A few years ago, a group of youth pastors
got together and created what became known as “The Great Denver Boat Race”. To
participate in the race, each group had to follow three simple rules:
1. Each
group had to select two people to ride in the boat.
2.. Boats had to
be powered by human energy only.
3. Each group had to build it’s own boat
completely out of milk cartons.
Once enough milk cartons were collected,
and the boat design was agreed upon, the building process began. The designs
were as varied as you can imagine. The cartons were stapled and glued together
in many different shapes. On the day of the race, more than twenty pickup trucks carrying the boats backed up to the shore’s edge. The boats were carefully lifted out and placed in the water. By the time of the race, the shore was lined with hundreds of spectators…as well as T.V. crews.
The goal of the race was to reach the center of the lake, go around a buoy and return to the finish line. The starter’s pistol sounded and the boats were off! Some boats never made it ten feet. Others fell apart half-way to the buoy. Milk cartons were floating everywhere! Only a few boats made it to the buoy, and of the twenty, only one made it to the finish line with all it’s milk cartons intact.
This is an interesting example of what often happens with churches. Like the boats, they all have their own shape and design; they all look like they “could go all the way!” They start out good, but not all churches are healthy. Many fall apart. Others struggle to stay afloat. Some experience growth, while others do not.
The key to winning the Great Denver Boat Race was in using the right glue. Only one boat, the winning boat, used “water-proof” glue. The real key to church growth is the glue of the common bond of the love of Christ. It is through him and for him that we do all things!
If the church was a football game; what quarter is it? What down is it? How many yards are there to go? Who’s got the ball? Are we on the offense or defense? Where have we come from? Where are we now? Where are we going? Here’s the thing; the answer to all these questions will determine the play we call!
I once asked my church board the question; “What is a small church?” The first answer I got was a natural one, “It’s a church where there are not too many people.” However, that is a relative answer. To one person 50 is small, to another 100 may be small. Compared to some of the “mega” churches even 500 may be considered small. My reply was “How many are too many?”
Another answer was; “It’s a church where the same people do the same things all the time”. The same people have always served on the board, taught Sunday school, or usher every Sunday. But, then, it has been said that in any size church about 10% of the people do 100% of the work.
Still another answer was that a small church is like a family. Everyone knows everyone, and it’s a very “relational” church. It was also said that small churches have limited opportunities in ministry, as far as things like a large choir or Christmas and Easter Cantatas, and youth groups, and so on.
While all these things may be true of a church “small” in numbers, to me a small church is a church that “thinks small” and has a survival mentality concerning their “little church”. A small church is a church that is content with celebrating the past; getting by in the present; with no vision for the future. And, unless “Pastor Super-star” comes along or God performs some kind of miracle, it will always be a “small” church.
One thing I have learned is that the church leadership is the “mind” and the “heartbeat” of any church. God’s Word says that the “body is made up of many parts”…and you could say that the leadership in the church are really the vital organs! What the leadership feels, and how they think, will determine how they lead. How they lead will determine the path of the church. That does not mean that the leadership necessarily has to desire to become large or “mega” … they just have to stop thinking “small”. Just like the vital organs in the physical body, the leadership must work in harmony to keep the body healthy. The ultimate goal of the vital organs is LIFE! The same is true for the leadership in the church. The church (whatever its size) will grow as God causes it to grow. And, I also believe there is no such thing as a “small” church in God’s eyes.
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