Read this article today. It presents the same story (not at all news) that I always hear about rural church life. It’s the same message I have heard my whole life. There’s a lot of churches in the country that are ‘dying’ and the best thing for them to do is to get radical and ‘untraditional’ and then they can really pack the place. Unfortunately some people, probably the dwindling, aging congregations hold ‘fast to the traditions of their forebears.’
I really believe that the opinions expressed in these type of stories just hurt the morale of small churches, and small church ministers and perpetuate a view of ministry that believes to be a successful church you have to have a lot of people. Notice the wording in the opening paragraph:
‘It’s an idyllic setting for Sunday worship: a small, white church on the slope of a gentle hill. Outside the sanctuary, two dogs lie in the shade. The only problem is there are just 20 worshippers inside…’ The small number of worshippers is a ‘problem’, 20 is a small number compared to the megachurches the author seems to be impressed with, but what is the population of the community where the church is located? Is the only thing a small congregation can do to be healthy is become a bigger congregation? Is the problem (as the article seems to suggest) that the church is made up of old fogies who are stuck in their ways, instead of willing to shake thing up a bit and implement ‘casual dress, upbeat worship and high-tech media presentations’?
As a minister in a country church I’m tired of small congregations feeling like they are somehow less a part of the body of Christ than big city mega-churches. I’m tired of ‘help’ for small churches aimed completely at boosting attendance rather than focusing on the health of a congregation expressed in spiritual maturity, participation and leadership in the congregation and active ministry and mission.
I believe it is important for the church to have a presence in these small communities that are simply not going to have large congregations. (In Allsboro there are roughly 300 people, we are 7 miles from the closest store and about 30 miles from the closest redlight, I don’t believe we are called to build a mega-church.) But in these small communities the fact that a few people get together to worship God (Jesus set the quota at 2 or more) is a sign of faithfulness to God and to their community. Wal-Marts have helped shut down our country stores. The schools closed and consolidated a long time ago. Same with the post office. While most folks have abandoned the rural areas in the name of efficiency, and to the detriment of community, many, many faithful small churches have not. I think they deserve some appreciation instead of another story telling them that they are small, old, dying and unattractive to ‘seminary trained ministers’.
