I WAS JUST THINKING ON THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2011

“In Small Church America, The People Are Perishing”

I spent my first few months as a traveling evangelist in a very hard learning curve, because I had never preached before, and I was forty years old. I began buying books written by all types of preachers. I listened to so many preaching tapes, even tapes from preachers with different viewpoints of doctrine. I went to conferences and conventions of all different types. I traveled all over the USA, including Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. This was a very great time of my life and my ministry. Revival services seemed to be very successful and what a great time I had in seeing so many people repent, being baptized in Jesus name, and filled with the Holy Ghost. Such a great many miracles happened in these great services. My wife and I had such a marvelous time during this time.

When I began to feel that a change was coming to my ministry and my life I realized again I was going to face a very hard learning curve, because I had never been a pastor before. I again began devouring books on how to determine and communicate vision to the church I was pastoring. I went to all types of conferences and pastor meetings. I met with many different pastors and leaders from everywhere. I talked with my pastor and several of the pastors in the UPCI. Pastors I respect still to this day told me, "Decide how big you want your church to be, and get out there and grow it. Many of my UPCI brothers told me I could build a church of several hundred if I really worked it, but they told me the average church you can build, will be seventy five to eighty people. But my Baptist and Charismatic pastor friends told me I could build a church if I did it properly to five hundred, one thousand, or even three thousand members. They said you must envision what your church campus (or multiple campuses) will look like five, ten, or twenty years from now, and start working toward it. Dream about how your worship services can become more innovative. Put together a good leadership team and cast your vision before them often.

Proverbs 29:18 says, “where there is no vision, the people perish."

All of this advice seemed to make sense at first. But over time, after being beat up a few times by people, who were kind and friendly to me at first, but who do not want change or church growth, I found myself struggling to even have a fresh vision. All the goals I set and the programs I tried were quickly shredded by so many of the people in these small churches I was trying to pastor and lead. I quickly found that the average CHURCH MEMBER in small church America are not really full of the Lords Spirit and do not want any type of change or church growth. They are satisfied being average, lukewarm, normal Church going people.
I am now pastoring my second church. I am in a different part of the country, different church environment and the church setting is uniquely different, but the people have the same attitude about church and spiritual things. The people feel that the church is strictly here to make them feel comfortable as they live and do as they please. They want no change and they do not really desire any growth.

I sat down with members in our church, and together we asked ourselves, "What do we want to see? Where do we want to fasten our attention in the days to come? What do we want to work toward with all our hearts?" As we talked this over together, the answer became very obvious. The only possible vision for this church is to make us comfortable and give us a place of community and fellowship. This kind of attitude and vision are so hard to change in small church America. Yes, these wonderful people simply want a place where they can come alone and feel warm and welcomed, with no change. So here we prioritize this nice church campus for people to drive onto where they can find their convenient parking space. We will give them a soft drink, coffee or a latte when they walk in the door, and then we'll provide them with the best praise and worship team, provide entertainment and snacks for their children while treating them to a great time that leaves them feeling good when the family drives away in a very timely fashion.

In the American church today, very few want BIBLE TRUTH preached. Very few who attend church today are there to change, they are there to fulfill a tradition, to find some fellowship and the feel of community. Yes, many simply want to belong to something that makes them feel comfortable, yet requires very little personal effort or change. Variations of this vision are engineered for the average modern day Christian consumer in small church America today. The crowds are usually about the same size in number, with very little variation and by all means very little growth. But the average Church members are satisfied, parking in their parking space, sitting on their pew, being entertained and seeing no changes nor accomplishing anything as people perish and small church America fades away and most do not realize they are even dying.