I'm the Connection Director at my church and I love it. I could not possibly love this small-but-mighty group of believers more than I already do!

And yet... if I'm really honest... I have other feelings lurking beneath the surface. It's time I confess them publically.

Confession Time

• Sometimes I focus on growth so much that I feel frustrated about the size of my church.
• Sometimes I think that my church's size reflects its worth.
• Sometimes I think that my church's size reflects its success.
• Sometimes I think that my church's size reflects its effectiveness.

All the above means I've got a lot of repenting to do. And if you find yourself holding the same assumptions about your church that I do about mine, I humbly invite you to repent along with me. Because these assumptions couldn't be further from the truth.

A Reality Check

Here are some truths I've received from wise leaders that I've had to remind myself of often:

• A small church is not an inferior version of a big church
• A healthy church isn't necessarily big and a big church isn't necessarily healthy
• Christ didn't command the church to grow, just make disciples
• Globally speaking the body of Christ is expanding through smaller churches, not megachurches

More often than not, my notions of success or effectiveness are influenced by the world, not by the foolishness of the Gospel.

The future of the Church is Small

Let that last bullet point really sink in. Because it's true!

It's hard to get solid statistics on the global church, but some estimates state 80% of all churches have fewer than 100 people in attendance. Similarly, in the United States 7 in 10 of all churches have less than 100 weekly attendees.

Most congregations are the same size as yours. All signs point to that being the case far into the future.

Small Church Mulitiplication

Next Sunday, take a look around your sanctuary. What you see is similar to what the majority of believers worldwide see as they worship.

This is how the church has always been. And despite the smallness of individual congregations, the church has multiplied and grown throughout history. God's notions of power and success are clearly very different than mine.

That's a good thing!

Embrace the smallness

Rather than struggle against what God is doing, let's embrace it! We get to be a part of what He has been doing for thousands of years. What a blessing!

This Sunday, I'll be praying and thanking God for putting me where I am and giving me the church I'm in.

Will you join me?

Matt Church Engagement