1. Community (Over Content)
The advantage small churches have over large churches is it’s easier to cultivate a healthy culture and community.
Large churches have to work hard at cultivating community. Sometimes, they do it well, but sometimes, it can feel more like a random assembly of individuals who don’t know each other.
Small churches have a unique opportunity to cultivate a sense of community and belonging both in the service and throughout the week. Today, in a world drowning in TikToks, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TED Talks, content is everywhere, but community is scarce.
Loneliness and isolation are now designated as an epidemic in the United States. So please… deliver great sermons and preach the Word authentically and passionately. But instead of trying to ‘win’ at content, focus meaningful energy on community and connection.
2. Authenticity (Over Expensive Technology)
It can be hard leading a small church with a tiny budget (I’ve done it), realizing you can’t afford the big tech or ‘experience’ that other churches offer.
Especially with almost every church these days having an online presence (which we support), it’s also easy to think that you have to have more money and better gear to have a bigger impact.
Not really.
If you track what’s happening with younger Millennials and Gen Z, you’ll quickly notice that they are the most sold-to and marketed-to generation in history.
While they’re used to that level of marketing and 24/7 messaging, they’re also looking for an alternative to the culture, not an echo of it.
At the heart of that longing is a desire for authenticity.
Perhaps more than anything else, pastors of small local churches have the opportunity to preach and interact with people in a genuine, real way.
As Craig Groeschel often says, people would rather follow a leader who’s always real than a leader who’s always right.
Authenticity will never show up in a church budget, nor can you ‘strategize’ for it. It springs from character and a genuine desire to serve.
Authenticity should be a characteristic of every church leader (no matter what size of church), and it is definitely a hallmark that can characterize every small church pastor and leader.
3. Being Locally Respected (Over Being Nationally-Known)
Every church has a reputation, and the smaller your community, the more likely your church has a well-known reputation among people who live in your community.
It could range from ‘wonderful’ to ‘judgmental’ to ‘compassionate’ or ‘caring.’ It could also be that people have grown indifferent to your church, thinking of it as a club for the already-convinced.
As Jeff Henderson notes, though, too often, churches today are known more for what they’re against than for what they’re for.
Fortunately, it’s relatively easy for small churches to become known for doing good in your community because news travels fast, especially in a smaller community or neighborhood.
There are countless inspiring stories of local schools serving their communities with practical aid for schools, shelter for the unhoused, food for the hungry, and a desire to help their towns and municipalities thrive.
The impact is not just reputational but economically meaningful to communities, as more and more cities are realizing the ‘halo effect’ (the socio-economic benefit that churches contribute to their community) from churches is real.
A study showed that the halo effect of even very small churches can be highly significant.
For example, one church with an attendance of 25 people generated a $1.2 million impact on its community by providing an after-school program, outreach to youth, and food for the community,
The unique advantage local churches have is just that: you’re local.
