…and proud of it!
Do you ever wonder where the folks are who are enthusiastic about small church ministry? I find myself wondering how many of us there are and where they are. Here’s a blog that’s a gathering place and a source of encouragement for small church enthusiasts. It’s called New Small Church, and its creator is Karl Vaters, a longtime small church pastor in California.
Here’s some of what led Karl to launch this venture: “I’ve read all the pastoral ministry books and attended all the seminars, just like you. And I’ve found great help from many of them. But, after a while, I started getting frustrated with the books and seminars because all the “can’t miss” principles for growing my church … did miss.
“My church stayed small.
“But it was (and is) a good church. And I was (and hopefully still am) a good pastor. So I started asking myself some questions about Small Church ministry.
- “Why didn’t anyone tell me it would be like this?”
- “Why can’t I find help to understand how to do that?”
- “Why does it feel like I’m on my own, learning by trial-and-error most of the time?”
He went on to write a book entitled The Grasshopper Myth. The blog builds on the book and is a way to make it a conversation and not just a monologue. I read the book and recommend it. This author is deeply respectful of congregations of every size and of those who serve there. What’s the “grasshopper” in the title all about? Check out Numbers 13:32-33. You can order the book on the site, or access it from amazon.com.
Click on the website name above to explore. And here’s a post Karl wrote that was published recently on Qideas: Why Small Churches Are the Next Big Thing.
Many thanks, Karl!
The Mustard Seed Journal 
Karl does a great job with his blog. I read it all the time!
This will help us connect cross-denominationally.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Mary!
You’re welcome, Karl! Thanks for what you are doing!