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Dear Friends,
This is clear and powerful statement that both embraces the small church while at thesame time challenges them. With the focus for much of the 1980’s and 90’s being on “mega” churches I think the facts were lost. The facts are that the majority of churches in United Methodism (around 75% ) are small! Small is defined by having under 200 in the church’s membership or 150 or less in worship. By this definition we are SMALL. I believe now is the time to embrace our size, to celebrate our being small, to name the strengths that arise from our smallness and then to build on them. It is my belief that we can no longer rest in the hope that people are going to flock into our church just because our building stands in the community. The time of this sort of inflow of people was a phenomenon of the 1950’s and 60’s but has not been the reality since . Churches, including ours, cannot rest merely on our familiarity and longevity within a community. Instead the article went on to say “the distinguishing factor (of a vital small church) is a clear vision and a strong sense of purpose that guides everything the church does. THIS DOES NOT REQUIRE A LOT OF PEOPLE (emphasis mine).” A clear vision and a strong sense of purpose has always guided those led by God. Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, Ezekiel, John the Baptist, Paul and Jesus had these. They were able to do what they did well and effectively because of this laser-focused vision and an overwhelming sense of what they were here to do. They felt a call upon their lives by God, answered the call and remained in intimate connection to the Divine which helped them stay on track. Vital small churches, also describe themselves in “abundant” terms instead of terms that lament perceived weaknesses. They use descriptions that state who they are and describe their sense of purpose. We have a mission statement which claims Christ UMC sees itself as “Christian servants, United in Mission to the Community and the world. “ This is a clear vision. We have yet to embody it and claim it as a strong sense of purpose that guides everything the we do as the church. To truly call ourselves a “Vital Church” we must make this so. We must transform this statement into ministry. It must become a part of all that we do, present in every ministry we take on. I believe we are taking the first steps into this territory. After many years of challenge, after countless gatherings where we struggled to find purpose as a church, I believe that day is upon us. It has been a gradual and at times painstaking process but I believe that we are beginning to get a clear sense of who we are, what gifts and strengths are present within this body. This is an exciting time. May we continue to grow ever wider in inclusiveness and deeper in discipleship as we look ahead to the One who goes before us, blazing a new path. Yours in Christ, Pastor Bruce McDaniel
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In the Guidelines for Small Membership Church, I read recently under the heading, Vital Small Churches, "A Church’s existence is not justified merely because of its age or historic location. Let’s take a realistic rather than a romantic view of small churches. We need vital smaller churches-not congregations that have settled for mere survival."