When it comes to small congregations, the pastors role cannot be overstated. After all, unlike large, mega churches, with multiple pastors and assistant pastors, small churches usually have only one or two pastors at the most. This means there is a great deal of pressure and responsibility placed upon these individuals to meet the needs of those within their congregation. In addition, although mega churches seem to garner the most press, they are actually a minority. Christianity Today estimates that some 90% of all churches would fit closer into the category of “small congregations.” This means “most” churches in America would be considered small or medium in size at the most. Therefore, looking at the issue faced by these churches and how to remedy them is wise.
Common Problems Pastors Face When Leading Small Congregations
Discouragement
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According to a Christianity Today Article, “Discouragement is unquestionably the most widespread burden faced by small church pastors—and usually the most debilitating.” Often, these feelings of discouragement come as a result of several factors including feeling like they are feeling they are somehow standing in the way of their church’s success and growth if numbers remain low.
What Can Be Done?
According to pastors themselves, the single best way parishioners can help their pastors fight away feelings of discouragement is to encourage them. This can be accomplished by sending them to conferences where they will be surrounded with other pastors, experiencing the same feelings. Parishioners should also express their gratitude to their pastor, ensuring they know they are making a difference, even if the church isn’t growing as they would like.
A Lack of
Dr. Ken Nichols in his book “Masterpiece” said it best, “We may notice how God is changing us from the inside out, but over time, those who are watching us will be able to see the difference.” As discussed in chapter four, the direction of inclination of the approaches to cope with burnout by the pastors in the Northeast Florida was meditation, exercise, bible reading and prayer dialogue with others, study for renewing, listening to hymns, and so on. Most strategies that the African-American pastors suggested represent spiritual and conservative methods. Now, this chapter will bring to the light the practical and
The thesis of the book Deep and Wide by Adam Stanley is simply put as making a church that the unchurched can’t resist to attend. This book may cause controversy in some Christian circles by leaving a traditional church view of the church’s purpose being for the churched, however, in this paradigm shift Stanley presents that the church’s purpose should be to reach the unchurched in order for people to receive the Gospel that would never step foot into a traditional church. Stanley has shown results with this mission and method by North Point Churches growth from its start with him as a church planter and senior pastor. Deep and Wide challenges the pastor to refocus and seriously convict them
Southland Christian Church, one of several worship centers in the United States that has earned the moniker “Six Flags over Jesus,” is Lexington’s largest megachurch. With a weekly attendance of 8,000 people and an operating budget that supports a staff of over eighty members, Southland far exceeds most U.S. congregations in terms of financial resources and social clout. In recent years, popular and scholarly studies have attempted to situate the megachurch movement within a broad cultural context. Although the majority of these analyses dispute the precise definition of a megachurch, most distinguish these multiplex sanctuaries from smaller worship communities by using the same criteria—i.e. weekly attendance, campus acreage, annual budget, etc.—that megachurches themselves draw on to represent their own success. [2] However, the essence of a megachurch is not its large buildings, but rather the theology of consumption that informs its programming.[3] In this way, a megachurch ethos has infiltrated even the smallest congregations in the United States and has helped to solidify Christianity’s inextricable connection to consumer capitalism. To those who see megachurches as symptomatic of a flawed Christianity, market-minded church growth confounds one of the faith’s oldest dualities, the contradiction of living in the world without conforming to its ways, as Paul puts it in Romans 12. Megachurches at once reject “the world” and participate in it by seeking to win the lost and wow the consumer at the same time.
inform the clergymen about what he and his people are dealing with as a whole
Mead, Frank S., and Samuel S. Hill. Handbook of Denominations in the United States. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1995. Print.
Goodstein, Laurie. "Pared-Down Episcopal Church Is Looking to Grow Through ‘Inclusivity’." New York Times. N.p., 18 July 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
It is apparent that the issues are similar at Willow Creek and New Hope, as both have experienced great growth. They are addressing these issues by adding additional services and by assignment of small groups or small ministries to meet their congregation's needs. They have been successful in addressing the issue based on each church's individual needs. Willow Creek has added services to accommodate the service seekers or the un-churched. New Hope attempts to match congregation member's needs through joining auxiliaries or other ministries of the church.
In the book The New Guidebook for Pastors, James W. Bryant and Mac Brunson do a magnificent job of identifying and explaining the practical nuts and bolts that make a successful pastorate and a fruitful church.
Although written for church leadership, everyday church members would also benefit from understanding the concepts that Dawn is directing at God-empowered leaders. Ms. Dawn's work is predominantly scholarly, and she cites several other works at great length.... ... middle of paper ... ...
I agree with Kitchens, Mead, and Roxburgh who all basically say in their own way that one change in ministry that we need to focus on more is the congregational life of the church. However, I think Mead explains it best when he says that the future church must be more intentional in the spiritual formation of its laity (Mead, location 919). According to Mead, the church is moving towards becoming a more missional institution that cares for the needs of the community. Therefore, oftentimes laity will be the ones on the front lines and will need the capacity to minister to people on their own without the help of clergy. In order to do this they will need more directed and intensive training to deal with...
As we dive into the world of megachurches and decide if they are healthy for Christians or not we should first ask ourselves what is a megachurch? Where do they come from? From there we will look at the statistics; what denominations are usually involved with mega churches, are mega churches growing? We will also see what deems as pros and cons of megachurches, including personal experiences of Flat Irons Church from Lafayette, Colorado.
In 1993, Os Guinness wrote a wonderful little book entitled Dining with the Devil. The subtitle was The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity. Guinness pointed out how the megachurch movement was borrowing tools, insights, and strategies from the modern management, business, and marketing world to “reach” people. It was a sort of Babylonian captivity. What these churches often thought were the result of prayer, evangelism, or biblical preaching, were, perhaps, simply the result of good marketing, management, and business principles applied to growing one’s membership (clientele).
The shepherd and sheep relationship is the best illustration for the relationship between pastor and parishioners. When Jesus asked Simon Peter does he love him three times and said to him “Feed my sheep”, the shepherd and flock relationship has been set. Since Jesus is our good shepherd (Jn. 10:11a), he laid out a good example for us to follow - to lay down his life for the sheep. (Jn. 10:11b) Thus, the wellness of both in and out of the parishioners should always be the concern in the pastors’ hearts. Soul care for the people is essential. Christian friendship is the foundation of Christian soul care. Pastoral ministry including preaching, teaching, and worship forms the broad context of pastoral counseling. Pastoral care is within pastoral ministry but broader than pastoral counseling. God’s love is the source and motivation. Within the pastoral care, there are spiritual direction and pastoral
The pastor is the business owner who oversees all activities of the church while his followers or congregation are the consumer. The way a church provides what the people need within a period of time determines how successful your church will be. What is a church brand? Branding is the visual
Pastoral Burnout Burnout for pastors is a response to long-term distress coupled with traumatic experiences that a pastor experiences due to the rigors of ministry to a church congregation. It has been known for quite some time that the main source of distress for pastors is the congregation they are supposed to shepherd (Jud & Mills, 1970; Mills & Koval, 1971). Being that the job of the pastor is to lead the congregation in love, as a shepherd of sorts, pastors are especially vulnerable to burning out due to the caretaking nature of shepherding in addition to the expectations that the flock has. The Pastor is not the Only One Negatively Impacted Pastoral burnout is dangerous not only to the pastor, but also to the congregation.