Miracles in Small Places

Considerably more than half of the Assemblies of God (AG) churches are less than 100 in attendance on Sunday morning. There are 4,100 AG churches in communities with population less than 5,000.

While the larger urban churches have well over half of the AG church attendees, most senior pastors in the AG deal with a small church experience.

Rural/small church pastors time after time attend gatherings of ministers and hear the latest in church growth programs and statistics which have only marginal relevance to the rural/small church scene. They often cannot even travel to the conferences because of the cost and time away. There may not be people who can fill in adequately during the absence of the pastor.  

Many of the pastors have secular jobs as well because of the financial realities of small church budgets. In these small churches, the facilities may be well maintained, but out of date by contemporary church standards. There may not be an opportunity to upgrade or replace the facilities with the size of the church budget. Some deal with an age distribution that is skewed toward older adults due to the rural demographics.

Pastors are told that the number one thing that new people are looking for who visit the church is the worship program. With the heavy focus on worship music, and the pressure to have the contemporary sound and style, rural/small churches may struggle to field a team of talented musicians and singers. Often they are limited to one or two musical instruments. The musicians may not have the skills to keep the new songs coming at the rate they appear on the Christian radio station.

In spite of these obstacles, rural/small churches often experience significant miraculous visitations of God in the form of miraculous healings, provisions, deliverances, and salvations. Clearly, God is aware of their existence and is willing to show up Himself. Even so, many will remain small for a host of reasons, not the least of which is the local demographics.

If the Lord Himself thinks enough of these churches to grace them with His presence and power, then they are significant. However, it is difficult for most pastors of these small churches to maintain their own morale and sense of purpose in the face of the statistics that are boasted by the megachurches in the cities. These pastors need encouragement; they need resources that are tailored to their specific situations and congregations. Their sheep need the best that God has to offer.

Woodbridge Project is there to help in various ways to sustain and strengthen the pastor of the rural/small church. 

Don Calvin