It is one thing to recognize the need, it is quite another to implement the program. While everyone would admit that the need for leadership training in the small church is acute, developing an effective training strategy remains one of the most difficult challenges the small church pastor faces. Even when there is the desire to implement the program, there are a number of obstacles that make leadership development particularly difficult.

1. The pastor lacks to time to effectively train leaders. Being a small church pastor is a time consuming task. Because the church does not have a staff to do support ministries, the small church pastor’s day is easily filled up with a variety of tasks and responsibilities. The pastor constantly faces the pressure to carve out enough study time to prepare for the messages and devotionals he must lead during the week. When he is not visiting or preparing sermons, he must take care of the church facilities, help out an elderly couple who are having trouble with their furnace, attend community functions and a host of other activities. The reality for many small church pastors is that at the end of the day they feel like they have accomplished little to empty the mythical in box on their desk. It is no wonder that many small church pastors feel stressed by the amount of work that is left undone at the end of the day. As a result, the development of a training program for the board continually get’s pushed aside. It is not that we see it as unimportant but the demands of the present cause us to push the project to next week’s priority list. However, the demands of the daily schedule repeats itself so that it always stays on the to do list, but never gets actively addressed. What we fail to realize is that the key to effectively leading the church and ministering to the needs of people is not working longer hours, but being more intentional in how we use our time. An essential part of expanding our ministry and the ministry of the church is training people to become involved in ministering to the needs of people. For training to occur we must make training a priority of our time and ministry.

2. The challenge of training leaders is further compounded the lack of time people have. This is especially true in rural areas where people a common work day is 12-14 hours and it is repeated six days a weak. Sunday remains a critical day for rest and spending time with the family. However, this is not just a rural problem, but an urban problem as well. More and more time is required to be spend on the job and the leisure time remaining is quickly evaporated as the demands of a being involved in the lives of the children, the upkeep of the home and the activities in church fill up a persons day timer. As a result most church boards are able to only meet once a month. With all the time required to deal with various issues, there is often no significant amount of time for training. Like the schedule of the pastor, so also with the board, the training continually gets pushed aside on the agenda. However, there are ways that the pastor and board can provide training even with a busy schedule. First, take at least 15 minutes each board meeting for training. While it may be a short time, like a savings program, a little training is better than no training and over the long haul can provide the comprehensive training needed for the board. Second, at least twice a year, devote the full time at the board meeting. By doing so a more substantial amount of time could be devoted to training. Third, conduct a weekend board retreat can provide a significant amount of time for prayer and training. While finding the necessary time to conduct the training will always be difficult, if the church is to become more mature it is necessary.

3. Small churches struggle to provide training for the board because of a lack of resources that are available. There are few resources available for effectively training the board and those that are available are often geared for larger churches with little application for the small congregation. Many of the resources for boards are based upon the organization side of the church and how to effective lead a larger congregation with multiple staff and programs. The staff is looked upon to provide the spiritual care while the board provides the oversight. Furthermore the larger congregations have a system of in house training that occurs before a person is placed on the board. In the small church, more often then not a person is placed on the board with little or no training. He is throne into the pool of leadership with the mandate to lead the church with no training how to swim. As a result they have no idea what is their biblical role and no resources available to provide the training. The problem is further compounded by the cost of the resources that are available. Many small churches struggle financially to pay the necessary expenses. Consequently, he small church further struggles because the available resources are often too expensive for the church to afford. They view the purchase of these resources as non-essential and thus it is pushed aside. The result is that the pastor often has to develop his own training material let lacks the time to do so.

4. The church struggles to develop leaders because of a lack of desire. Often people have a view that they already are sufficiently trained to be effective for leadership. They see leadership training as a waste of valuable time when they could be doing something else. This often springs forth from a misconception about leadership. For many people, the board is responsible for the physical and organizational running of the church. The board makes sure programs are operating correctly, the budget is being met, money is being wisely distributed and the facilities are being taken care of. The spiritual care and oversight of the church is given to the pastor. Since the organizational oversight of the church parallels what they already do in their farm or business, they feel that no training is needed. When someone brings up the need for training regarding the spiritual care of the congregation, they respond with, “That is the pastor’s responsibility not ours.” Consequently they resist training that moves into the arena of spiritual care for the church. However, when we examine the most critical need for training it is in the area of the biblical responsibility of the board that emphasizes the spiritual responsibility not only of caring for the church, but also making spiritual decisions that are governed by scripture rather than merely business management.

5. The small church struggles because often people are not avid readers. Any training program, but necessity, will require reading several books to address all the breath of the ministry. However, the pastor often get discouraged as he purchases books and assigns them to the board, only to find after months of prodding, the members still have not read the book. This is not to say they do not read—they do, but they tend to only read what they have an interest in. The key then is not to assign a book to read, but to instill an interest first in the responsibilities and tasks of the board before assigning the reading material.

Dealing with the Pressures of Ministry:

The numbers are staggering. Eighty percent of pastors feel discouraged in their role and fifty percent would leave the ministry if they had another way of making a living. The numbers are even higher for the spouse where eighty five percent struggle with depression and eighty percent wish their spouse would choose another profession. Such numbers are too profound to overlook. To enter ministry is to enter a world of pain, discouragement and frustration. This can be especially pronounced in a rural area where pastors are isolated and often lack a support network. How then can we regain our perspective?
The first step to regaining our perspective is to maintain a biblical view of ourselves and our ministry. In many ways our culture has placed unrealistic expectations on us and upon our role. We are pressured to lead the church to new heights of attendance and increase the number of programs within the church, all with little funds and little help from the congregation. Furthermore, our culture has instilled within us the expectation that life should be free from difficulties and hardships. While we decry the health and wealth doctrine as being unbiblical, in reality we have accepted it in our view of ministry. The scriptures warn us that to enter ministry is to enter a life of difficulty and struggles (2 Corinthians 7:5; 11:24-29). We are in the midst of a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:12). While we may complain about the hardships we face, Paul saw it as a badge of honor to suffer for the cause of Christ (Colossians 1:24; see also Philippians 1:29 where the word “granted” is the Greek word referring to a graciously given gift). The reason he had this perspective is because he recognized that the strength from ministry comes not from ourselves or even our training, but from the hand of a sovereign and gracious God who empowers us to accomplish his purpose (Col 1:29).
The second step to regaining our perspective is to take care of ourselves and our family physically and emotionally. God recognized the importance of rest when he instituted the Sabbath day. This is equally true for us in ministry. Working seven days a week is a recipe for burnout in ministry and neglect of our spouse and family. We need to make sure that we take the time to be renewed and take the time to be with our family and spend time with our children. God makes it clear that he expects us first and foremost to care for the needs of our family so that the do not become the sacrificial lamb on the altar of ministry (1 Timothy 3:4-5).
The third step is we need to develop a network of individuals who can offer support, encouragement and perspective. Moses needed Aaron and Joshua, Paul needed Barnabas and Titus. Tragically seventy percent of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant, or mentor. We need to develop these relationships. It may be a fellow pastor in the community, it may be a fellow missionary, it may be a friend that we talk with once a week or month. If we do not have a close friend, then we need to start praying for one.
Fourth, we must seek help when we need it. Often there is a “pastoral pride” that exists that hinders us from seeking help. We feel the pressure to always have our act together and that it is somehow a sign of weakness to seek the help of others. We forget that we also are human beings struggling in a difficult ministry. There are times when we need to be “pastored.” There are times when we need the counsel and input of others. There is no shame it getting help. Proverbs states that it is the wise who seek the input of others. It is the fool who thinks that he does not need the assistance of others.
We need to realize that ministry has been, is, and always will be a difficult and painful calling. However, we must also realize that God’s grace is always sufficient and that where there is trouble there is also his sustaining hand.

By Glenn Daman

We live in a postmodern world. Its influence is not only see in the secular world but it is increasing seen in the church as the issue of epistemology is becoming more critical in our understanding of truth, the scriptures and its implications for our life. The basic tenet of postmodernism is that there is no metanarrative, that is there is no overarching explanation of life and truth. This view collides with the fundamental doctrine of the church, that there is an absolute truth that is absolutely exclusive. As Ravi Zacharias points out, “We as Christians make a staggering claim: We lay claim to truth that is exclusive. In a society that not only does not believe in metanarrative or in exclusivity but also rejects the notion of objective truth, ours is a monumental claim.” (Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns; D.A. Carson editor, p. 38). Certainly the issue of absolute truth is a fundamental issue in our interaction with the secular mind, what is even more troubling is that it is becoming a critical issue even within the church. While people would not reject the absolute truth of scripture in the church (that would be heresy), postmodernism sneaks into the church in our understanding of the role of interpretation of scripture. No longer is interpretation the pursuit of an absolute understanding of scripture, rather it becomes a pursuit of each person’s own perspective. Instead of there being one interpretation and many application, it now has become many interpretations, each equally valid. Because we cannot have an infallible interpretation in all matters, many conclude that we cannot know for certainty any interpretation. The battle we face in the next decades will be the battle of truth: Can we know truth and how do we know it?
How then do we respond, how do we point to the certainty of interpretation. While we cannot know all truth absolutely, we still can know some truth absolutely. (For example: we still may not know with absolute certainty the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s free choice but we can know for certainty the deity of Christ and the necessity of faith alone as the basis of salvation.) . In response to those in the church who would question our ability to know with certainty the meaning of scriptures there are three critical principles we need to affirm. First, God is a God of truth. In John 14:6, Christ states, “I am the way, the Truth and the life.” There is absolute truth because truth is an expression of a perfect God, in whom there is no falsehood. God cannot lie and cannot distort the truth or misrepresent it any way. It is intrinsic to his nature.
Second, God, as the source of all truth, has communicated to us. (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). God as the source of absolute truth and as the perfect communicator has communicated to us in order that we might understand and live according to that truth. Scripture is not arbitrary, it is not partial, it is complete, and it is absolute. Because it is his communication, it is not for us to be arbitrary in our understanding of it. The critical question is not, “What does it mean to me?” it is, “What did God say?” He holds us accountable for how we understand and treat the word of God.
Third, God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and teach us in truth (John 16:13). The certainty of our interpretation comes not from our own abilities or intellect, but from the internal presence of the Holy Spirit who guides us in our understanding. Because the Holy Spirit is the same in each individual, there is consistency in what he teaches. Thus, my personal interpretation must be consistent with the rest of the body of Christ. I am not free to treat the scriptures willy-nilly, but am accountable to the rest of the church for my understanding.
The challenge before us as pastors is to not only respond and witness to a postmodern world, but equip our people to respond as well. To do this it is critical that we provide them a foundation by which they can engage a postmodern culture but not be influenced by it.

This is part 5 of a 6-part series

5. Flexibility.

When the small church has a streamlined organizational structure, it can quickly adapt to the changing ministry environment. In many rural communities the environment is rapidly changing. While some communities are facing significant decline, others are experiencing rapid growth.
While some communities remain culturally and ethnically homogeneous, others are experiencing rapid cultural and ethnic diversity as the influx of people provide new opportunities for cross-cultural ministries. Each of these transitions has a major impact on the community, the church, and the ministry opportunities confronting the church.

The advantage of the small church is that it can make substantive changes and implement new programs and direction with little organizational bureaucracy. Because decisions can be quickly made and information quickly disseminated in the small church, it can quickly rally people to a “cause or project, carrying out a new program or ministry with fewer problems and delays of the larger, more structured congregation” (Ron Crandall and L. Ray Sells, There’s New Life in the
Small Congregation, p. 94).

Village Missions / Keeping Country Churches Alive
www.village-missions.org
PO Box 197 / Dallas, OR 97338 / 800-617-9905
To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to
countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org

This is part 4 of a 6-part series

4. The need for greater dependency upon God.

For those in the small church the lack of resources is often a source of discouragement. They wonder how they can be effective when they have so little to work with. When we minister in a small church we often lament that if we had more volunteers, bigger facilities and greater financial resources, then we could see greater results and growth.

However, what many see to be a detriment can actually become the basis for a stronger church. As Gary Farley rightly points out, “When a church lacks resources and knows that it does, and then it is more likely to recognize its utter dependence upon God. When you have about all of the resources that you need, it is awfully easy to cruise along on your own…” (Anthony G. Pappas, ed. Inside the Small Church, p. 102).

It is the lack of resources that challenges us to trust in God’s provision rather than our own abilities. It challenges us to rest in the provision of God. It confronts us with the need to live by faith. The struggle facing many small churches is not the issue of a lack of resources, but a lack of faith. Rather than seeking to know God’s will and purpose and trusting in his provision to accomplish it, they live in fear, conserving resources in fear of the “rainy day.”

However, when the church looks to God for his provision, even when their resources are meager, they recognize that God can use them for significant ministry that impacts the lives of people for eternity.

—————————————

The Country Shepherd (formerly entitled Mikros) is published bi-monthly
by the Center for Leadership Development, a ministry of Village Missions
and the Institute for Small Church Heath a ministry of Western Seminary.
Dr. Glenn C. Daman, editor.

The newsletter may be obtained free of charge through e-mail by
emailing:
country-shepherd-subscribe@village-missions.org; with “Subscribe” in the
subject Line or by visiting the web site at
http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/

Permission is granted to copy the newsletter for distribution provided
it is furnished free of charge. All rights reserved.

Village Missions

Keeping Country Churches Alive

www.village-missions.org

PO Box 197

Dallas, OR 97338

800-617-9905

To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to
countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org

By Glenn Daman

This is part 3 of a 6-part series

3. Support and caring network.

An essential quality of a healthy church is that it must be a caring
community where people not only look upon their own interest but also
the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). A supporting and caring
community exists where each person recognizes that they have a
responsibility to consider the needs of others and the struggles they
are facing.

We live in a depersonalized world where people become indifferent to the
needs of others. In urban areas people hardly know the person next door
and care little about the struggles they are facing in their life. We
work in jobs where they care little about the problems a person faces at
home, they only care about our productivity and achievements. They
pressure us to perform even if requires us to sacrifice our families in
the process.

Into this world, the small church breathes a breath of fresh air. In
the small church people know they have a place where they belong, where
they are loved, and where people care about them and for them. Kennon
Callahan points out the strength of the small church when he writes,
"Members reach out and care for each others with love and sustained care
which does not end on Sunday. Members rally to each other in times of
crisis, offering themselves, their resources, and assistance to those in
need" (There's New Life in the Small Congregation, p. 94).

When a person is laid off from work and facing financial difficulties
the church takes up a collection to help them. When someone requires
hospitalization because of illness, members of the congregation will
visit them. In the small church we do not need to remind them to visit,
rather we often have to ask them not to visit because the person is
getting too many visitors. In the small church they visit the elderly,
help a student who is struggling with reading, and help out when someone
needs an extra hand.

The small church may not have a great number of people, but the people
who are present support and care for one another. It is this strength
that becomes the appeal for evangelism. People are attracted to the
small church because it is a community not just a gathering.

—————————————

The Country Shepherd (formerly entitled Mikros) is published bi-monthly
by the Center for Leadership Development, a ministry of Village Missions
and the Institute for Small Church Heath a ministry of Western Seminary.
Dr. Glenn C. Daman, editor.

The newsletter may be obtained free of charge through e-mail by
emailing:
country-shepherd-subscribe@village-missions.org; with "Subscribe" in the
subject Line or by visiting the web site at
http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/

Permission is granted to copy the newsletter for distribution provided
it is furnished free of charge. All rights reserved.

Village Missions

Keeping Country Churches Alive

www.village-missions.org

PO Box 197

Dallas, OR 97338

800-617-9905

To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to
countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org

By Glenn Daman

This is part 2 of a 6-part series

2. Built in accountability

Accountability occurs when people lovingly confront others when their
actions, attitudes and behaviors are damaging their own spiritual growth
and the growth of the rest of the body of Christ. Because the church is
small there is built in accountability within the whole church. When
someone's behavior is destructive to themselves or to others, then
people are willing to say something to them. Not because they are
judgmental and desire to belittle the other person, but because they
have a genuine concern for them.

When a person in the church is struggling spiritually, not only does the
pastor know about it, but people within the church are aware of it and
often will talk to the person to help them deal with the situation. When
someone is absent from the church people will call them to find out
where they have been and if there is a problem. This is not done
through a formal "follow-up" program, but informally because of the
relational connections people have. While the large church must
carefully examine why people are leaving through the "back door," in the
small church the "back door" does not exist. Before a person leaves the
church, they have often had several contacts not only with the pastor,
but also other members of the church.

While the small church often has an informal sense of accountability
regarding spiritual growth and the Christian walk, it often neglects to
hold people accountable in the area of ministry responsibility. Because
of the close relationships within the church, people do not desire to
hurt others. As a result they overlook the shortcomings of others. On
the positive side, this means that people are not judged by their
performance, but by their faithfulness and willingness to be involved.
On the negative side, people are not challenged to change when they are
incompetent and ineffective in ministry because of their failure to do
the job assigned to them.

The challenge in the small church is to maintain the balance between
loving acceptance of the efforts of others and loving accountability
when people are not fulfilling their responsibilities because of neglect
and apathy.

—————————————

The Country Shepherd (formerly entitled Mikros) is published bi-monthly
by the Center for Leadership Development, a ministry of Village Missions
and the Institute for Small Church Heath a ministry of Western Seminary.
Dr. Glenn C. Daman, editor.

The newsletter may be obtained free of charge through e-mail by
emailing:
country-shepherd-subscribe@village-missions.org; with "Subscribe" in the
subject Line or by visiting the web site at
http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/

Permission is granted to copy the newsletter for distribution provided
it is furnished free of charge. All rights reserved.

Village Missions

Keeping Country Churches Alive

www.village-missions.org

PO Box 197

Dallas, OR 97338

800-617-9905

To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to
countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org

By Glenn Daman

This is part 1 of a 6-part series.

1. Shepherding ministry.

The small church is strong because the pastor can provide personal care for each person in the congregation. While some have downplayed the importance of this personal care, it remains central to our role and responsibility.

Christ, as our model shepherd, not only cares for the whole flock, but he cares for each individual (Luke 15:4-7), having a personal knowledge of each person (John 10:3). One of the privileges we have in the small church is that we know our people. We know the struggles each person is
facing in the congregation. We know those who are struggling with financial difficulties. We know those who are facing problems with a rebellious teen. We know when people are facing tension in their marriage.

When we preach on Sundays, the message is not generic to the masses; it is specific to the needs of the people sitting in the pews. This care extends beyond just the message on Sunday. Because we interact with the people throughout the week we can privately address personal struggles they are facing, often in an informal setting where the person is more open to discuss the issues. We should never underestimate the value of this personal interaction.

This also means that not only can we communicate biblical truth in a way that is relevant to the specific needs of people, but we can be there with them in times of crisis. Because the church is small, we can spend time with people. When a family member is in the process of dying, we
can do more than “drop in and show our face.” We can spend the whole day with them, providing comfort and care.

—————————————

The Country Shepherd (formerly entitled Mikros) is published bi-monthly
by the Center for Leadership Development, a ministry of Village Missions
and the Institute for Small Church Heath a ministry of Western Seminary.
Dr. Glenn C. Daman, editor.

The newsletter may be obtained free of charge through e-mail by
emailing:
country-shepherd-subscribe@village-missions.org; with “Subscribe” in the subject Line or by visiting the web site at
http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/

Permission is granted to copy the newsletter for distribution provided
it is furnished free of charge. All rights reserved.

Village Missions

Keeping Country Churches Alive

www.village-missions.org

PO Box 197

Dallas, OR 97338

800-617-9905

To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org

The Country Shepherd
Vol. 1, No 1
May-June, 2007

This is the introduction to a special six-week series

Strengths of the Small Church
By Glenn Daman

For those of us who live and work in the small church, we can easily start to focus upon all the things wrong and all the shortcomings that it possesses. We decry the lack of facilities. We become discouraged because of the continual struggle to make the budget. We long for the day when we would have more volunteers to implement new programs. We envy the large church for its diversity of ministries, wishing and struggling to duplicate them. It is little wonder that morale is one of the most significant problems confronting both the leadership and laity
in the small congregation. The problem lies not in the ministry of the small church but our perception both of God and of the nature of the church. We are reminded in scripture that we are given “everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us
by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). Furthermore, we are blessed “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). In other words, through the knowledge of God and the sufficiency of our salvation he has provided all that we need to live
godly lives and accomplish his purpose; the purpose which he ordain and now accomplishes by his own power and sovereignty. Ministry in the small church requires that we have a firm theology of the involvement of God within the church. We must recognize that it is his church and his ministry. We do not build the church; rather he builds the church through us.

Along with our theology of God we must have a right perspective of the church. The church is not a building nor is it a program. The church is people who live in fellowship with one another and in obedience to Christ. Church is not somewhere we attend, the church is who we are.
We do not go to church on Sunday; rather we live the church in the daily affairs of life. The strength of the church is not found in the size or variety of ministry it is found in the lives of people. Consequently the church can be effective regardless of size. If we are to be effective in the small church and maintain a positive perspective of our ministry, then it is imperative that we recognize the strengths of the small church, strengths that not only point to the viability of the small church, but manifest the very nature of what the church is to do and be.

The Country Shepherd (formerly entitled Mikros) is published bi-monthly by the Center for Leadership Development, a ministry of Village Missions and the Institute for Small Church Heath a ministry of Western Seminary. Dr. Glenn C. Daman, editor. The newsletter may be obtained free of charge through e-mail by emailing the-country-shepherd-subscribe@village-missions.org with “Subscribe” in the subject Line or by visiting the web site at http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/ Permission is granted to copy the newsletter for distribution provided it is furnished free of charge. All rights reserved.

Village Missions

Keeping Country Churches Alive

www.village-missions.org

PO Box 197

Dallas, OR 97338

800-617-9905

To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to
countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org

Mikros is now The Country Shepherd.

The Country Shepherd is published bi-monthly by the Center for Leadership Development, a ministry of Village Missions and the Institute for Small Church Heath of Western Seminary. Dr. Glenn C. Daman, editor.

The newsletter may be obtained free of charge through e-mail by contacting emailing
the-country-shepherd-subscribe@village-missions.org; with “Subscribe” in the subject line, or by visiting the web site at http://www.smallchurchleaders.org/

Permission is granted to copy the newsletter for distribution provided it is furnished free of charge. All rights reserved.

Village Missions

Keeping Country Churches Alive

www.village-missions.org

PO Box 197

Dallas, OR 97338

800-617-9905

To learn more subscribe to our weekly enewsletter Country Matters by sending an email to countrymatters-subscribe@village-missions.org