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Small Church, Big Worship

I grew up in small Methodist churches in the 1950s and 1960s that my father pastored. I learned a lot from him and from my mother, who usually served as organist and choir director. I've always said (only half in jest) that anything of value that I ever learned about church music I learned from my mother. Some of the greatest lessons I learned during those formative years had to do with small churches, the people who attended, the problems they encountered because of the church size, and the joys that resulted from that size.

As I became older, became more educated and sophisticated, and served larger and larger churches, I learned about other kinds of problems and joys that come with those congregations. The challenges and celebrations of large and small churches are not the same. Today, I am a member of the largest United Methodist church in Nashville and attend when I am able. It is truly a wonder to witness the ministry and programming that goes on there, and it sometimes makes my roots in the smaller church seem rather distant.

Last month, I led classes and worship for a conference laity event in another state. The leaders invited me to stay over an extra night (Saturday), so I could lead music in a local church on Sunday morning. I accepted the offer, provided they scheduled me in a small congregation. It has been a long time since I have led worship and music in such a church, and it was more than a little different from my own congregation. I note these differences not to be critical or judgmental of large- or small-church worship, but merely to observe them. Here are some of the things I noticed:

  • The church was an old, historic congregation with a building on the national registry of historic buildings. It had once been a thriving, growing, vital congregation; but it has dwindled to a couple of dozen attendees on a good Sunday. The neighborhood has undergone several racial and cultural changes; and as the congregation has shrunk, the building has deteriorated. But the people take pride in the beauty of their sanctuary, the stained glass windows, the dark wood construction, and the respect the church enjoys in the neighborhood. Unlike my home church's large Gothic structure and sanctuary, the small size of this church's sanctuary meant that from wherever you were, you could see the faces and expressions of everyone else present. It contributed to a real sense of intimacy and closeness.
  • The small congregation cannot afford a full-time pastor. As is the case with so many small churches, rather than closing, it is served by a part-time pastor — in this case, two retired pastors. Many other small churches are served by student pastors, local pastors, or lay preachers with other primary jobs.
  • They struggle to keep the Sunday school going, having to combine classes with wide ranges of ages. With twelve to sixteen in worship, it is difficult to maintain an active choir; but this church has managed to do so. They have an elderly organist, a committed choir director, and a student piano major to lead their music, along with a mostly elderly choir of four to six members. The organ is a small electronic instrument, and the piano is an old upright.
  • They are well-aware of the ongoing bills and connectional obligations that need to be paid and the challenge of continuing their ministry and mission in the community and the world as a small part of the Body of Christ.

But along with the struggles, there was much to celebrate in this church.

  • The two retired pastors possess a lifetime of experience and expertise. But more than that, their hearts still burn to fulfill God's call upon their lives to preach and minister to the people of God.
  • The people are faithful. They come week after week, year after year, committed to Christ and to the church. They are aware that in a small church, ministry is a job of the entire congregation — not just the pastor, the staff, or the elected leaders. When the doors are open, everyone comes. They do not have the leisure of staying home to read the paper, knowing that someone else in the church will step in to take their place and assume their responsibilities on a given Sunday.
  • Worship and music are activities for everyone. In this small church, you don't see anyone not singing or just standing silently. Everyone raises his or her individual voice so that the group will have a voice. And they do so with joy and without worrying about what the people next to them will think of how they sing.
  • They took this opportunity of a guest worship leader from Nashville as a cause for contacting previous members, those who once attended, as well as their neighbors in the community. This was a special occasion, and they reached out to bring others into the celebration. The congregation was a wonderful mixture of old, middle-aged, youth, and children, those who spoke Spanish and those who spoke English; and there were at least four different ethnic groups in attendance.
  • They made the children a special part of the service. We learned new songs and sang them with motions and actions and much enthusiasm. One faithful saint has started a recorder group of four or five children, and they rehearse weekly and play regularly. She also plays flute along with the hymns.
  • As might be expected, fellowship plays an important role in this church. When I asked them to greet one another following the opening hymn, it was difficult to bring them back to their seats for the service to continue. Following the service, they had a sumptuous pot-luck dinner at which no one went hungry.
  • I truly love the liturgy, solemnity, pomp, and traditions of the worship in my large home congregation, but this church reminded me what it was like to make laughter, conversation, and a tremendous spirit of community and genuine love for one another a part of worship. If someone wanted to ask a question about the new hymn that we had just sung, he or she would interrupt the service to ask it from the pew. If there was a testimony or short story to tell following the prayer, that was also included. There was a wonderful sense of expectancy and openness to the Spirit.
  • I'm sure we sang more new and unfamiliar hymns and songs in that service than that congregation had sung during the previous several years. We sang spirituals, gospel songs, contemporary songs and praise choruses, even Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday." Instead of gripes, frowns, and complaints, there was enthusiasm and openness.

As I say, I greatly appreciate the style of worship and music of many large churches. God is a big God who must certainly take delight in the diverse praises of our people. I think it would be good for us to visit other churches, especially if they are different from our own — culturally, racially, theologically, aesthetically, economically, geographically, and in size. Pick a Sunday to visit another church, and go expecting to be blessed by the different worship experience; but also go expecting to make a contribution. Add your voice to whatever is the style of singing. They may take Communion differently. They may sing strange hymns, or ask you to sing from a hymnal or screen that is strange to you. The service may even be in a different language. But be assured that God's gracious Spirit will be with you.

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