HEALTHY CHURCH: Think Small, Not Big
In the church world today, there seems to be a focus on the biggest gatherings, attendance size, large groups and numbers. These metrics drive whether you feel worthwhile and validated or not. In No Silver Bullets, Daniel Im stated, “God is more concerned with your faithfulness than your fame. Ministry to the few is as important as ministry to the many.” The Scriptures certainly teach this foundational truth, but leaders often struggle when their efforts appear to go unrewarded and even unnoticed. Your faithfulness should not be driven by the size of your church, the success of an event or your perceived impact.
Your ambitions of “ministry success” can become very skewed if you require numerical growth as the bottom line and definer of your worth before God. It is not ignoring the masses or totally ignoring numbers but valuing the impact you can have on a person or the few you disciple. In our driven Western culture, we need to remember to think small, not big and to think slow, not fast. Alan Hirsch reminded us, "You can create a stronger movement with 12 disciples than 1,200 consumers.” Jesus did. Again, let me stress it: “Ministry to the few is as important as ministry to the many.”
Nicodemus is an excellent example of this principle as you see him begin to follow Jesus and how he is mentioned through Jesus’ ministry. In John 3, we see his first interaction with Jesus in a private late-night meeting, during which Nicodemus is told he must be born again. That was in the spring of AD 27. In the fall of AD 29, Nicodemus was defending Jesus in front of the religious elite of that day. In the spring of AD 30, after Jesus’ crucifixion and death, Nicodemus provided burial spices for His Savior. Jesus primarily focused on the few more than He focused on the many by discipling and mentoring those He encountered.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, in the fall of AD 26, He tells a few men who seemed interested in finding out who He was, “Come and see.” One year later, He declared to them and others, “Follow me.” In the fall of AD 28, He appointed 12 apostles to pour into to hand the ministry off to them in the spring of AD 30. How did He determine who He would select? Luke 6:12-13 says, “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve…”
Jesus identified leaders within those He had appointed, and it was about 18 months after identifying those leaders that Jesus gave them the Great Commission. Do you see the progression of how Jesus focused on the few because of the impact it would have on the many? He invited them (come and see), challenged them (follow me), appointed them, identified the leaders and then commissioned them. That is why you hear terminology like discover, develop and deploy in this process of a discipleship pathway that leads into a leadership pipeline. Jesus ministered slow, not fast, and thought small, not big.
Daniel Im continued, “When it comes to developing a plan for discipleship and growth in your church, the one is as important as the many. In fact, the only way to see your entire church grow spiritually and numerically is to start discipling one person at a time.” You have probably heard the description of a ministry that, unfortunately, appears to be a mile wide and an inch deep. You do not have to blow up what you are doing and begin from scratch again. Instead, consider how you build systems that will disciple those God has brought into your ministry and how you can train them to be partners with you in that journey.
Discipleship should be the intentional route, clear steps and designated paths in your church that are used to develop followers of Jesus equipped to make a kingdom impact. Robert Coleman stated, “Discipleship is not the path of least resistance because the devil never gives up!” Think about that for just a moment. There is a plethora of testimonies from ministry leaders who share stories of the difficulties of seeing a well-oiled, functioning discipleship pathway working the way they envisioned it from the beginning. A discipleship plan may not be that difficult to design, but its implementation will require grit, determination and resolve.
Daniel Im reminded us that “Disciples are not widgets. They cannot be mass-produced on an assembly line.” The goal is not information transfer but instead life transformation. Discipleship is not about the destination. As a matter of fact, you never arrive. Instead, the focus is on the direction you are going toward Christ. Eugene Peterson described discipleship as “a long obedience in the same direction.” Your discipleship pathway is in place to form your church into missionary disciples. It helps disciples to shape their character and shows them who they are in Christ. It transforms the disciple’s heart. Discipleship equals development.
A discipleship pathway is essential, but you are only halfway home. The other half needed if fulfilling God’s mission for your church is implementing a leadership pipeline. Discipleship is focused on who the disciple is in Christ and shaping their character through spiritual disciplines and by being a part of a thriving church body. The leadership pipeline concentrates on what the disciple does and equips them with the competencies needed to accomplish that. Discipleship is development and the leadership pipeline is deployment. This leadership pipeline trains these disciples how to be transforming representatives of what God has done in their lives to others.
Mac Lake emphasized the importance of the leadership pipeline this way: “Choosing who you invest the most time in is one of the most strategic kingdom decisions you will make.” May I suggest using Jesus’ selection method — prayer. Remember, think small, not big, and think slow, not fast.
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Larry Barker
Director of Church Planting and Church Health Larry Barker submits a weekly column titled, Healthy Church Solutions, designed to strengthen and encourage the local church.
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