The majority of churches in America
are small churches. In fact, 70 percent of
all congregations have memberships of less
than a hundred people, and many are getting
smaller. The median attendance has declined
every year for the last two decades. It’s now
less than half of what it was twenty years
ago. A 2020 Faith Communities Today (FACT)
study shows that half of US congregations
have sixty-five people or fewer.
Small churches have an amazing capacity
to bounce back over and over again. They are
resilient. Since they often have less than a
full-time pastor, there is a strong laity leadership preference ready to step in and do what
it takes. Small churches also have what we
refer to as a superpower that large churches
can’t touch: the ability to be highly relational
from the get-go. Small churches that have
discovered and know how to leverage this
superpower are vital, healthy churches having
God-sized impact in their communities.
Too often, small churches concentrate on
what they can’t do. We offer this resource
to lift up what small churches can do! For
example, smaller churches have greater
percentages of participation, giving, and
engaged members than larger churches,
according to the 2020 FACT study. Unfortunately, many resources for churches and
church leaders are created for larger churches.
This resource has been created specifically for
the small church.
