Revitalization in Small Churches: A Lesser Call? - by Mike Chipman
I was once told by a pastor that I should pick a small rural church and settle down there. I wasn’t told this as an encouragement, but rather a criticism of my perceived lack of ability. He told me that church planting and “a big church” would be out of the question for me, and I should “settle” for something smaller and “more rural.” There was an assessment of my gifting (which is always fine) but there was also a hidden value assigned to small churches: they are a lesser call.
If you don’t think this is a thing, go to a seminary and ask about the aspirations of the students. Many of them want to be church planters - of which we can’t have too many. Some want to work in an established church, which is another high calling. There are a few, if any, who say, “I want to work for a 150-year-old church that is in its last years.” No one begins seminary with the idea of moving to the middle of nowhere and “settling” for a church that needs revitalization and will have to give its pastor a bi-vocational call. But why not?
We have church planters. We have men who want to work for “established churches.” In my head, I see working for a small, rural church in need of revitalization as the perfect meshing of the two desires. On one hand, the pastor gets an established church with decades of history and richness. They get a congregation that loves each other and wants to see Christ’s church flourish. On the other hand, they get an opportunity to build from the ground up, working with current leadership to train the new. They get to bring in families who have been searching for a Bible-preaching, gospel-centered church. Those kinds of churches aren’t the norm in our current day, and they can be a breath of fresh air to the congregation and the surrounding community. Lots of money and time has been put into “revitalization efforts” but so much of it has been spent on sending a few people to a conference or purchasing a few books for the leadership to read. Conferences and books have their place, but few things can replace boots on the ground. Pastoral presence inspires and motivates and may be what a struggling church needs to be revitalized.
What are the next steps? Because many of these churches have been without a pastor for many years, the first step may be convincing them of their need. They have become self-sufficient and may even enjoy their new norm. While a small, close-knit group is wonderful, many folks in the surrounding community need Jesus. Presbyteries should encourage these small churches to blow the dust off the pulpit committee and begin working up a bi-vocational position.
They should have a functioning website. For a few hours time, anyone can learn to make something that looks nice and does the job. FOr a few hundred dollars a year, you can pay a professional to build and maintain that website. Either way, if a church is purposefully choosing not to have a website in 2021, they are choosing to hide under a bush rather than be a city on a hill.
They should also post the position in every reformed seminary. If your fishing pole stays in the shed tangled up in Christmas decorations, it won’t catch anything. It’ll eventually become useless. Draw up a ministry position. Have it reviewed by folks that want to see your church succeed. Then send it to Erskine, RTS, Covenant, and Westminster.
There is no greater calling than to serve our Lord Jesus - whether in vocational ministry or as a layperson. Either way, we are all called to serve Christ’s church. There are no lesser callings. Rise and do the work to which you were called. See the church of Jesus Christ grow and flourish. Pray for the revitalization of our struggling churches so the name of Jesus might be made known!