Relationships, conversations, and connections – all important to me. Today I spent time with a couple church people. I prayed with Jonny in our auditorium. I had lunch with my wife. I met with my staff. I waved to my neighbor while running through the rain. I talked with my pastor-coach, Dave Jacobs.
Jonny and I recorded a great conversation with a pastor from Pennsylvania, that tonight I turned into something called “episode 74”. I watched a review of the Spurs-Heat game on ESPN with a student who knocked on my door at 11:00pm. I talked on the phone with a woman whose father is in the hospital. I spoke to the bank about a check I deposited on Monday, that never showed up in my account. They called me back – they found it! I listened to Pat Flynn for thirty minutes this morning while getting ready for the day. I texted three of my four kids. I hugged the fourth one. I sent 18 emails to people that I know. But. The greatest relationship, conversation, or connection I could have, on any given day, is my relationship with the triune God. In an age where I can make almost endless connections every day with people next door or on the other side of the world – as a pastor I get to model and practice my connection with God. With him is the greatest relationship I could ever experience. I’m gonna have a busy weekend, and I’m gonna make sure to spend my best part of it, with him.
Today, on episode 60 of the 200churches Podcast, we talk again with our friend Karl "The Shark" Vaters about his mission statement at NewSmallChurch.com, which is, Encouraging, Connecting, And Equipping Innovative Small Church Leaders. This is the third of his 12 Essentials blog posts, which he tells new visitors to his blog to read first.
On this episode, we really talk about all things small church pastor, with an edge toward encouraging pastors of small churches to stand tall, and understand the impact that is theirs as they pastor their church - NO MATTER THE SIZE! In small churches all across the country people are coming to faith in Jesus, having been loved by his Body. I have two quick stories for you, the first one about me...
[These stories are not included in this podcast episode, you'll have to listen to that for yourself - it's a good one - but these stories are intended to remind you of the importance of small church ministry, one of the things we do in this episode.] When I was 8 years old, my neighbor lady was in cahoots with a couple in our neighborhood to make an impact for Jesus. The ladies started a Ladies Bible Study, and in the summer they had a kid's club in one of their homes one afternoon a week. My neighbor, Mrs. Bennet, invited me to come. I said no the first two weeks, until I heard about a tire swing, cookies, and red Kool-Aid. That's when I decided I might be able to go! To make a long story short, I heard the Gospel that summer of 1971, and believed in God, and the message of Christ. That small church is still stumbling along, with about 150 people. It has had some ups and many downs over the decades. But I was reached there before the church was even formed, and I have been a pastor for 27 years. I have four kids who love Jesus and who have and will have families of their own that serve the LORD. That small, tiny group of adults, that fit into a living room, changed my life forever. Think your church can do the same? I think so! Story #2 - Several weeks ago I caught two little boys, an 8 year old and a 7 year old, cousins, wandering our lobby. They said they were just "looking around". I told them they could not play in the church when no one was there. They said they weren't playing, just "looking around." I told them that when kids their age "look around" an empty church, it counts as "playing". LOL As I spoke with them, I was very, very aware that how I related to them could well determine their future relationships with God. They recently moved into an apartment across the street. I invited them to our Wednesday night Kid's Program which would happen in less than an hour. They came, and have been coming for the past five weeks. It occurred to me that ten years ago, when I arrived at my church, I met a little 8 year old boy in our neighborhood. Now, ten years later, Luis is graduating from high school. I, and our church, have been a big part of his life. He loves the Lord, and has not fallen to the temptations that lure teenagers today. After I met those boys, I thought maybe God is giving me two more for the next ten years? Perhaps God will use us so that their lives will be changed?? That's what our church, and YOUR small church are all about - CHANGING LIVES as we introduce people of all ages to Jesus! We hope you enjoy this episode and are encouraged to bring it strong and stand tall at your 200church this week! FIND KARL VATERS >>> You can find Karl on Twitter @KarlVaters. You can buy his book, The Grasshopper Myth here on Amazon. You can find him on his blog at NewSmallChurch.com
What a great conversation we had with Karl "The Shark" Vaters today - and you get to listen to it on this, episode 57, of the 200churches Podcast! The message of this episode is that your church IS big enough - it really IS!! And as God allows us to reach more and more people in our communities, our church will always be big enough. As I type out this blog post, I am listening to the final cut of the podcast, and laughing. Karl is a riot, and we have a blast with him!
This episode is based on Karl's blogpost titled by the same name - Your Church IS Big Enough at his website, which you should visit and subscribe to: www.NewSmallChurch.com.
Karl makes the distinction between being satisfied and being content. Are we satisfied with how big our churches are? I'm not. I'm not satisfied because there are still people in my community on the outside looking in. They are not a part of the Kingdom, and they are separated from Christ. So, I will never be satisfied, we must keep reaching people as the Spirit and the Savior use us in their lives. But, I am content with my church, because today, my church is big enough.
Whenever we talk about the value of a 200church, a small church, I am always sensitive that we don't mistakenly come across as being critical of large churches and mega churches. Again, to be clear, we LOVE large churches and we LOVE mega churches. The truth is, we simply LOVE churches - they are the Bride of Christ, His Body. But our passion at 200churches.com is to encourage pastors of small churches so that they don't view themselves as less, simply because they have fewer people. Our mission is to elevate, affirm, and appreciate the pastors, the men and women, who lead our small congregations. So enjoy this episode - it was a really fun one to produce! Finally, before we give you the links to Karl Vaters' stuff... we want to encourage you to share the podcast with every small church pastor you know. So many men and women are out there serving in small churches who are lonely, discouraged, and feeling like failures. Our prayer is that this podcast will lift their spirits, lighten their load, and let them laugh! So whether it's through Facebook, Twitter, or even Pinterest - spread it around! Karl Vaters is the pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California. He's the author of the recently published The Grasshopper Myth and founder of NewSmallChurch.com, a site dedicated to encouraging, connecting and equipping innovative small church pastors. Karl is a rabid defender of small churches and has a passion for resourcing the often-overlooked pastors of those churches. You can follow Karl on Twitter: @KarlVaters. There it is! The question we shouldn't ask at 200churches, right? After all, we celebrate the small church on this site don’t we? Well, yes and no. We celebrate a small church when a small church has reached its Kingdom potential. But if there is something that is keeping your church from reaching and growing disciples, then we would love to help you discover what that is, so you can continue on your way to whatever is your church’s Kingdom potential! On this week’s podcast we are jumping off an article by Timothy Keller – Leadership and Church Size Dynamics: How Strategy Changes with Growth. We are talking specifically about the content of pages 7-9 which deal with the character of a 200church, and what it takes to cross the 200 barrier to the next size category.
Jeff and Jonny get into a little conflict on this subject regarding leadership gifting versus leadership capacity. Jeff contends that some pastors simply do not have the leadership capacity latent within them to grow a church past 200 members. Jonny rather sees gifting as the issue, and views some pastors gifting more as shepherds than leaders, and resists the concept of capacity limitations. You will have to decide for yourself when you listen! Today we would offer two suggestions: 1. You should read Timothy Keller’s article. It is a fantastic and revealing read, that every pastor should take in and consider in light of their leadership. 2. Ponder the concept of a “single cell mentality” in a church, maybe yours? This concept was communicated by Jim Powell from the 95Network. in one of his coaching sessions titled “Breaking the 200 Barrier.” It’s very insightful. Maybe Jim will be offering more free seminars in the future. Basically the single cell mentality in a church is where the people believe they all need to meet together, at the same time, and in the same room, so that they can all see each other and get to know each other. They mostly view multiple anything as divisive and harmful to the unity of the church. They also thing that if the church doors are open, they need to be there, so they need to participate in most everything. If they are forced to choose between two equally good ministries occurring on the same night, they are frustrated and wonder why the church is double-booking events. If they have to say “no” to something, they feel guilty and can get angry for being put in such a position. This single cell mentality is one of the paradigm shifts a church needs to make (says Keller), in order to move past the 200 barrier. So, read the article and grade yourself as to your acceptance/rejection as a church of the “single cell mentality.” Then, listen to the podcast on Wednesday, and referee the fight between Jeff and Jonny. They both think they are right! Your leadership in your 200church is a blessing to your people and makes a huge difference in the Kingdom of God!
If you are a regular reader of our blog, and listener to our podcast, then you know that every Wednesday we generally have one topic that we cover. Today, though, we broadened our scope a bit and wanted to talk to you about the heart of 200churches and our vision for how we can help pastors and leaders of small churches, especially those who are isolated and in need of community.
Recently, we connected with Jim Powell from the 95 Network and talked with him about his passion for leaders of small churches. We both agreed that as we encourage pastors, we did not want to affirm small churches simply because they're small churches. In other words, we don't want to celebrate smallness for the sake of smallness, but rather encourage pastors who are in small churches doing big things.
We believe that God accomplishes amazing Kingdom things through small churches and small church leaders. We want to encourage and affirm leaders who are in those situations while also challenging pastors and leaders who may be hiding out in small churches because they believe it gives them an opportunity to hide from challenges and just coast. Our vision at 200churches is to encourage and inspire pastors and leaders to live up to their fullest potential! We want you to feel uplifted and supported by our ministry and we're always happy to hear from you and connect with you. One of our long term goals is to create a network of pastors that can be a community for one another. Isolated pastors can fall prey to so many struggles. God never intended for men and women to do this job alone! A few months ago we talked to Ryan Perz about the upsides and challenges of being a solo pastor. The issues he talked about -- ranging from being a self-manager to difficulties finding genuine community -- are issues that every solo pastor faces, and issues we want to help you through here at 200churches. As always, feel free to send us an email or voicemail. We'd love to get to know you better! For several years I was a solo pastor in a small church of about 35. I would go to my basement office to study. I had no computer, no cell phone, iPad, Kindle, or Internet access (it hadn't been invented yet!). I would live for the arrival of Leadership Journal in the mail, where I could read articles from other pastors on issues and situations I faced in ministry, and look at the cartoons! I recall the day a friend gave me my very first leadership lesson on cassette from John Maxwell. I was blown away! It was soon followed by a bootleg copy of a message Bill Hybels had given to his New Community crowd. I listened to these tapes so many times I wore them out. I was starved to interact with other pastors on the topic of ministry. I needed colleagues and mentors, but had none. As leaders of 200churches, it’s important for us to learn from a network of mentors. Today, we can learn from a large network of online mentors who provide a rich source of encouragement and wisdom for us. In order to help you get started building a network of mentors, we’ve created a list of online resources for you. Before we get to the list, let me shamelessly recommend to you the 200Churches Podcast. The purpose of our podcast is to resource pastors of churches of around 200 with some advice, training, inspiration, and encouragement. Our purpose is not to teach you how to grow your church. We think that God uses churches of all sizes to reach and shepherd people. We want to encourage you to serve, lead, love, and be content with the people God has given you to serve today. Okay, on to some resources!
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