I'm done with small church congregations. Especially small, broke, dying, toxic churches. Why? Because churches are not supposed to be broke, "dead," or toxic. They should be life-giving and something you enjoy being affiliated with.
Why I Am Done
In my experience, small churches, meaning congregations of 10 to 100 people (not to be confused with church-plants), have not been pleasant to be involved with. This is why:
Fiscal Irresponsibility. Folks, you should not be running a church on a deficit. It is not professional, it does not honor God, it does not honor the congregants, and it makes the church look bad. Whether you want to accept the truth or not, a church needs to be ran as a business in that things are done professionally and responsibly.
It is time to stop complaining about people "not giving or tithing enough" (although that is a very real issue), and time to start cutting unnecessary expenses. The leadership of a church is responsible for the spending, not the income. Work within your means. Broke churches do not have to be broke. Close down, or get your act together. Very few people enjoy being asked to give more every Sunday due to fiscal irresponsibility.
Manipulation, Toxic People, and Lack of Leadership & Administration. Small churches have a higher chance of having negative leadership than larger churches. This is because there is not a healthy or correct type of accountability involved to hold the leaders to professional and Biblical standards. When there are only a handful of people in a congregation, there is much less scrutiny of the leader(s), what is being taught, and how things are being managed. This often ends up with a church board, a small group of deacons, an administrator, or a secretary becoming power-hungry and controlling. They become toxic people who run off sincere Believers who could help bring positive change. Unfortunately, most people who are in control do not want the positive change(s) because it means no longer functioning with the "status quo."
All Talk, No Action. If there is one thing that is a "buzz kill" for excited Believers, it is talking about positive change with the leaders (who voice they want it) and then they never act on it. A stagnant congregation is a dying congregation. If you are not sharing the Gospel, growing in maturity (discipleship), seeing people come to know Jesus, and not growing in number you need to analyze the reason you exist as a congregation. Congregations should be positively impacting others, and their community.
Don't Crucify Me Yet
I've grown up in the church. In fact, both my mother and father are ordained pastors in a holiness denomination. I have served in different leadership positions in churches throughout my life and know the church culture. I am a theology and doctrine "junkie," and I know the Scriptures well. I have seen and experienced healthy churches and some very toxic churches - I know the difference.
I want to clarify that not all small churches are "negative" and not all large churches are "positive." It is a spectrum and you find all sizes of churches placed throughout.
Some people will be offended, other's will chant the slogans like, "Churches are hospitals for broken sinners," others will not care, and some will have "Aha!" moments. Regardless where you stand, think about your congregation. Is it a small, broke, dead, and toxic? If so, it may be time to consider what you'll do next.
