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.
