Half of the American churches have less than 75 people. In fact, some of the pastors I most respect are in very small churches doing the work of the Lord with little recognition. I am fully aware there are leaders in small churches who take advantage of the church’s volatility and offer little positive impulse to see the church grow numerically, and who spend little time preparing for sermons and teaching, and thus place the church in an unending coma until the money runs dry and they are forced to close the doors altogether. But my experience is that that scenario is far from the norm.
The more common scenario is the pastor of a small church who goes above and beyond; who visits parishioners, eats with his people, seeks the well-being of the flock, prepares attentively to the text of Scriptures and loves his parish. In some cases, he is bi-vocational attending to his financial needs in whatever profession God called him to exercise and then using his remaining energy to serve small flocks who hunger for truth and the application of the Bible in their lives.
These men are honorable! They fight the good fight sometimes in rural places knowing that their congregations will likely not grow much due to its locale, but they still press on faithfully in the call of the Gospel to equip the saints (Eph. 4:12). They are not moved by sexy advertisements or flashy models of leadership; they simply plod along with the stamina given them by God, rather than the applause of men.
To these pastors during this pandemic, I want to encourage you to serve with joyful hearts and to not allow the discouragement of even smaller numbers on Sundays to keep you from your cause. I want you to remember that if you are faithful to your call in these times of uncertainty, God will reward you. Do not grow weary in well-doing, but grow firmly in doing good to the people of God.
The world, even the Christian world, will pay little attention to what you have to say or do during this time, but our Lord sees you. So, stay in the fight, continue to exhort and to lift up your voices for in the desert of the Lord even the flowers blossom and the manna falls from heaven.
In Praise of the Small-Church Pastor
