Lamar Slay

President, Partners in Church Consulting

There are many reasons churches are small. Every small church is small because of a combination of many of those reasons, but there seems to be one common denominator: Small churches think small. Or I should say, “smaller churches think small”.

There are some churches that are 1,000, 2,000 or even larger that are no larger than they are because they still think small. They have grown in-spite of themselves. Their small thinking keeps them from being churches of 5,000 or 10,000. At the same time, there are some churches of 100, 200 or 500 that in all reality should be much smaller, but because they think “big”, they have grown.

Here are 10 examples of how small churches think small in contrast to how large churches think:

Small Church — Large Church

Last minute — Advance planning

Assume everyone knows — Assumes nothing

Makes excuses for failures — Honest evaluations

Staff does everything — Utilizes volunteers

Fears upsetting members — Fears the lost going to hell

Postpones making strategic decisions until everyone is on board — Leadership leads

Refuses to remove ineffective leadership — Does what’s best for ministry

Doesn’t hold staff accountable — High value on accountability

Refuses to call volunteers to high level of commitment — Realizes people respond when adequately challenged & trained

Often talk about quality, seldom about quantity — Knows numbers represent lives

The key for many churches to experience the growth God desires for them is for the leadership to learn to think “big”. The best way to change your thinking: Be around people who think the way you want to think.

WE CAN HELP YOU THINK BIG!