The Small Church Ministry Podcast

The first step in getting volunteers starts well before “the ask.”   If you’re like most small churches and struggling with getting volunteers or you’re hoping to do better, you can’t keep doing the same things you’ve always done. Join me in this episode to learn about the often-neglected step of Identifying Volunteers. Here’s what can happen if you adopt this process of Identifying Volunteers bef...

In this introduction to our Volunteer Series, we’re starting at the foundation and turning the tables on how some of our beliefs about volunteers - and quite a few commonly held teachings - are misguided and lead us further from the truth of what God has for us.  Could it be possible that God has already provided all the volunteers you need to do exactly what He has for your small church today?  J...

Just because you’re part of a small church doesn’t mean ministry is less important in your small space.  Since we’re representing the God of the Universe, we should be concerned about doing ministry well!  If you don’t have written job descriptions for volunteers (or if the mere mention of that just made you cringe a little!) join me for this episode. We’re gonna talk about why lots of small churc...

If you’re one of many who say you’re doing all the things because no one else will, if you’re flirting with burnout but committed to working unto the Lord, or you just plain want to find a little more peace & presence in your life, tune in to this episode.  The truth is God doesn’t want martyrs and He doesn’t want His people frustrated and weary.  In this episode, we’ll dive into ...  How the...

God has a lot more in mind for our churches than different generations feeling misunderstood, unappreciated, and ignored. Instead of living in the beauty of intergenerational ministry that God created us for, many churches experience the feeling of  “us” and “them” - like the younger people want change; the older want to hang on to old ways.   Check out this episode if you’re ready to close the ga...

Choosing a curriculum for Children’s Sunday School can seem like a huge feat for small churches.  We spend a lot of time previewing options and then a lot of money trying some, adapting others, and wishing for something else instead. Serving mixed-age classes with few volunteers and inconsistent attendance is a challenge for sure, but sometimes we make it harder than it needs to be.  Join me as we...

When leaders in small churches are frustrated by lack of attendance at events or programs, phrases I hear a lot include: People at my church aren’t committed. They say they want programs and then they don’t show up. They’re too busy. They’re uncommitted. They just don’t care.  When I ask ministry leaders how they know those things, they respond that if people were committed and cared, they would s...

Are you tired of planning meetings when no one shows up? Wondering how to build a team if you can’t get anyone to a training? Maybe you just want to make your meetings have more of an impact.  We’ve all been there.  Want to cast a vision, build a team, or even just get everyone on the same page? Planning meetings can be frustrating when they don’t have the result you were hoping for. If you strugg...

The biggest struggle most small churches have is volunteers - not enough volunteers, burning out volunteers, finding new volunteers, and keeping volunteers.  There’s a lot of commiserating about the 80/20 rule, where 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people. But is that even true? Does it have to be? In this episode, we’ll be talking about ... Where the 80/20 Rule came from and why it’s not a...

We humans like numbers.  We measure physical growth in meters or feet, bank accounts in dollars, and academic success in percentages. But as much as we like to measure success in numbers, it’s not how God designed His Kingdom.  God Is not the one who said “If you build it, they will come.” In fact, He’s the one who said few will follow.  In this episode, we’ll explore… Why measuring church success...

Small church ministry isn’t less, but it is different. With smaller numbers and smaller budgets, many churches struggle to try to keep up with the big church next door. What if we quit trying to compete with big places, and, instead, started embracing the gifts God’s uniquely given to smaller communities?  Tune in to this episode to learn about 4 reasons small churches are awesome : How God loves...