The Small Church Ministry Podcast

If Sunday music feels a bit stale in your small church, listen in for some ways to lead people deeper into worship no matter what worship style or size of your team.  When we start believing we need better music, a bigger band, or more talented singers, we’re not thinking right. Worship goes way beyond music.  While music can certainly contribute to great worship for many people, we don’t need mus...

Developing a worship team In a small church can seem impossible when there are no singers, musicians, or sound engineers in sight.  While big churches can put out a call for team members and move forward with a selection process, small churches face a different challenge - and a much greater opportunity.  Here’s the difference: people in small churches aren’t recruiters; we’re developers. Whether...

Leading well in small churches requires a unique set of skills. In fact, excellent small church strategies look very different from those in large church settings.  One of the troubles arising in many church leadership programs and organizations today is that the majority are led by leaders of large churches trying to teach those in small churches how to do ministry better.  While the motivation i...

If you struggle with involving the younger generation in your women’s ministry, you’re not alone.  In fact, in most ministry areas, there’s a certain type of person who shows up and quite a few others who stay on the sidelines.  If you want to broaden your reach, listen in to hear how involving others in the planning process might just bring the change you’ve been hoping for.  In this episode, we’...

Today we’re taking a look at what to do with feelings of disappointment, frustration, and failure - when everything you’re doing isn’t working and your efforts to bring new people in aren’t paying off.  We’ll be talking about …  Why your feelings do matter and how they do have more of an impact than you think A few of the most damaging and unbiblical statements we all should stop repeating How a f...

What exactly should pastors in small churches be doing to earn their keep? And who gets to decide this anyway?  Today we’re talking about power struggles, job descriptions, and why a calling shouldn’t resemble indentured servitude.  In this episode join me to talk about … How to solve personnel issues before they erupt like a volcano spewing deadly lava Why labeling personnel conflict as a spiritu...

Most people on the planet would agree that, of course, we want to keep our children safe. And yet, when many small churches try to put current best safety practices in place for their nursery, children’s Sunday school, or KidMin, they’re often met with resistance.  Questions like these popup, with a lot of emotion attached: “Are all these policies really necessary?” “Why do I need a background che...

Instead of your small church being a rather scary place for visiting families, learn how to make your small church one of the safest places in your community.  While the familiarity of a small church leads to comfort and trust for its members, that’s not a shared trust for visiting families. In this episode we’ll talk about challenges facing many small churches in regards to best practices for saf...

The church is God’s design for His people, and it also can be a messed up place.  It’s no secret that many seek out large churches for the chance to be anonymous, which is the choice to be surrounded by community and yet removed from it. In small churches though, there’s no hiding.  I believe this is God’s plan - to be seen and to be in community. But what happens when that community is full of fa...

If you or your volunteers are showing signs of burnout, you’re not alone.  You also don’t have to stay there!  Most small churches function with a small group of committed people who don’t want to disappoint God, their pastor, or the people who fill the pews. Sometimes that commitment leads to exhaustion and, little by little, the joy of serving slowly begins seeping away.  Whether you’re the past...

There are a million great things your small church could be doing. How do you choose?  Listen in to this episode to: Hear the answer to why we don’t have a Pastors’ Husbands Conference in 2022 Learn 5 questions to consider in choosing where to focus your resources Discover some freedom in NOT doing it all Check out The Small Church Pastors' Wives Conference >> https://smallchurchsummits...

God is a God of structure … and yet, He is anything but boring! Whether you’ve taken time to develop a ministry handbook that’s collecting dust in the corner or you’ve avoided putting one together in lieu of shiny objects and curly-tailed squirrels, I have news for you! Ministry goals, organization, and policies don’t have to be boring. And it’s totally worth the time to communicate better and bre...

Welcome to a very special time at The Creative Little Church! We’re going to be celebrating our 2nd Anniversary since my very first online workshop, and it has been quite a ride.  I’m often asked where this vision came from and what we’re planning for the future. Listen in for a casual peek into the last few years of The Creative Little Church. In this episode, Learn how this whole thing got start...

Did you know it’s much easier to keep a volunteer than to get a new one?  In fact, if we all just kept the volunteers we had gotten through the years, we wouldn’t have a shortage! So, how do we keep them? In this episode, we’ll talk about …  The difference between recognition & appreciation (& why it matters) The five main reasons why volunteers quit and where appreciation makes a differen...

Are you super excited about what you’re learning but not sure how to take it back to your small church?  Or maybe you’ve tried to share what you’re learning and it hasn’t been received with enthusiasm. If that’s you, you’re not alone. In this episode, I share the 5 best ways to share with others what you’re learning in a way that catches like a spark in dry kindling instead of feeling like you’ve...

Whether you’re hoping to update, overhaul, or totally redesign your church logo, this episode is for you.  Or maybe you’re like … “Logo? What logo?” …. don’t worry, this episode is for you too!  I’m starting at the beginning with why branding and logos do matter, how the process of branding can help identify and strengthen your uniqueness as a small church, plus how to avoid the most common mistak...

I’ve heard people say you can’t fire a volunteer, but it’s not true.  You can totally fire a volunteer.  You can fire them nicely or not nicely. You can fire them directly or cause them so much discomfort that they quit (which, by the way, is an indirect way to fire someone).  But all these scenarios have the potential to hurt feelings and damage relationships.  If you’re looking for a better way...

If you’re looking for a creative way to get more volunteers serving in your church, a ministry fair is a great event to add to your calendar.  Even in a small church, a ministry fair can be a great community builder, increase awareness of areas of service in your church, and pique the interest of people who haven’t ventured to a sign-up sheet in years.  Done right, it’s a win all around!  However,...

Should you do personality inventories with leaders & volunteers? What about spiritual gifts assessments?  With all the options and trends these days, people are googling everything from Myers-Briggs to Colors to Enneagram to Strengthsfinder.  If you’re wondering how to best use inventories and assessments to get volunteers in the right places and build healthy teams, listen in.  In this episod...

If you’re looking for more volunteers for your children’s ministry, you aren’t alone.  Children’s ministry takes many hands, even if you have only a handful of kiddos. An additional challenge facing staffing in small churches is the inconsistent number of children and the mixed-age factor.  One week could require a fully-staffed nursery and an extra volunteer in Sunday school, while in another wee...

Whether Sunday School is feeling stale, you’re short volunteers, or your kids are bouncing off the walls, it might be time for a refresh.  It doesn’t take a big budget or a big staff to add a new twist to your children’s ministry.  Any one of these 5 ideas is perfect for a small church, works great with mixed ages, and is just as engaging for 2 kids as it is for 20. Along with a bit of a reset, th...

Managing a mixed-age Sunday school class with 3-year-olds and 6th graders in the same room is no easy feat.  In this episode, we’re rolling up our sleeves to tackle a desperate (and common) plea for help.  I’m on a crusade to stop the destructive blaming of kids, teachers, parents, and pastors.  Join me to learn how to get beyond managing behavior and create a safe place for everyone. You don’t ne...

If you truly want to break the cycle of a volunteer vacuum in your small church - or maybe you have a revolving door of volunteers who come but don’t stay - creating a culture of loyalty & longevity is the ticket. There are many rewards of creating this type of volunteer culture including greater ministry impact, developing deeper relationships, and growing in significant leadership skills. Bu...

This episode is all about setting up volunteers for success in small church ministry. Sadly, that’s the opposite of what most people experience. Instead of setting up volunteers for success, we too often set up volunteers for frustration, failure, or feeling trapped - sometimes we even set them on a path to be used and used up. Join me in learning how to create a culture where people actually want...

When it comes to recruiting volunteers in small churches, a little intentionality goes a long way.  Instead of rushing to find people to fill the holes, we’re talking about how to get the right volunteers in the right places so they end up serving with passion and joy, knowing they’re making a difference.  The steps we’re talking about in this series on volunteers are about changing the culture in...