Category: Letters to a Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #20–God’s Heart

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         This letter is going to appear different from the previous ones.  As I was having my devotion on October 22, 2025, I received the daily devotion from my Tecarta Bible App.  This particular one struck my own heart and mind in such a way that I have decided to invest this week’s letter in sending it out to you, too.  The app did not specify the author.  It’s possible the editors/producers may have developed it themselves.  At any rate, I pray it will touch you as greatly as it did me.

    Context Material–Psalm 78:11-57

    Title–God’s Broken Heart

         “Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested God’s patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel”.  (Psalm 78:40-41)

         Have you ever wondered how God feels about human behavior? We know that we get upset when people hurt us, and if we cause pain we feel bad about it. But what about the impact of our behavior on God?

         In the time of Noah, we are told, “The Lord observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his heart” (Gen. 6:5-6). Human sin apparently broke the divine heart.

         After the Flood things did not improve appreciably. In the long and tortuous history of the children of Israel, God suffered constant heartache. The cycle of sin, repentance, recommitment, restoration, apathy, decline, oppression, repentance, and recommitment continued in relentless fashion. This revealed the obduracy of man and the patience of God, as man’s behavior subjected the Lord to ongoing heartbreak.

         Psalm 78 catalogues for all time the many sins of ancient Israel and the many gracious acts of God. No matter how much good God sent to his people, or how much chastisement, “They did not keep God’s covenant, and they refused to live by his law” (78:10; see 78:11-16, 31-33). Sometimes they did repent and return to God, but their zeal was short-lived and often insincere (78:36-37). The writer of this psalm summarized the situation by saying, “Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested God’s patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel” (78:40-41).

         We do well to consider the impact of human behavior on the heart of God. Human sin is an affront to God. It is a denial of his sovereignty. It is a statement by one created from dust that he is taking control from the Creator. That breaks God’s heart. When sinful actions predominate in our lives, they demonstrate the extent of human fallenness. When a man’s heart is corrupt, his humanity is polluted. Understandably, God is indignant about man’s condition and actions, so he disciplines his erring children. But even his discipline stems from his brokenhearted love.

         A vision of God’s heart may soften and break the most hardened human heart. And that can lead to our hearts being molded into that for which he created and redeemed us. Our lives can be expressions of his love and goodness, rather than examples of human wickedness—for all time!

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #19–Work Together

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         There is a special blessing that comes to the small church pastor and its congregation when they gather to work together.  Let’s consider this blessing and some of its benefits.

         One benefit of working together is that you have the opportunity to build stronger relationships with the people present, just as when you eat together.  You know as well as I do that work does not always require such concentrated focus that people cannot talk about everyday life while working.  It’s during those times that you can learn more about your congregation, their likes and dislikes, dreams, fears, concerns and personal needs. (Sound familiar?)

         The metal roof and steeple of one of the churches I pastored had seen years of weathering which had discolored them.  We decided to gather volunteers, pressure washers and a high lift to clean the roof.  As we were working, we talked about the history of the church, who was involved in establishing the ministry in that community and how the congregation had developed over the years.  We talked about their family histories, too, and where their children had gone to school, what careers they had sought and who was still living in the area.  We talked about why someone had missed the work day because of illness in his family.  We talked and we learned a great deal about each other that day, and that knowledge helped solidify our relationships.

         Another benefit of working together is you discover people’s strengths and weaknesses.  You discover what they do well and areas in which they can be helped to improve.  You might even discover your own strengths and weaknesses and how you can improve your own abilities.  Always remember that working with others might just give you new information about how to achieve something that you did not know how to do before learning that information.  And you can share things you know with others who may not know those beneficial bits of information yet.  Essentially, you have the opportunity to learn from your congregation, and they can learn from you.

         At one of the churches I pastored, the floor in part of the building was sagging because of previous damage from termites.  I asked for volunteers to help bolster the underpinning of the frame building.  As we were setting up our equipment and began to place supports and new lumber under the floor, I discovered that one of the men who was helping had worked for a company that set up mobile homes.  He had done exactly what we were attempting to do numerous times and knew every step involved in securing a sound foundation for the building.  That knowledge came in handy that day.

         In addition to these two benefits, working on and completing a task together helps relationships to grow because those involved in the work have accomplished a common goal together.  Having a common goal is an important aspect of leading a congregation.  When members of a small church gather to share their skills and knowledge in order to get something done, especially if it is some outreach into the community in fulfilling the great commission, a strong bond is created among the workers.  When people plan a project together, prepare the supplies needed for the project and then go about doing the actual work to accomplish their goal, there is a sense of unity that is developed.  That unity is necessary for the congregation to develop its identity in the community it serves.

         One of our congregations decided they wanted to host a benefit dinner for a young boy who had serious medical needs.  They wanted to reach out to that family to simply help with their financial struggles while making numerous trips to specialists, some of which were not very close to their home.  The small congregation enlisted family members and friends to help.  They planned the meal, collected the necessary food items, advertised the benefit well and gathered on the appointed day to work and help that family. 

         The benefit meal was a huge success and provided a larger donation to the family than expected.  Everyone was tired at the end of the day and the kitchen and fellowship hall needed a thorough cleaning, but they had achieved something together that had been a much-needed blessing to the family of the sick child.  The sense of accomplishment pulled that congregation together and solidified their commitment to helping their community whenever they could.

         The key to the idea of working together is the “together” part.  Whether you are cleaning a roof, repairing a floor or cooking a meal, working alongside others in the important part.  Resist the temptation to include the same few people all the time.  Include as many as possible from the congregation.  But don’t stop there.  Encourage the congregation to invite their family members, friends, colleagues at work, neighbors…anyone else available…to come along and join in the project.  Expand your circles of influence and include new people every time you get the chance to do so.  Bring together as many as possible to get the job done, whether it’s physical work, like cleaning, repairing or cooking, or spiritual work, like praying for community needs.

         Here’s a final thought.  Ever since God created Eve to help Adam and complete him as his wife, there have been people working together to accomplish goals.  Families, neighborhoods, communities, clubs, sports teams, businesses and, yes, small church congregations all rely on the “together” principle for success.  The one who puts the people together will discover there are many more benefits to working together than I have mentioned in this letter.  So, get some folks together and go to work.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #18–Eating Together

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Let’s talk about the idea of eating together for a bit.  There is a common bond that is created between people when they eat together.  They don’t just eat.  They share recipes.  They talk about family history.  They relate important events from their lives.  They communicate with each other, and communication is one of the keys to creating a cohesive, unified, strong relationship with others.

         While serving as the leader for student government summer camps, I discovered the power of having a meal together.  Our camps, which were designed to foster leadership skills in rising young student leaders, were divided into beginning sections for those who had just become elected to their student councils and those who had a year or more of leadership responsibilities in their respective schools.  I noticed that the advanced students who were grouped together for a special meal outside the normal eating schedule would demonstrate more of a unified spirit than those who did not attend those special meals.  In essence, they were building closer relationships to each other than the beginning groups.

         How does this knowledge play into your situation as a small church pastor?  To help foster that same type of cohesion in your congregation, one way of doing that is to eat together.  There are plenty of times in the Bible in which people ate together.  Sometimes the meals were designed as special festivals.  Sometimes they were everyday events.  But, regardless of the occasion, people shared histories, rationales for the meals existing, everyday life joys and sorrows, and the whole gamut of life’s happenings.

         They were communicating.  They were learning from each other.  They were helping each other deal with life.  They weren’t simply putting food into their mouths.  They were becoming a group, a family, a whole unit that was sharing, not just food to exist, but their common existence, dreams, fears and hopes for the future.

         Eating together can be one of the greatest blessings of being a small church pastor.  The meals don’t have to occur every time you turn around.  They can be scheduled or impromptu.  They can be formal or informal.  Small church congregations will enjoy them, because they don’t just enjoy eating.  They enjoy being together with people of “like precious faith.”

         Allow me to suggest that, in addition to getting the whole congregation together for a meal, you eat with the individual families outside the church setting.  Invite them to your home.  Find out what they enjoy and prepare that meal for them.  Accept their invitations to eat with them in their homes.  Share favorite recipes from your own home and family histories.  Get theirs.  Open yourself up to being alone with that one family or individual and get to know them/him/her while you’re eating.

         Eating together can become one of the great blessings that a small church pastor can have with the congregation and its families. 

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #17–My Wants vs God’s Will

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

        “I hope you’re wearing your steel-toed boots today.”  I’ve said that to my congregations from time to time when I had a message from God that was one of those pills that’s hard to swallow, but needs to be taken in.  So, put on your boots, and I pray you’ll receive this letter in the spirit of brotherly love in which it is sent.

         Sometimes, probably more often than we like to admit, God will ask us to do something we really don’t want to do.  We all have our likes and dislikes, our pet peeves, our preferences.  These often control our words, actions and reactions to life’s varying situations.  There are things we simply prefer not to do if we get our way.  There are people we don’t particularly like to be around, and there are situations into which we don’t go because we don’t want to be in those situations.

         Moses didn’t want to go back to Egypt to be the deliverer God told him to go be.  Gideon didn’t want to go fight the army of Midian.  Jonah didn’t want to go preach repentance to Ninevah.  I could go on, but you get the picture.

         God will select someone and give that someone a special job to do without regard to whether or not the someone wants to do the job.  I am of the opinion that God may even choose someone because He knows he/she doesn’t want to do what God wants them to do.  God knows the outcome He seeks, and He knows who will be the best one to achieve that outcome if the someone will rely on God to accomplish whatever the task is.  Remind yourself that God knows more than all of us put together.

         Now, here comes the rub—Are we willing to do what we don’t want to do because God wants us to do it?  Ouch!  Are we willing to set aside our wants so God’s will can be accomplished?  Will we obey the voice of God, or do we insist on doing things according to our preferences, our likes and dislikes, our “want-to’s?”

         Allow me to give you an example from my own ministry.  At the conclusion of one of my pastorates, I left the church feeling controlled and abused.  I was at a bad place spiritually and even considered ending my ministry efforts.  I made up my mind that I would not step into a similar situation again.  I had decided that I would not pastor a small church again.

         However, God had other plans.  Through a series of devotions that “just seemed to fall at that time” and times of prayer, scripture reading and contemplation, He reminded me of who was in control of my ministry and who it was who opened opportunities to me for ministry.  God reminded me that He was placing me where He wanted me.  God also reminded me that obedience to His will pleases Him more than anything else we can do.

         I mentioned Moses, Gideon and Jonah earlier.  Let’s remember something about these people who finally obeyed God and did what He wanted, instead of what they wanted.  Moses did lead the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and oversaw the operation of an entire nation for a little over forty years.  Gideon did lead a small army of God-selected warriors against impossible odds and defeated the Midianites.  Jonah did preach to Ninevah, resulting in an entire city turning to God in repentance.

         They were all successful.  They were all blessed for their efforts.  They were all used by God to bring glory and honor to God.  They all were taught, guided and empowered by God to accomplish what He wanted them to do.  They obeyed the call and the outcome accomplished much for the kingdom of God.

         I need to ask you now, is God asking you to do something you don’t want to do?  Is God calling you back into the fray of fighting for His goals, not yours?  Is God opening a door for you to walk through, even if you think you know all the detractors on the other side of the door?  Is God asking you to obey His voice, His will, instead of following your wants?

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #16–The Greatest Obstacle

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         At a recent pastor’s meeting, one of our network leaders gave us a startling statistic.  According to recent research on church attendance in this country, only two percent of new attenders to churches were new converts.  Two percent!!! 

         It is my opinion that the greatest obstacle to church growth that must be overcome is not the facility needs or design, not the programs offered to families, not the charisma of the pastor, not the flashiness of the music team, not the version of the Bible being used and not the use of screens versus song books.  The greatest obstacle to church growth is the lack of personal evangelism.  The average modern-day person sitting on a pew or chair in a sanctuary for worship is not sharing his/her faith with people outside the church building.

         I once asked a congregation how many of them had ever led someone to faith in Jesus.  About 30% of those present raised their hands.  Except for one individual, those hands belonged to people who were over 60 years of age.  The sad thing is that none of those conversions were within the last few years. 

         I am also of the opinion that the Christian church in this country has somehow been convinced that sharing their faith with non-believers is offensive, and, as was reflected in a meme I saw last year, “The greatest offense is to offend.” 

         Where is our boldness under the anointing of the Holy Spirit?  Where is our outspoken commitment to the cause of spreading the good news about Jesus?  Where are the Christians who turned the world upside down?  Have they all died and left no one to continue the work of sharing what Jesus has done in people’s lives? 

         Allow me to share what I consider to be the most ignorant, excuse-making, growth-destructive comment I have ever heard that came from a long-standing member of a church.  In talking about evangelism and leading new people to Christ, the comment was made, “That’s what we pay the pastor to do.”  Your greatest obstacle to church growth is getting your people to understand that if they do not share their faith with others who don’t know Jesus, then the next generation of people will never hear the gospel.  Their own grandchildren will grow up in a place where Jesus is never mentioned.  They will be implicit in condemning future generations to a life without knowledge of God.

         I will be honest with you, getting your people to being willing to share their faith is going to be a challenge.  You will have to pray, preach, encourage, lead and even blatantly challenge them to become involved in sharing their faith.  You won’t be able to convert them quickly or in great numbers, but you will be able to make a difference in how many of your attenders do share their faith.

         This concept of not being offensive to sinners has been so entrenched in our culture that it will take time and persistence to overcome it.  You have to overcome the social pressure to separate faith from public demonstrations of that faith that became prominent in the early 1960’s.  You will have to consistently preach and teach about personal evangelism.  You will have to spotlight and commend anyone who brings a new person to faith.  You will have to always challenge your people to stop relying on someone else to lead people to faith in Jesus and to start talking about their faith to new people themselves.

         Notice this—the devil will not like it that you start doing all this.  He will fight you any time, any place, any way he can.  He’ll use people, politics, social pressure and even threats of violence against those who speak out in public.  He might even use some of your own attenders to try to distract you.  But you are going to have to make up your mind that you will encourage your congregation, regardless of the opposition you receive.  Remember, you have God the Father, God’s Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit on your side.

         I ran up against this obstacle more than once when I was pastoring, and I have had numerous other pastors relate their own experiences with it.  However, there is hope for any congregation.  There is a fantastic experience waiting for you when you are told by a member that he/she had prayed with someone to receive Jesus.  That will make your efforts with it.  It won’t be easy, but you can overcome this obstacle.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #15–Honesty

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         That old saying “Honesty is the best policy” holds true in most aspects of life, especially in the small church setting.  Be honest with your congregation.  If you are having a rough time dealing with something life is throwing your way, be honest about it, and avoid the mistake of pretending everything is going great when you’re around your congregation.

         Small congregations have an ear to their community, and they’ll know if something isn’t going well in that community.  They may not bring it up, but they’ll know.  You might be surprised at how understanding they will be when you admit you’re struggling about something.

         No pastor is impervious to trials and setbacks.  No pastor is walking on cloud nine every single day.  So don’t pretend you are all the time.  Your congregation knows everyone is open to satanic attack, and they know everyone will have hard times, too.  Remember that they ask for prayer about things they’re going through and seek guidance and help in the hard times.  When you let them know your own prayer requests, you form a stronger bond with them through your honesty.

         Something else about honesty, never—NEVER—sugar-coat the gospel.  It’s great to preach about the love, mercy and grace of God.  Everybody loves those sermons.  But if you do not include God’s justice and punishment on evil, you’re doing your folks a great disservice.  Be honest about God’s judgment on wickedness, just as you are honest about God’s unconditional forgiveness for all who repent and seek that forgiveness.  Those who are under your spiritual umbrella need to hear about heaven and hell, not just heaven.

         If you are a small church pastor and feel God is leading your ministry to change something about how they all “do church,” tell them.  Explain what God’s guidance on this matter is and what the benefits are.  Include them in the decision-making process about any changes that are led through the Holy Spirit.  Have open, sincere conversations with them about God’s leading in your life as their pastor. 

         One last item today on this vast topic—avoid anything that remotely looks like manipulation when it comes to leading your flock.  Honesty in communication with them will dispel any idea the devil tries to plant in their minds that you’re attempting to get them to do something you want to do and they haven’t bought into yet.  Honesty in communication will also help you build more trust between them and you as their pastor.  When they can believe what you say, they should follow your lead as their pastor.

         When a congregation believes the pastor is honest with them, they tend to be honest with the pastor.  That honesty on both parts will benefit all concerned in the long run.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

    (PS—More about honesty later.)

  • Letter #14–Waiting

    Dear Small Church Pastor

         In the letters “Timing” and “Seasons,” I mentioned the concept of waiting on God.  Allow me to expand on this concept. 

         Our natural self does not like to wait.  The culture in which we exist prides itself on speed, all things immediate and following the quickest path to any destination on our GPS maps.  Fast food restaurants abound with their drive-through windows, and we become anxious or, possibly, somewhat annoyed if we don’t have a response to the text we sent forty seconds ago.  Essentially, we are addicted to not waiting.

         However, our propensity to want things now, right now, is our undoing when it comes to the things of God.  God’s timing and the seasons he brings into our lives do not go according to our addiction.  God is not bound by time, space or anything else.  We don’t have clocks and calendars for His sake.  When God set the sun into motion and this planet revolving around it and spinning on its axis to create day and night and the seasons, I believe He did that for our sakes, not His.  And no matter how much we would like to do it, we cannot speed up God’s created flow of time that influences our lives.

         The idea that God is taking too much time to work out the answers to our prayers originates in our addiction.  The urge to take control of a situation to see if we can influence how fast a resolution to a problem is discovered originates in our addiction. 

         Try as we will because of our addiction to quickness, we cannot alter for good any of God’s intended purposes that are being worked out in His timetable.  I don’t mean to insult you, but neither of us is smart enough to take command of a situation and work it out faster and better than God can.

         Here’s the rub in this matter of waiting—our natural self, our fleshly self, our sin-influenced self does not want to wait to get what it wants.  That even applies when we are dealing with spiritual matters.  The carnal self wants spiritual matters to yield to its desires, wants, whims and plans, and it wants them to yield NOW.  Waiting is the absolute antithesis of our sinful self.

         Because it is directly opposed to our “self” and its wants, waiting is an activity that must be enabled through something other than “self.”  Waiting will have to come from a source that is greater than us.  It must come from the only source of which I am aware that can overcome our addiction.  That source is the Holy Spirit of God.

         Those fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians 5 include longsuffering (patience) and temperance (self-control).  It is only through the help of the Holy Spirit that you will be able to develop the self-control (being tempered) necessary to possess patience (being willing to wait) when it comes to your ministry.  These two qualities are a couple of the evidences that the Holy Spirit is in control of your life.

         If you are facing problems, needs, or anything else that causes you to seek God sincerely in your prayers, you will need to wait for God to answer your prayers.  The best way to be able to wait for the answers is to seek God’s help in developing your patience and your self-control.  Ask God to help you develop and demonstrate the fruits of longsuffering and temperance.  Ask Him to fill you so full of His Spirit that these fruits become part of your daily life.  Ask God to help you wait on His answers.

         While waiting, resist the temptation to take back control of any situation you have given to God.  While waiting, tell yourself regularly who the boss is and what He has called you to do.  While waiting, quote aloud what you might call “waiting scriptures” like Genesis 8:1 & 12, Genesis 49:18, Psalm 5:3, Psalm 25:5, Psalm 27:14, Psalm 40:1 and the famous verse Isaiah 40:31.  While waiting, write down every time God has answered a prayer at just the right time.  While waiting, tell someone about how God has fulfilled His promises to you.  While waiting, occupy yourself in ministry to others.   

         Above all, set your mind and will on waiting through the help of the Holy Spirit.  You’ll have to choose to let Him, but God will help you wait.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #13–Not Alone

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         You are not alone.  The devil will do everything he can to make you think you are.  However, whether you remember it or not, you are not alone.

              The enemy of Christ’s kingdom will use any method he can to try to isolate you physically or mentally and convince you that you don’t have any help in pastoring your small congregation.  He will try to make you think being God’s pastor has put you into the position of having no friends, no trusted confidants and no allies in the war against evil.  He will cause people to betray your trust or even desert you in a crisis.  He will do his best to convince you that nobody is responding to your sermons, nobody likes you anymore, nobody takes you seriously and nobody is willing to stick around during the hard times when nothing seems to be going the way you had hoped it would.

         Any time you begin to feel alone in your calling, get alone with your heavenly Father.  Ask Him to renew your calling.  Ask God to revive your spirit with His power.  Ask for wisdom, fresh anointing and a new vision.  Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you just how many are working beside you to accomplish God’s will in your life.  Ask Him to remind you of who “The Boss” is.

         Remember the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in Hebrews 12:1?  There have been millions who have gone before you who have served God.  You’re not the only one in town who is serving him today.  Remember how God had to remind the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19:18 that he wasn’t alone?  You’re not the only one who has had betrayals, troubles, threats or persecutions.  Wake up to these realities and pray until you have defeated Satan’s attempt to put you into a pity-party.

         Probably the most important thing you can do when you begin to feel alone is to remind yourself that Jesus has called you into His service.  He knows what you can do for His kingdom, and Jesus is depending on you to do it.  Remind yourself that Romans 8:26-27 states the Holy Spirit intercedes for YOU.  Remind yourself that Jesus Himself is at the right hand of God making intercession for YOU. (Romans 8:34)  Remind yourself that in John 17:20 Jesus prayed for all those who would believe in Him because of the message His disciples would spread, and that includes YOU.  Simply put, remind yourself that Jesus is on your side, and “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31)

         There are millions of fellow disciples of Jesus around the world and in your own community today fighting the same battles you are.  You are not alone.

         Jesus and the Holy Spirit are on your side and are interceding for you.  You are not alone.

    You are not alone.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #12–Encourage List

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Let’s look for a moment at the Old Testament figure of Jacob’s son Joseph.  God moved for Joseph by giving him two audacious dreams as a youth that became reality as an adult.  He put Joseph in the right place with the right people at the right time.  (Potiphar, the jailer and the cup-bearer were all connected to Pharoah, who was later introduced to Joseph.)  God gave Joseph opportunities to reflect his faith in God to others.

         God moved in Joseph through his trials.  Romans 5:3-4 lets us know that “we can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (NLT)  God used his trials to develop Joseph’s character to prepare him to guide a whole nation.

         God also moved in Joseph by giving him wisdom to be an administrator, wisdom which demonstrated itself as he was promoted by Potiphar, the jailer and, eventually, Pharoah.  Additionally, God gave Joseph an understanding of God’s purposes that were working in his life.  He realized God had set into motion events in his life that would lead to the saving of his own family.

         Finally, God worked through Joseph to be a blessing to others.  Every time he was promoted, his overseer was blessed by God.  Joseph’s ultimate authority in Egypt set the stage for the whole country to be blessed when every country around Egypt was in famine.  That action led to his own family being saved from the famine when they all moved to Egypt at Joseph’s invitation.  When Israel’s family moved to Egypt, God’s plan to give His chosen people their promised land moved another step closer to fulfillment.

         I’m writing this letter to admonish you and challenge you to create what I call an “Encourage List.”  We all need to be reminded from time to time that God will work for us, in us and through us.  We all need to remember just how far God has brought us, how much He has recreated us and how much He has accomplished through us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

         I suggest you write down what God has done for you, in you and through you.  It will be okay if you need more than one piece of paper.  Then put that list on your refrigerator door so you can see it every time you open that door.  Read it to yourself.  Read it to your family.  Remind yourself of all that God has done for, in and through you since you became one of His children.  Encourage yourself with an “Encourage List.”

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor

  • Letter #11–Expand the Family

    Dear Small Church Pastor,

         Letter #10 was about creating bonds with the physically diverse family that exists in small church settings.  Allow me to continue this concept with some thoughts on expanding the church family that you pastor. 

         Most people develop comfort zones in which they operate.  This is especially true when it comes to a small church setting.  People have a tendency to form cliques made up of family and close friends, even when worshipping together.  This tendency can hinder the expansion of a church community when new people begin to attend worship services where there is already an established set of groupings within the congregation.

         The congregation that doesn’t easily admit new people into their established groups will have to be instructed in the concepts involved in becoming more hospitable to new arrivals.  Caring for strangers who are new to an area is one of the commands stated in scripture.  In order to help a congregation improve their hospitality (caring for strangers and foreigners) in connection to new people, the leadership will first have to develop good hospitality themselves and then encourage everyone else to do the same.

         Allow me to recommend a book to you entitled Becoming a Welcoming Church by Thom Rainer.  I have successfully used this small book with a congregation in order to help them become more welcoming to new attenders.  I gave a copy of the book to all the families in the congregation, and then we covered the principles through lessons and messages designed to encourage the congregation to become “welcoming” to new people who visited our worship services.

         The results became evident when we had new people arrive over the next few months.  Almost everyone in the congregation welcomed the new attenders and spoke to them each time they visited.  They invited them to join in for dinners, youth events and other church activities.  They called them to chat and to thank them for becoming part of our congregation.  They visited them or called when they missed services.  There were invitations to go fishing, exchange recipes and help each other with projects. 

         The most important aspect of the new-found hospitality was that new people would thank the congregation for accepting them just as they were.  There were few judgmental looks at physical appearances. (You’ll be blessed if most of your folks are not judgmental when it comes to dress, tattoos, hairstyles, etc..)  The new people were genuinely appreciative of the “we’re glad you are with us” attitude the congregation was displaying.

         All the time the established members were interacting with the new arrivals, they were building relationships with them.  As time passed, those relationships began to strengthen. The new people were becoming accepted as part of the church family.  That resulted in growth of the family, and that growth brought in new opportunities for people to be ministered to physically and spiritually by the congregation.  And aren’t we supposed to help our people mature and become more and more like Jesus as we minister to them and with them?

         The process of becoming a hospitable place of worship will take some time to be established and to work its way to fruition.  The process will require people learning that acceptance is more than a handshake and an insincere “Thanks for coming.”  They have to learn that physical growth must be preceded by spiritual growth, or the physical growth will not endure.  You may need to start by explaining what hospitality means.

         The bottom line of this letter is:  Help your congregation learn how to expand and include more people in the family of God through hospitalitiy.

    Sincerely,

    A Small Church Pastor