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.

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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

Strengths of the Small Church - Part 2

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