Welcome!
The first set of entries to this weekly blog (#1–#47) is entitled “Letters to a Small Church Pastor.” These are brief letters that are focused on topics I have found important in the life of a small church pastor. The second set of entries (Beginning with #48) is entitled “Letters to a Small Church Congregation” and is directed to the lay leaders and other members of small churches.
Although I often use examples from my own ministry, the bulk of the information in the letters comes from what the Holy Spirit has taught me through many years of ministry, reading insightful books or articles and listening to people who are much wiser than I am. It is my prayer that these letters will encourage and challenge you as a small church pastor or as someone who attends a small church.
Introductory Letter (Read First)
Letter #52 (It’s Jesus’s Church)
Letter #51 (Whose Church Is It?)
Letter #50 (Inevitability of Change)
Letter #49 (First Impressions–2)
Letter #48 (First Impressions)
Letter #29 (Dare to Be Different)
Letter #27 (Remember Your Source)
Letter #24 (Changing Others–2)
Letter #23 (Changing Others–1)
Letter #22 (Changing Yourself)
Letter #17 (My Wants vs God’s Will)
Letter #16 (The Greatest Obstacle)
Letter #11 (Expand the Family)
Letter #6 (You Failed at Something)
If you would like to be notified via email when new letters and other posts are placed on this site, please let us know via a comment after one of the letters and check the “Save My Name” box before you post your comment. Your email will not be shared with anyone, and we will not clog up your email with unnecessary links, posts, ads, promos, or other “junk mail.”
If you are a Small Church Pastor and would like to receive additional encouragement beyond these letters, send me a note via the contact info supplied. By the way, this site is not designed for debates about doctrine. It is designed for mutual encouragement as you lead your small church. (Be sure to read the Introductory Letter.)
God Bless, and I look forward to helping other small church pastors to achieve all God has planned for them and their congregations.
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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…
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Letter #10–Family
Dear Small Church Pastor, Let’s take a look at one of the great blessings found in a small congregation. They usually all know each other and may even be related through family ties. I’ve discovered this “family feeling” is quite common in a small church setting. Although it sometimes proves to have its downfalls,…
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Letter #8–Seasons
Dear Small Church Pastor, In the course of a year, we experience seasons as the weather changes from one general type of weather to the next. The dormancy of Winter yields to the vibrancy of Spring. Then the growth of Summer produces the harvest of Fall. We continually experience these changes of seasons because…
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Letter #7–K.I.S.S. Revisited
Dear Small Church Pastor, In the first installment for K.I.S.S., I suggested you include the members of your congregation as ministry partners in order to simplify your life. I pray you are encouraging your membership as they develop the gifts and talents resident in your congregation in order to accomplish that aspect of keeping…
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Letter #6–You Failed at Something
Dear Small Church Pastor, Congratulations, you failed at something. Odd statement, isn’t it? It has been my experience that failure when we attempt to do something in ministry reveals some very important information to us and about us. Let’s look at some of that information for just a bit and see what we can learn…
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Letter #5–Relationships
Dear Small Church Pastor, Build supportive relationships with other small church pastors. You’ve already read my suggestions to involve other people in your ministry. You need the help of your congregation as you minister to them and with them. You simply cannot do everything alone. There is another source of help available for…
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Letter #4 (K.I.S.S.)
Dear Small Church Pastor, K.I.S.S. (Not the rock band.) Keep. It. Simple. Stupid. It’s been said so much that it has become a cliché. But it’s still a great rule of thumb for ministry. The gospel is the simple and uncomplicated news that anyone can be restored to a right relationship with God through…