Mission

We are here to assist pastors of small churches in the USA to fulfill the great commission and the great commandment within context of the uniqueness of their own local churches.

Background

 According to the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, 59% of churches in the USA have less than 100 in attendance on Sunday morning. That means that the majority of senior pastors (about 175,000) are shepherding small congregations.

These small, typically rural churches have special challenges as well as opportunities that may not exist in larger urban and suburban churches.  The challenges are often seen in the form of small budgets, small or non-existent support staff, and limitations on the “talent pool” in areas such as teaching, worship, or technical support. 

Each small church has its own unique sphere of influence.

Sphere of Influence

Your sphere of influence extends to whoever you can reach and serve given your location, your relationships, your resources, and the gifts and talents of your congregation. All these will function within a unique calling from God for your congregation. Smaller congregations offer great opportunities. Through these churches the presence of God may be ministered to people who would never have a representative of a large, urban church come to counsel and pray with them in their living room or the hospital waiting room.   

People in these churches can experience the living Christ just like their larger counterparts in more urban settings.  It appears that many of the dynamic, Spirit empowered congregations we read about in the book of Acts were small enough to meet in a home.

Typically the small church pastor must be talented in many areas from preaching to plumbing. However, constrained by time due to the myriad of tasks they must perform during a typical week, they find it difficult to do the detailed planning and administrative work necessary to expand into new dimensions of ministry in their local church.  The Woodbridge Project exists to help these pastors.

While there are many studies that help to define the needs and opportunities of rural/small churches, Woodbridge is intended to supply resources supplemented with hands-on assistance which have been tested in the rural/small church environment.  The Woodbridge Project was established to assist pastors to lead their churches to be all that God has called them to be within their unique sphere of influence.