Home Pastors Articles for Pastors Why the Small Church—Strategic or Stuck?

Why the Small Church—Strategic or Stuck?

4) Looking Less Like the Community Around You

Many stuck churches look like their community. The community the way it was when the church was built, that is.

No, I’m not saying Christians shouldn’t be set apart from the sinful practices of our community. We are called to be a holy people. And holy means different.

What I’m referring to are the demographics of the community, not its sins.

For instance, a strategically small church in an ethnically diverse community will be an ethnically diverse church. But a church whose average age is 25 years older than the average age in its surrounding community is stuck, not strategic. On the other hand, a church full of seniors in the middle of a retirement village may be meeting the needs of its community just right.

If your church demographics look like the neighborhood used to look instead of the way the neighborhood currently looks, you’re not strategic, you’re stuck.

Uh Oh, What Do I Do If My Church Is Stuck?

If your church is stuck, it’s not fatal. You can become strategic.

How? I’m glad you asked.

I’ve written on this a lot. My suggestion is to start with these articles to get some fresh ideas:

Then you can browse through the rest of my “Innovative” series of posts by clicking here:

So what do you think? Have you ever considered what it means for your church to be strategically small?  

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Karl is the author of four books and has been in pastoral ministry for almost 40 years. He is the teaching pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, a healthy small church in Orange County, California, where he has ministered for over 27 years with his wife, Shelley. Karl’s heart is to help pastors of small churches find the resources to lead well and to capitalize on the unique advantages that come with pastoring a small church. Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com, and has created S.P.A.R.K. Online (Small-Church Pastors Adapt & Recover Kit), which is updated regularly with new resources to help small churches deal with issues related to the COVID-19 crisis and aftermath.