The Challenges of Small Church Ministry
A small urban congregation can be a solitary unit, alone and drifting, not in the eye and heart of Presbytery. Some years ago, Abraham Maslow developed a Hierarchy of Needs which proposed that until body and security needs are satisfied, persons cannot move beyond survival. The small urban church lives where basic needs are tough to satisfy; the congregation’s energy is poured into survival, and vision seems an elusive goal.
In the New Testament, Jesus celebrates the small: what seems to have little worth has eternal significance in God’s eyes... the shepherd who goes after the one sheep, the woman who searches for the single coin, the mustard seed which is the smallest of all. And Paul writes to the Corinthian Church: “The members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (I Cor 12:22). The seemingly insignificant is absolutely crucial in God’s Kingdom!
Beginning in late 2005, PUN is becoming a key element and primary expression of urban strategy for Presbyterian congregations in Portland. Portland is unique for being the Presbytery of the Cascades’ largest urban area in the second-hungriest state in the country (with some of the highest unemployment and some of the lowest faith affiliation).
PUN recognizes that the small church is quite different from larger congregations who possess people and facilities. Living with shortage, the small congregation understands a different life style. Like the proverbial burning coal separated from the mass, they need each other to live.
At its core, PUN is an aggressive step toward congregational transformation for our small urban churches - some of the most challenged in the Presbytery. PUN promises to be a vehicle for a focused effort of innovation.
Carl Dudley summed it up when he wrote:
“The strength of the small church is directly related to the strength of its connection and involvement with the community in which it exists, and its willingness to discover God’s unique calling to the congregation within that particular ministry context.”
Candidly, transformation is difficult to achieve in a family-sized congregation. “Buy-in” is critical for success. Work with a small congregation is both tender and tough: one must offer resources rather than dominate, invite participation rather than overload with program interventions.
Together these congregations can do what no single congregation is able to do alone.
