Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

I recently had the pleasure of presenting at Episcopal Appalachian Ministries' Mountain Grace Conference, “We(e) Small Voice – Exploring Small and Non-Traditional Church in Appalachia." While there, I was honored to be part of wonderfully honest conversations about how the Holy Spirit is active in Episcopal Churches from Pennsylvania to Georgia. We talked about small churches that were thriving – doing wonderful ministry in, through, and with the communities they serve – and we talked about small churches that were not thriving – with scarcely enough participation or will to continue.

Bishop Ken Price delivered the morning's keynote address, where he sounded the refrain, “Small Churches are Real Churches.” While I appreciated this encouraging message for parishes who really needed to hear it, I will note a trend I saw over the weekend. The small churches that are thriving are those engaged in outwardly focused (what I call missional) activities in their communities. These parishes are doing ministry outside the walls of their buildings, not for the purpose of bringing people through the doors, but for that is where Jesus calls us. There happens to be a side effect of engaging the community in a missional way. As the parish lives into this call – responding in love to the felt needs of the community – more people come through the doors of the building, bringing with them new vitality and creativity.

Other parishes told stories about doing x, y, and z to get people to come into “their” space. I cannot reveal any details as I don't want to embarrass or hurt any of these congregations, but this is a tale that I have heard again and again. When a church, regardless of size, turns the focus inward instead of outward, involvement in the parish begins to shrink as do budgets, numbers, and ministry. What if it really were as simple as turning the focus outward for these parishes?

If our focus is solely inward, it does beg the question, “What is church?” What are we about if we are not about engaging the community outside our walls? Perhaps we are the “Sunday Morning Country Club” that our detractors accuse us of being. Former Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple legendarily said, “The Church is the only institution that exists for those who are not yet its members.” How are we doing with that?

After having participated in EAM's Mountain Grace Conference I can say that the small parishes that are thriving are those that are living into this challenge. So perhaps – with all due respect to the composer, Bishop Price – we might harmonize his refrain, “Small Churches are Real Churches,” with the countermelody, “Missional Churches are Real Churches – Regardless of Size.”