The Blog Post You Used to Know

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about some of my positive experiences at a small church. At the encouragement of a colleague, I reworked and edited the blog post, and it was published today in Leadership Journal online. (You can read the final version here.)

I was reminded of the benefits of a small church again this past Sunday, when T joined us in the service for the first time in a while (he's outgrowing the toys in the nursery but is still a bit young for the preschool class). I had once attended my mom's small church during college, and I was struck by how noisy it was--I found it a nuisance, mainly because I was used to the hallowed silence of churches where children are neither seen nor heard. And I was a selfish college student.

This Sunday, T contributed to the noise in the sanctuary, clapping after every song and quietly chatting to himself through most of the service while (mercifully) sitting on my lap or Abby's. At the end of the service, several people said, "He did so well in service today" and commented that they liked his clapping. We did not receive a single glare for keeping him with us, and I believe the comments were genuine. Whether these people are just more patient than I was or childish chatter is more forgivable when you know the source, I was so grateful.

The Benefits of a Small Church

I'm a member of a small church. The church had around 150 members when we started attending almost seven years ago, but now our numbers are closer to 70-90 including children. Our sanctuary, built for 200 or more, is often a bit sparse on Sunday mornings. Our nursery is stocked with toys older than I am. I make our coffee, and it was an upgrade when I switched to the Costco brand. We still sing hymns, we still have Sunday school (which I teach), and our color scheme is anything but modern.

In short, we are not a megachurch in people, resources, or mind-set.

Yet over the years I have been so grateful for our small church, and many of the things I'm grateful for are specifically related to its smallness. Here's a sampling of the benefits I've observed.