30 Things I Learned Leading In A Small Church

From the time I was in college until shortly after being married I was a leader in a church with an average weekly attendance of just under 100 people.  It was one of the greatest experiences of my life and laid the foundation for how I would lead people moving forward.

Before I get into the list, I cannot recommend enough you click HERE for information on an upcoming Breaking The 200 (Attendance) Barrier course being put on by Church Fuel.  It is as good as anything I have seen and a must-have for small church pastors.

Now as promised, the following are  30 Things I Learned Leading In A Small Church:

  1. I learned to love pastors and how to serve them.
  2. I learned about church leadership from riding with my pastor on Monday and Tuesday night visitation.
  3. I learned how to teach the Bible.
  4. I was able to work on my craft at a slow pace because my small church was forgiving of my mistakes.
  5. I learned how to pray.
  6. Thanks to Continuing Witness Training I learned how to share my faith.
  7. I learned rigorous work was required to reach my full potential.
  8. I learned about John Maxwell.
  9. I learned about Bill Hybels.
  10. I learned the importance of visiting people in hospitals.
  11. I learned to be an effective youth pastor you must also pastor the parents.
  12. I learned how to organize youth services, activities, and retreats.
  13. I learned how to experience love because we was like a family.
  14. I learned how to deal with gossip because we were like a family.
  15. I learned competition is sickening to God.
  16. I learned how hot the bright lights of the stage can be.
  17. I learned passion and naivety can be greatly used by God but passion and naivety would eventually not be enough.  I had to get better by improving my skills.
  18. I learned how hard decisions are made.
  19. I learned how to build lifelong friendships.
  20. I learned I could not sing.  Though I will be a worship leader in Heaven when I have my glorified body.
  21. I learned the value of a visitor.
  22. I learned it is almost impossible to grow without quality leadership.
  23. I learned you can’t do all the work.  You must build a team.
  24. I learned loving people can overcome a lack of financial resources.
  25. I learned generosity through the people who loved and served me as a youth pastor.
  26. I learned my small tithe makes a big difference.
  27. I learned bi-vocational ministry can destroy your soul if you are not careful.
  28. I learned small church pastors are grossly underpaid.
  29. I learned God honors faithfulness.
  30. I learned there are many Mega pastors in small church environments.  Their church just has not caught up with them yet.

***Bonus*** I also learned you can find a great wife in a small church!

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Once again, if you are in a small church environment and want to know how to break the 200 attendance barrier, click HERE or on the image to the left.

 

 

Brian Dodd

Brian Dodd is the author and content coordinator for Brian Dodd On Leadership. In addition to overseeing this site's content, Brian is Director of New Ministry Partnerships for INJOY Stewardship Solutions where he helps churches develop cultures of generosity. Brian has also authored the critically-acclaimed book The 10 Indispensable Practices Of The 2-Minute Leader.