Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Practices

Small Church Ministry

Editor's note
By Lindsay Hardin Freeman
There are a few myths floating around about small congregations: they reflect the demise of the Church; they are poor; they are troublesome; and they are a minority in the Episcopal Church.
Feeding your soul in the small church
By Kevin Spears
Being senior warden is demanding, regard- less of the size of your congregation. In a small congregation, though, the demands are magnified because church staff members are in short supply.
Revolution brews in the baptismal font
By Herb Gunn
“You are troublemakers,” charged Tom Ray, retired bishop from the Diocese of Northern Michigan, which has been on the forefront of the Total Ministry movement in the Episcopal Church for the past twenty-five years. “This is serious stuff.”
Ups and downs of small church ministry
By Tim Schenck
In the Book of Deuteronomy Moses says to the Israelites, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse.” He holds up the entire life of faith and offers his people a choice — to love and serve the Lord their God or to revolt and ignore the command- ments of God. Reflecting upon small church ministry it seems that here, too, there is such a dichotomy. Though I would term it differ- ently: there are blessings and challenges that are unique to the small church experience.
What is a “vital small congregation?”
By Bob Honeychurch
Some congregations are vital and alive; others are not. Why?