be disheartened by it, use it to exemplify grace, humility, and discipleship. You will be surprised by how much it matures you!

Likewise, in a small church, we often face a more daunting task of finding qualified leaders in the church.

1. Recall that God makes no mistakes, and so what you have is what you need.
2. Evaluate your standards and expectations. Ensure you are holding to the standards that the Bible sets (e.g., 1 Tim 3:1–13). But beyond that, consider whether you may have set standards unrealistically high for your situation.
3. If you find that you have realistic standards but some members lack skill, then begin to train the eager ones. Help them grow and succeed in their respective roles. This will not only bless you and the church, it will also encourage them with your personal investment.

3. Enjoy the personal blessings of a small church

This is not to downplay the difficulties that come with pastoring a small church. Small churches come with disadvantages (e.g., fewer resources for ministry, demands on the leader to be a jack of all trades, etc.). But we should remember the advantages, as well.

For example, pastoring a small church can offer you more time to read, study, and focus on sermon prep. You also may have more time to build richer relationships. One often has a more flexible schedule with a small flock than a large one.

Some of the sweetest times I ever experienced pastoring took place in small churches. In a frayed and over-stressed world, I have experienced a slightly more laid-back and less formal and structured approach to ministry. This has allowed me to pastor with greater joy.

4. Communicate the advantages of a small church

As people visit your church, some will hesitate to return due to the lack of programs, resources, or opportunities. This is common—and often very disheartening. Here is how you should respond.

Do not apologize for your church or join in commiserating over what your church lacks. This only affirms wrong thinking. It also demoralizes your flock who may overhear you. Small churches need our encouragement and loving care, not our apologies for their existence.

Instead, point out the goodness of a small church. Learn to see the small size of your church as an asset, not a liability. Share its many advantages, like:

• Opportunity for deeper relationships instead of being treated like a number
• Greater flexibility for ministry
• More authentic (less produced) worship
• Increased opportunities to serve in vital ways
• The incredible opportunity to witness God work up close and personal
  

Learn to see the small size of your church as an asset, not a liability.

In fact, I often ask people if they want to become pioneers to help us grow, not just come and sit! More often than not, the response is positive, more of an incentive to visitors than a turn off. People really do long to make an obvious and significant impact. A small church lowers the barrier of entry for spiritual and communal contributions.

5. Let go of your ego

One of the biggest struggles that pastors face in a small church setting is overcoming an ego-driven mentality. In small churches, pastors often feel less worthy—or like failures—since their church is small. We see the size of the church as some inherent reflection of our own skill or qualities.

When we succumb to this, it proves devastating:

• We spend our time pitying ourselves instead of serving.
• We are filled with envy and resentment toward other churches and pastors.
• We feel frustration toward our own people, as if they were standing in the way of our recognition.
• At worst, we quit in subtle ways and refuse to invest.

We cannot handle what the size of our church seems to say about our giftings or abilities. Instead of treating our people as souls in need of care, they end up feeling used, as if they were merely a stepping stone to your advancement.

Your personal worth and reputation must not be the focus of your ministry. The Lord has placed you in this position and is at work to help both you and his flock.

6. Set a bold, God-sized vision

Jesus sets an expansive mission for every church—even those that are small:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18–20)

That mission calls us to multiply churches all over this planet, both by planting new churches and strengthening existing ones. Because this is the mission our Lord has given us, it needs to be the mission you set for your church, as well!

It may feel absurd to give a vision of global church planting or revitalization when you are teaching fifteen people on a Sunday morning, but you must! Every church—not just certain-sized churches—is commanded by her Lord to be part of this larger mission.

This eternal and global perspective shifts small churches away from focusing on self and survival and instead toward God and the world. It sharpens focus, stokes fervent prayers, and gets the church fixated on the glory of Jesus rather than her own situation. A vision for mission can fire up a church in ways that nothing else will. Anyone can stay encouraged through something that feels insignificant, so long as they know they play a vital part in a greater mission.

Jesus himself compared the kingdom to a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds. Yet despite those seemingly insignificant origins, he promised it would grow into a massive tree (Luke 13:18–19). So too, remember that your church, despite its smallness and seeming insignificance, participates in something grand!

Share your thoughts

What advice would you give to small church pastors? Join us in the Word by Word group to share your thoughts.

Resources for further encouragement

Additional content

• How to Recruit & Retain Church Volunteers: Proven Strategies
• How to Lead Change in Your Church (Without Losing Your People)
• Does Your Church Have a Discipleship Culture? How to Cultivate It
• Go Beyond the Pulpit. Pastor While “Walking Around.”
• How to Minister While Spiritually Dry: 4 Encouragements