Some people thrive on tension.
They lean in.
They put their head down.
They go work with renewed focus.
I’m not one of those people.
If you serve in a small church, you understand tension. You can’t get away from it. Truthfully, ministry anywhere comes with tension regardless of the size of your church. But the tensions that come with serving in a small church are unique and are worth a fresh look.
Here are a few tensions I’ve felt – maybe you feel these too:
1. Resources
This one seems inescapable. Here’s how this goes: You hear about a great new program. It’s biblical. It’s got a great scope and sequence. It even looks cool. But…it costs. Running this resource well requires money, people, and space you simply don’t have.
So you reluctantly settle into something else.
Something less that what you really wanted.
A curriculum, event, or idea that seems like a pale version of what you dreamed of.
Bam! There’s the tension: The tension between quality and available. You want something great. But everything great seems like it was built for a large church. If only there was something meant for you.
2. Program
A similar tension hits when we think about programs. You’ve seen how other churches build their ministry calendars out months in advance. They advertise, build momentum, and execute. You’d love to handle programming that way, but you’ve only got twenty kids – eight are in the same family.
I spent an early season of ministry church planting. And I felt this tension big time. One spring, I was ready to launch a new series for our small youth group. I had planned. I had pushed. I had made announcements, called parents, revved up…. Then the night of our big “launch,” only two kids showed up. Two. Family travel, sickness, and other realities outside of my control killed the momentum I spent weeks trying to build.
You could hear the <
The tension in small church programming is between strategy and agility. And it’s not an easy line to walk.
3. Change
Change is hard in any church. But the tension is the small church usually isn’t about the change itself. The tension is around the posture and pace of that change.
The story goes that a wise pastor wanted to change the piano’s position in the sanctuary. The worship leader currently sat with her back to the congregation – as it had been for decades. The pastor thought it would be better is the congregation could see her face as she led.
When the pastor asked the worship leader, she was concerned that the change might ruffle the feathers of those in the congregation – particularly those in the front row, citing the oft-repeated phrase “…this is how we’ve always done it.”
The pastor, being wise, asked “Okay. What if we rotated the piano gradually? One degree each week?”
“But pastor,” she said, “at that rate it’ll take all year to make that happen.”
“Exactly,” said the pastor.
The tension of change in the small church is between innovation and patience. Innovation will serve for a season. But a patience reigns with time. Patience is a rare gift. Most of us don’t naturally have it or spend the necessary time to cultivate it.
How have you felt these tensions?
Are there any that you’d add?
Next Monday, we’ll post about tensions that impact personal realities, like leadership, influence, and a sense of significance.
