A new year of ministry is upon us here at Congregational Bible Church of Shafter. It is the 107th year of ministry at CBC, an amazing testament to the Lord’s faithfulness. Our church has always been a small church in a small town and we can’t really foresee any reason why that would change anytime soon. Shafter is not budding into a sprawling metropolis and small churches are the overwhelming norm in America. However, sometimes it feels that small churches in small towns must be missing something or are glossed over when we think of the Lord’s work in the world. We talk more about the megachurch in the city than we do the little church in the rural area. This can bring about feelings of inadequacy or disappointment for those plugging along in small church rural settings. But this month I’d like to give a few reasons why small church ministry in small towns can be a good thing.
First, your Christian witness never takes a day off in a small town. One thing people agree on about being in a small town is that everyone knows everyone. The mail carrier knows my name, my occupation, and my home address. If I’m not in the office, she will bring my mail to my home so I receive it. Rosie, the lady who takes my order at the local restaurant sees me every week and she’s not just a waitress, she’s Rosie. We bought our car from someone in our church. If I decide to let my Christian witness go and do something dishonoring to Jesus in front of these people, or to these people, it stains my ministry. It will be noticed…and shared with others! This causes me to maintain my Christian witness at all times.
The Disney company had a term for employees in their parks called ‘onstage.’ Whenever a guest could see you, you were ‘onstage.’ That meant your costume had to be right, you couldn’t be on your phone, and you had to be smiling and nice. When guests couldn’t see you, then you could relax and untuck your shirt. That was ‘backstage.’ Ministering in a small town means you are ‘onstage’ all the time. That’s not the case in a big city. You can go store to store and see people you’ll never see again and you can act any way you want. Small town church ministry causes us to focus on our sanctification all the time.
Second, small church ministry makes us aware of our weaknesses. In a big church, if 10-15 people move away, the church hardly notices. It can take that loss and still have an excellent music ministry or still make their budget. But in a small church, 2 or 3 people move away or leave the church for the bigger church across town, those holes probably won’t get filled. So, the small church is always aware of its fragile state.
While this may seem like a problem more than a blessing, being aware of weakness is a good thing in Scripture! Paul says he boasts about his weaknesses because that is when God shows up in the biggest way (2 Cor 12:9). One theologian says that as a mother has the tenderest care for her weakest child, so Christ mercifully shows His greatest help to the weakest. Recognizing our weaknesses drives us to depend on the Lord for everything, to seek Him in prayer for everything, and to trust Him for everything. Is it a ‘problem’ that it is always close whether or not we will make our budget each year, or is it just another chance for us to lean on Christ to provide? And since He has for 107 years, is this area of weakness really a bad thing?
Thirdly, God has done some of His greatest work through the little guy. Think of Gideon and his small army. Think of King David, selected from the little town of Bethlehem. Think of the fishermen who defied Caesar. And think of the countless nobodies God has used in the building of His kingdom all over the world. Paul tells the Corinthians to look around their church and see that there are no big shots (1 Cor 1:26), which highlights the work of the gospel and not the celebrity of man. In reality, there are no overlooked soldiers in God’s army. Right now God is using a family from Bakersfield, CA to build His church in a country with no church in Central Asia.
To read more of these ideas please consult A Big Gospel in Small Places by Stephen Witmer, as I drew some of these ideas from that helpful book. But I encourage you to not run to the big church or think that your church is inadequate but rejoice in small church ministry in small towns.