Let’s encourage, connect, and equip innovative small and rural churches as each one plays their part.

How can we activate the astonishing power of small and rural churches?

Over one billion people worship Jesus in small churches tucked into every corner of the globe. What could we possibly do to light the fuse that would allow us to tap into this astonishing potentials?

How would we structure it? What should we tell them to do? And who can we call upon to lead it?

Actually, we don’t need to light the fuse. It had already been lit. This is something God has done. He did it without us creating a plan for it. And He did mostly without our cooperation. He did it with many of us fighting it every step of the way.

The quickest way to kill it would be to put a person, a blue-ribbon panel or (God forbid) a committee in charge of it.

While we’ve been obsessed with building large congregations, God has been planting small churches like the spiritual seed in a thirsty ground.

There are two principles we can adapt that would help fan this flicker into a flame:

Support Small Churches

Small churches need to be; Supported Valued Resourced Networked Celebrated

And maybe most of all…

Noticed for the contributions they make to the kingdom of God.

Let’s refuse to buy the lie that size is an accurate measure of the health or strength of a congregation. Let’s try not to mess up what God is doing at this time.

Maybe the best thing we can do for small and rural churches is to listen to their pastors, leaders, and congregations.