Intentional Ministry in a Not-so-Mega Church : Becoming a Missional Community

I had the distinct pleasure of serving as pastor to only one church for twenty years. In 1981 I began my pastorate at Hebron Baptist Church near Madison, Indiana. The church was struggling to survive, and yet they were willing to take a chance with a young man who had no education beyond high school and no experience as a pastor. Maybe they thought they had nothing to lose, but few churches would have given me the opportunity they gave me. They allowed me the opportunity to grow and develop as a minister. They loved me and my family. In time, they accepted my leadership and dared to do things they had never done before. It was a time of tremendous transition, and we made many mistakes along the way. We also enjoyed some amazing victories. The victories helped us overcome the mistakes and continue to do ministry together. It was an exciting two decades, and those years continue to impact my life and ministry today. Hebron taught me the beauty of the smaller church and the possibilities that exist in each one. The members of that church taught me to love smaller churches and inspired me to continue working with those churches. As this book illustrates, Hebron and all small churches will face rapid change in the future unlike any they have ever known. They will be forced to change as well or find themselves incapable of ministering in the twenty-first century. Yet the same God who first called them into existence will continue to be with them during these transitions and will use them to minister to others in ways they cannot now comprehend. My years at Hebron taught me that smaller churches can change, and because of that I want to dedicate this book to the wonderful people I served at Hebron Baptist Church. ## D E D I C AT I O N I N T R O D U C T I O N Every church began as the result of someone's vision for a ministry that was needed in its community. In the area where I live, the landscape is dotted with little churches that are 175 to 200 years old. I can leave my house right now and drive to at least three dozen churches within fifteen minutes. But when these churches were established, the people walked or rode horses and buggies to the churches, and it was important to have one in every community that was easily accessible to the people. Each of these churches began as a way to minister to the surrounding community. They were truly missional churches. Today that mission has often been replaced with a maintenance mind-set. As these churches begin to decline in attendance, their first instinct is to circle the wagons to preserve the limited resources they have. They call pastors to lead them, but they are really seeking chaplains who will tend to their needs. These churches express a desire to reach youth and young families, but conflict will often occur if this actually happens. A small church that had been in decline for many years was seeking a new pastor. They said they wanted a pastor who could grow their youth group because "the youth are the future of the church." A few months after their new pastor began, I met a young woman who served on the search committee. I asked if their pastor had been successful in reaching young people. She said he had been very successful, but there was now another problem. The older members were upset that the pastor was spending too much time with the youth and felt that he was ignoring them. As a result, they had stopped attending church and stopped their financial support. After serving there for only three years, this pastor was asked to resign. Another church experienced similar conflict when the pastor began reaching young families. Complaints soon surfaced about the pastor's clique. The complainers said he spent all his time with this group of people while ignoring others. An "us versus them" mentality soon began to infect the church. The denominational leader who worked with this church quickly identified the complainers as the long-term power brokers in the church who needed to preserve the church's status quo in order to retain their power and influence. Recommended by the Nazarene Organic Church NetworkChange is rapidly occurring in almost every area of our society. However, the one notable exception to this is often found in the church, especially in smaller churches. Instead of responding to the changes around them, these churches have adopted a maintenance mentality, which is primarily interested in survival and risk-free ministries that are inwardly focused and fail to meet the needs of those outside their church community. If our churches are going to have an impact on today's culture, we have to move from a maintenance mindset to a missional one.Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church is designed to help leaders of smaller churches guide their people in making their primary focus ministering to and meeting the needs of those outside their church. Drawing from more than twenty years of experience as a small-church pastor, Dennis Bickers explores the qualities of transformational leadership and explains what it takes for leaders to create a climate in their churches that promotes and facilitates necessary change. From willingness and vision to risk-taking and commitment, Bickers challenges leaders to become the agents of change their churches need as they seek to answer and act on the question: Who are we here for? Change is rapidly occurring in almost every area of our society. However, the one notable exception to this is often found in the church, especially in smaller churches. Instead of responding to the changes around them, these churches have adopted a maintenance mentality, which is primarily interested in survival and risk-free ministries that are inwardly focused and fail to meet the needs of those outside their church community. If our churches are going to have an impact on today's culture, we have to move from a maintenance mindset to a missional one. Intentional Ministry in a Not-So-Mega Church is designed to help leaders of smaller churches guide their people in making their primary focus ministering to and meeting the needs of those outside their church. Drawing from more than twenty years of experience as a small-church pastor, Dennis Bickers explores the qualities of transformational leadership and explains what it takes for leaders to create a climate in their churches that promotes and facilitates necessary change. From willingness and vision to risk-taking and commitment, Bickers challenges leaders to become the agents of change their churches need as they seek to answer and act on the question: Who are we here for? Missional vs. maintenance churches Our changing world Transformational leadership Capturing God's vision FAQs about change Introducing change Missional churches understand their culture What decisions must be made? The future of the small church.