Strengths of the Small Church - Part 3

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