Small Churches

I’m in my eleventh year as the pastor of Mortonsville United Methodist Church in Woodford County Kentucky. I am the first female pastor they ever had. For the previous forty years they were served by Asbury Seminary students and my opinion has always been that they would have accepted a cow if it was middle-aged and had some experience. Just kidding. There were some wonderful student pastors over those decades, some that I highly respect who have gone on to bigger – if not necessarily better – things.

I’ve turned down two bigger churches, closer to home in this last decade. And I turned them down before my husband told me that if I'd agreed to move, he would have stayed there at Mortonsville – even though it’s a 50 minute drive one way each Sunday.

It’s the first tiny church I’ve ever been in and I love it. I’ve always been a small group kind of person and our church is like a cell group in a mega church. In fact that’s exactly what we are – a cell group in THE mega church called the Body of Christ.

Since I’ve been there, morning worship has grown from an average of fourteen to an average of twenty-one. Wow! That’s a fifty percent increase. Or is at a thirty three and a third percent increase? Anyway percentage wise we’ve done great.

The other greatness I’ve seen in ten years is that we have all deepened spiritually even more percentages than we’ve grown in numbers. We can't provide all that everyone needs in a church and know it. We pray for families that need a church with youth programs etc, that they will find the right one. We take up an extra monthly offering for missionaries and people in need, on top of the tithe and a half we send to the missions and work of the United Methodist Church in Kentucky.

Most importantly we love each other. The first Sunday of each month we share Holy Communion and then afterwards have a covered dish luncheon. The third Sunday of each month those that want to, go out together to a restaurant. Even though we only meet on Sunday mornings, with our meals, phone calls, and e-mails we spend more time in the Word together than many larger churches. And we laugh a lot because in His presence is fullness of Joy.

Sometimes I feel guilty because I know that our little church out in the country, without even a parking lot, will never grow big…and I’m glad! But the Lord reminds me that I have no concept of the impact to the Kingdom of those wonderful saints of God. I am honored beyond measure to be the pastor of a small church.

This week we are saluting a small church that’s bigger than Mortonsville - but sounds wonderful. We heard of it through friends who have relatives who attend. We’d like to ask you to add your prayers to ours for their growth, both spiritually and physically. God bless you, East Cherokee Community Church! Check them out at http://www.eastcherokee.com/

"And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24,25 NRSV