“I don’t have time or the skills to create the kind of church the big boys can create,” the pastor said as he shook his head. “I kind of dread the conversation when other pastors ask, ‘What size is your church?’”
I frequently talk with other small church pastors like this one. After 21 years of serving at a small church myself, I believe that guys like me need to stop longing to build a celebrity pastor platform and realize what they’re holding: one of the keys to the future of the American church.
Church growth strategies have been tough on small church pastors. They often focus on scaling systems, producing high-quality content, and creating large worship experiences that can’t be rivaled.
But a small church pastor is uniquely positioned to drive a revival of discipleship in ways that larger churches and celebrity pastors simply cannot replicate.
Why? Because discipleship requires some things that don’t scale well.
1. Discipleship Requires Proximity
A few years ago, I heard a friend say at a pastor’s conference, “The dominant mental model of discipleship in the American church is a man in a spacesuit. We think discipleship is like getting people into a self-contained environment that protects them from a hostile world.”
That’s true—and it’s not working well! Our churches have become collections of people in spacesuits! We waddle in, wave at the other people in their self-contained environment, sing a few songs, hear a message, and then waddle back to our cars…still disconnected.
But the New Testament mental model of discipleship is a baby born into a family. Proximity matters! Jesus didn’t just send a letter or create a weekly conference call to make disciples. He lived with his disciples, walked with them, ate with them, and shared in their lives.
For real discipleship to happen, there must be proximity—consistent, close relationships where faith is not just taught but caught.
Why is this significant?
Because small church pastors have the distinct advantage of being near their people. You’re not a distant figure on a screen; you’re someone they can touch, talk to, and lean on. The kind of relationship you can cultivate in a smaller congregation mirrors the relational depth Jesus modeled.
2. Discipleship Requires Accountability
I recently sat in my car and had a hard conversation with a young man about his moral habits. A few days earlier, I asked similar tough questions to a middle-aged man. This kind of accountability often slips through the cracks when churches are primarily about consuming Christian content.
