Lewis A. Parks - Small on Purpose: Life in a Significant Church

SMALL
ON
PURPOSE

Small on Purpose was written by a pastor with deep compassion for churches of less than one hundred members who faithfully gather each week, energized by the Spirit. Parks gives readers, both clergy and laity, a new framework for considering these churches as sufficient and significant spaces for Gods work to occur in worship, pastoral care, and being church. Read and take hope!

Robin Knowles Wallace, Professor in the Taylor Endowed Chair of Worship and Music, Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Delaware, OH

Small on Purpose reimagines what it means to be a congregation of ninety, sixty, or thirty by not focusing on size. I especially appreciate Lewis Parkss attention to why soul care is critical for congregations under 150 as a means of discipleship and outreach. Parks sees soul care as a countercultural act that creates meaning for many who are seeking family-like relationships. This book challenges all congregations to take seriously the small things they are doinglike soul careas a compelling way to move into the future.

F. Douglas Powe Jr., Managing Director for The Institute for Community Engagement, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC; author of New Wine, New Wineskins and Not Safe for Church from Abingdon Press

Lewis Parks writes with pitch-perfect tone about the life of small churches. He appeals to the experience of smaller congregations as gathering places of worship and service. There he sees signs of the Spirit moving, of tradition revivified through song and word, of pastoral care shared across a congregation. Above all, he offers transformative words and perspectives with which small churches can claim their distinctive witness.

Thomas Edward Frank, University Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Wake Forest College, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

In a time when the culture is becoming more and more individualistic, Lew Parks strikes a chord for the great value of the gathered community of faith that is strengthened week by week through their faithfulness to the gospel and to one another. Gather in your small church and read this together. Your life and your community will be enriched.

Bill McAlilly, Bishop, Nashville Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church

Dr. Parks candidly presents both challenges and deep rewards of ministry in churches that are Small on Purpose. Since dramatic changes uproot old assumptions about ministry, it is extremely helpful to have fresh guidance from a proven mentor, teacher, and scholar, who is also currently shepherding a small church. Seamlessly integrated into his warm and down-to-earth writing is Dr. Parkss theological depth rooted in scripture and theology.

Gil Waldkoenig, Professor of Church in Society, Gettysburg Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Life in a Significant Church

Lewis A. Parks

SMALL ON PURPOSE:
LIFE IN A SIGNIFICANT CHURCH

Copyright 2017 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to Permissions, Abingdon Press, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., PO Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228-0988, or e-mailed to .

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been requested.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-2732-7

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

Scripture marked NRSV is from New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Todays English VersionSecond Edition 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

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MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To Calvary of Lemoyne and small churches everywhere: that they might know their worth

Its eight thirty Sunday morning, and I am sitting at the stop sign waiting to get out of our neighborhood onto Lisburn Road to begin my ten-mile commute to the small church where I serve as pastor. I am waiting for a break in the traffic that is headed in the same direction, toward the megachurch (average attendance 3,500) that sits in the middle of an eighty-five-acre plot of rolling farmland about a mile from my house.

Sometimes there is no pause in the traffic for ten minuteslots of time for me to brood and imagine. I swear, all the cars are newer SUVs with young parents and two or more children. Everyone looks happy. And why shouldnt they? The seats they will soon occupy will be theatre seats with cup holders. (The foam in the cushions of our pews dried out when the first Bush was president. Bring your own cushion!) The smiling families of the megachurch will be mesmerized by professional musicians, moved and educated by an attractive preacher. They will hear an incredible menu of holistic opportunities available to them in the coming week.

Large churches and megachurches now account for 50 percent of Christian worshippers on Sunday morning. These churches are on the forefront of reaching a younger and more diverse population. I especially appreciate that they have the capacity and the constituency that affords them a voice in the public market space, and I truly do root for them.

At the same time, I envy them. Theyve got the buildings, grounds, and parking. Theyve got the young families with children. Theyve got stunning points of entry like a sports complex rivaling that of a small college and concerts by well-known Christian performers. Theyve got the people, the favor of the public and of the denomination; theyve got the momentum.

What have we got? We, the leaders and the people of a small church struggling with an old oversized building, desperate for children, youth, and young adults, demographically challenged, confronting our limits whichever way we turn, making do, getting bywhat have we got?